RAMALLAH, June 5, 2017 (WAFA) – Marking 50 years since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian presidency affirmed on Monday that the end of the occupation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only way to achieving security and stability in the region and the world.

It said in a statement that “our people and their leadership are adhering to their national rights and constants for which we have sacrificed thousands of martyrs and wounded and will remain steadfast on our land until the end of the occupation and the establishment of the independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders.”

The presidency added: "On this ominous occasion, we call upon the free world to act courageously to end the longest and last occupation in the world and to enable our unarmed people to attain their full legitimate rights, guaranteed by international resolutions, to live freely on their land and on their soil as the rest of the world.”

The statement ended by saying that on this 50th anniversary of the occupation, “we pay tribute to the heroic struggle of our people and pray for the souls the martyrs who fell in defense of their freedom and rights, and for the freedom of the brave people who sacrificed their future for the freedom of their people and their homeland and to raise the flag of Palestine over their capital, East Jerusalem, the capital of the independent state of Palestine.”

M.K.