RAMALLAH, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the Israeli government's failure to recognize the Palestinian people's rights will not bring security and stability to anyone.
Abbas made the remarks in a speech marking the 74th anniversary of the Palestinians' Nakba Day, literally meaning catastrophe day, official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported.
He called on Israel's leaders to "leave the cycle of the denial of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, recognized in international law and the UN resolutions."
The Palestinians "will not give up any of their rights, especially their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Palestinian president noted.
He also called for affirming the Palestinians' right of return and to a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with UN Resolution 194 and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
The national unity of the Palestinian people "is the strongest response to the Nakba, occupation, and injustice to which the Palestinian people are subjected," Abbas concluded.
Every year on May 15, the Palestinians mark the Nakba Day, the day after Israel declared its independence in 1948. ■
