President Yasser Arafat

President Yasser Arafat’s Speech at the Sixth Session of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza

March 10, 2001

Excerpts from the speech:

This long intensive round of aggression, came during one season of the peace process, while serious intensive efforts were being made to achieve our national goals, through political efforts and negotiations, to prove to the world that the Palestinian people had chosen peace through its national institutions. It's a strategic choice supported by strong determination and clear vision.

It's a “Peace of the Brave”, a just and right peace, the peace of International Legitimacy, peace which can offer security and stability for our region and our people.

I would like to speak on a substantial issue, that concerns our people's top priority, and that is the opportunity of peace, did we have a serious opportunity (to achieve peace) and did we waste it?

We did not save any efforts to achieve peace, we used every possible chance in order to achieve peace but we were always facing offers that are not acceptable to Palestinians, Arabs, Christians and Muslims.

These offers were, so far, off from International Resolutions, neglecting the principles and the timetable for the peace process on the Palestinian track, I don't want to elaborate here on evidence and what took place in our understandings and agreements for the interim period, or about the final status negotiations, because all of you have followed these negotiations, and you have seen Israeli back stepping on what we are agreed on, even if it was under American supervision, or Russian, or Egyptian, or Jordanian. But I am fully confident when I tell you that we did not waste any opportunity, there were some efforts that were not completed as a result of the Israeli determination on their position, including the ideas of President Clinton and his efforts in Camp David side by side with the Sharm el Sheik and Taba Memorandum, etc.

I renew the declaration for our people and for the whole world that our strategic choice towards the “peace of the brave”, a just, comprehensive and lasting peace which began at the Madrid conference on the principle of land for peace and according to international resolutions and all the Arab tracks was not and will not be changed and the peace of the brave which I invite all the Israeli leaders to move forward in order to achieve it, for our children and their children, for our future, and their future, can be achieved and can be the actual alternative for the daily killing situation which has been imposed on us and the situation of instability I calls for implementation of international resolutions 242, 338 and 194, Jerusalem as Capital, Israeli withdrawal, end to settlements etc

I appeal to the Israeli people and to its elected government that we fully understand their need for security and stability, but on the other hand they should understand the needs and the rights of the Palestinian people the Arab nations and to respect our Holy sites, Christian and Islamic. When we are talking about an important issue like this, from our long experience we cannot separate the issue of peace away from the Holy sites and politics and we cannot separate the issue of politics away from our rights and the rights required under legal principle and International resolutions related to this and the agreements signed. Let's stop the Siege and the Closure, stealing Palestinian money and property which had been expropriated by the previous Israeli government )Transfer of money to PNA, and damaging houses etc) which the whole world has agreed, as collective punishment, which is illegal. Let's stop the military escalation, using banned weapons, and the policy of threats, siege and starvation which has affected all aspects of Palestinian life, and which will only lead to increased tension and to inject anger into the spirit of the people.

Let's stop all of that, and let's start negotiations with the Palestinian people, and its leadership, with the full respect, as a partner in a historical political project, for peace and as people who has the right for a good, free life and has the right of full sovereignty over its land and state similar to the other free independent people in our world, and in accordance with International resolutions.

Let's implement all the obligations that have come about as a result of negotiations, and to resume the final status talks, from the point which had been reached, the important understanding, in Camp David, Sharm and Taba. this is the only logical way to achieve complete security formula, and concrete political principles for the coming agreements.

Once again, we have to try again, in the united nations to have International forces, or International supervisors, to monitor and to work in order to stop the deterioration, and the military aggression, and to implement the agreements, and to help to approve or to strengthen the “Peace of the Brave”.

The Palestinian people need to respect the independence of the judiciary and to develop the judicial system, to implement the principles of transparency and accountability.

I appeal again, to the Israeli people, and the new Israeli leadership, and I declare from here from the stage of the Palestinian legislative council, supported by the determination of our struggling people, our hearts are open and our hands are stretched out, for the “Peace of the Brave” and our commitment for the accurate implementation for the agreement signed, and also I declare that we are ready to move forward, in negotiations with the Israeli government, and if they want, we are ready to start now to resume the negotiations, which we have started with the previous Israeli governments, until the last meetings which took place in Sharm el Sheik and Taba under the supervision of Pres. Mubarak, Pres. Clinton, King Abdullah, Xavier Solana and Kofi Annan.

I appeal to President Bush, the Russian Federation, the EU, our Arab leaders, China, Japan and non-aligned government countries and to the United Nations and its Secretary General, to all of them, with an open heart, that peace in the Middle East is your responsibility. don't let the opportunity slip from our hands. our people, who have suffered and are suffering still, are in need, of your support and your assistance in order to achieve the “Peace of the Brave”.

Palestine Affairs Council