RAMALLAH, November 15, 2007 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that the Palestinian leadership is determined to make and achieve independence despite difficulties and obstacles.

President Abbas' statements came in his speech on the occasion of the "Independence Day". He said "we are determined to build our statehood where we live free in an independent and sovereign home."

He added that the Palestinian people have "grabbed recognition from the world through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of its people. And the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which our late President Yasser Arafat has led, had become the symbol of all meaning of freedom for all the nations."

He also said that the Palestinian leadership is in contact with the international community, including the Arab states, to truly prepare for the conference and the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which will launch afterwards.

He promised to work hard to end the suffering of the people of Gaza by providing them with all humanitarian needs and trying to find a solution for the people stranded inside or outside the enclave.