H.E. Mr. Ahmad Abdelrazek:

Since the beginning of the Oslo agreement, we were clear about the two-state solution. That is why we do not understand why the Israelis, who started on this basis, continued to construct settlements and expropriate land in Palestinian territories. There are two explanations to this. Either, the Israelis were not serious about the two-state solution, so they lied to us. Otherwise, they are lying to their people who are they are bringing to the Palestinian territories. If they were honest and serious about the two-state solution, they have to evacuate them. Why are they bringing them there in the first place?

From the beginning, we have been calling for a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders. We want peace and we want to negotiate for it. Negotiations over nine months directed by the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, who put much energy and time into them, have failed. Why? Everyone knows why. Mr. Kerry said it at the US Senate foreign affairs committee when he informed the committee that Israel failed to release prisoners on time as agreed and announced construction of 700 settlements in Jerusalem. He then made a gesture, exclaiming “Poof”. John Kerry explained how these nine months of negotiations failed and how it was not the Palestinians’ fault.

We cannot arrive at any point if we do not delineate the borders. Israel refuses to discuss the borders issue. The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, has proposed we sit down for three to four months to discuss the borders issue. This is what Saeb Erekat brought to Mr. Kerry. When they are defined, the Israelis will then know where they can construct colonies and we will not care. They can construct the wall not 8 m high, as it is now, but 20 m high. They can construct it in their land, not ours. They can do what they want but only on their land, not ours. One cannot discuss security if one does not know one’s borders.

We are looking for a peaceful solution for our children and Israeli children, so they may live in peace. The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned publicly at an Islamic conference the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers. We are against this kind of practice. The Israeli practices are different. Can one tell me of any Israeli soldier who shot a Palestinian who was indicted? Not one has been indicted. For them, Palestinian blood is cheap and does not matter.

From the beginning we have said if there were a two-state solution with a sovereign Palestinian state, it would be a disarmed state. If we are at peace, why should we need arms? Look at Germany and Japan. They became the most advanced economies in the world because they did not have arms.

We would like to be like that but one cannot occupy a people and ask them to just accept the occupation. It happened in Ireland. There were two tendencies - a tendency that did not want to fight the British and a tendency that wanted to fight them. We have the same situation but to solve this problem, the occupation must finish.