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Abbas: Time to Recognize Palestinian State

RAMALLAH, March 5, 2011 (WAFA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed Saturday that this is the time to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

He was speaking at a press conference with the President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, following their official meeting in Ramallah.

“It is time for the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders to be a permanent member of the United Nations,” he said. “This is one of the September goals and we call on all parties, specifically the quartet in its next meeting, to do what is necessary to force Israel to stop its aggression and end its occupation of our land.”

He said that the peace process “has reached a serious deadlock because of Israel’s land expropriation policy and systematic settlement of Palestinian land in general and Jerusalem in particular in spite of the international consensus that settlements are illegal and that they should not make a de facto situation on the ground.”

He promised that he and the Palestinian people will continue to support peace efforts “in spite of all the obstacles.”

Abbas thanked his guest for recognizing an independent Palestinian state and for giving embassy status for the Palestine office in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

“We look forward for your efforts and the efforts of all the friends to support the right of our people to be free and independent and to live in their homeland like the rest of the world,” he said.

Pinera said Chile believes that the Palestinian people should have a state of their own and to live in peace with their neighbors.

“Chile has defended and truly believed in the justice of the Palestinian cause,” he said. “The Palestinian people should have their viable state and be independent with the right to move freely. They should be able to live in peace with all their neighbours.”

Pinera said that his recognition of the Palestinian state “shows our support for the peace process” and “our support for negotiations to reach a peace agreement based on United Nations resolutions.”

He said he will discuss the peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he meets him on Sunday.

Abbas rejected a proposal not yet officially made by Netanyahu that calls for a Palestinian state with provisional borders.

He said, “We know that there was an idea in the past that called for state with provisional borders and if this (Netanyahu’s) idea is proposed again, we will not accept it.”

Abbas decorated Pinera with the Star of Palestine, the highest medal presented to officials. Both leaders also witnessed signing of joint agreements and inaugurated a street in Ramallah named after Chile.

Pinera arrived in the region on Thursday. This was his first visit to the Palestinian Territory and the first for a Chilean president. His schedule also includes a visit to Bethlehem and meetings with local officials as well as mass at the Church of Nativity.

Pinera recognized the role the Palestinian community in Chile, the largest outside the Arab world, has played in building his country.

The Palestinian community in Chile “has played a big role in the development of the economy, culture and the art,” he said. “There are many Chileans of Palestinian origins participating in the parliament.”

He said that places like Ramallah and Bethlehem “are known for us in Chile because of the presence of Palestinians there and the Chilean people of Palestinian origins are proud of their heritage.”

M.A.

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