DAMASCUS, March 29, 2008 (WAFA)-President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that achieving no peace agreement at the end of this year would put the Middle East region at the Brink of a new era of tension and loss of people's confidence to achieve peace.

In his speech at the 20th Arab Summit in Damascus, President reiterated the League of the Arab states commitment to the choice of peace in accordance to the Arab Initiative, adding but it should be coincided with international community move, specially the Quartet to compel Israeli to respond to it.

President called on the Arab leaders to provide Arab and international protection to the Palestinian people and rebuild his civil and security institutions.

President Abbas stressed that negotiations can not be advanced and succeeded while Israeli bulldozers steal the land and build new settlements on it as well as the continuity of Israeli military operations.

"The Palestinian people continues his heroic steadfastness in the face of occupation and Israeli settlement, and confirms his adherence every day of his national rights and his land and sacred Sharif As well as upholds to a just peace and to the two state-solution , the Arab peace initiative and UN resolutions, but Israel continues its aggression and occupation and building of settlements and the Judaization of Jerusalem," President said.

He added that the continued Israeli aggression is a part of an Israeli policy aimed at tearing the unity of the Palestinian land and the Palestinian people through separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, and striking possibilities for reaching peace agreement under pretext of Palestinian division.

As for the internal situation, President said that "We have responded with all the good initiatives on the basis of decisions adopted by the Arab League Council, the latest initiative put forward by His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh and which we declared the approval of the PLO for its implementation immediately without change or modification." In this context, we reiterate our call on Hamas to retreat from the coup and accept the obligations accepted by the PLO and go to the early Presidential and Legislative elections, President added.