RAMALLAH, Friday, December 31, 2021 – President Mahmoud Abbas today reaffirmed his commitment to achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on international resolutions and under the auspices of the International Quartet.

He stressed that the Palestinian people remain committed to ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and to attaining freedom, sovereignty, independence, and statehood.

Speaking in a televised address aired on Palestine TV marking the 57th anniversary of the launch of the contemporary Palestinian Revolution and the Fatah Movement, President Abbas said: “Our hands are extended to make a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace through an international peace conference based on international legitimacy, under the auspices of the International Quartet, with the aim of ending the occupation of the land of the State of Palestine and its capital, Jerusalem.”

The President noted that this anniversary comes at a critical moment due to the continuation of Israeli repressive measures against the Palestinian people, including the theft of natural resources, the withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, and what he described as organized terrorism and acts of ethnic cleansing.

“We have run out of patience with the bitter reality our people have endured for nearly eight decades,” he said. “We will not accept the systematic practices of the Israeli occupation aimed at undermining the character and identity of Jerusalem or the sanctity of our holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.”

President Abbas praised the resilience, patience, and sacrifices of the Palestinian people living under occupation. He also saluted Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and those wounded by Israeli forces.

“We will not abandon you. Your struggle is a badge of honor, testifying to your sacrifices in defense of your homeland and your people,” he said.

He concluded by extending congratulations to the Palestinian people on this national occasion and on the advent of the New Year.