RAMALLAH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing war, destruction, military aggression and attempts to forcibly displace them.
In a speech marking the 22nd anniversary of the death of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Abbas said Israeli measures "will not deter the Palestinian people from clinging to their land and national rights, nor will they succeed in imposing a reality that contradicts our legitimate rights and the resolutions of international law."
He said Palestinians, who have endured various forms of "aggression and displacement," would remain steadfast in their homeland, holding on to their national identity and their right to live in freedom and dignity on their land.
Abbas stressed that achieving Palestinian national unity remained a top priority, describing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and their comprehensive national framework and political reference at home and abroad.
Abbas also called for ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, rebuilding areas destroyed during the war, and preventing plans aimed at displacing Palestinians and undermining their national cause.
Arafat died on Nov. 11, 2004, at the age of 75 in a hospital in France after suffering from an unknown illness.
Also on Tuesday, dozens of Palestinians, including a journalist and a foreign activist, were injured in attacks by Israeli settlers on several villages in the occupied West Bank.
Abdul-Azim Wadi, mayor of Qusra, south of Nablus, told Xinhua that settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers and foreign activists in the area between Qusra and Jalud.
The attack left European Pressphoto Agency photographer Alaa Badarneh and a foreign activist injured after they were struck by stones, Wadi said. ■
