Category: 2. World

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, has decried Israel’s “war of genocide” and settlement expansion, while condemning Hamas and saying the armed group would hand over its weapons in any postwar settlement in a closely watched speech to the United Nations.

Abbas addressed the gathering by video conference after his visa was revoked by the United States ahead of the 80th session of the United Nations general assembly.

Reinforcing the global schism over Israel’s war in Gaza, UN member states voted 145-5 to allow Abbas to address the international body remotely after the US barred more than 80 Palestinians from entering the country.

“What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression. It is a war crime and a crime against humanity that is both documented and monitored, and it will be recorded in history books and the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries,” Abbas said on Thursday.

Abbas reiterated a number of declarations he made at a special session led by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday, when France and several other countries formally recognised Palestinian statehood. In the speech, he called for an immediate ceasefire, unimpeded entry for humanitarian aid through UN organisations, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the withdrawal of Israel from territory in Gaza.

He also issued a rejection of the Palestinian Authority’s rival Hamas, which he said would have no role in a postwar governance of Gaza – a key condition of Israel and the United States. However Abbas and the Palestinian Authority administer the West Bank but not Gaza, and do not have a direct role in negotiations over a ceasefire or postwar planning for Gaza.

“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7 – actions that targeted Israeli civilians and took them hostages – because these actions do not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,” he said.

He said that Gaza was an “integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we are ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there”.

He also directed attention to Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank, rejecting what he called the ambitions of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of constructing a “greater Israel”. Plans to expand the E1 settlement would “divide the West Bank into two parts and would isolate occupied Jerusalem from its surroundings and would undermine the option of the two-state solution, in a blatant violation of international law and relevant security council resolutions”.

Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at the United Nations on Friday. Rightwing allies in his government have called for a formal annexation of up to 82% of the West Bank, a “red line” for a number of US allies in the Gulf that would deepen a global standoff pitting Europe and Arab states against Israel and its main backer, the United States.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, on Wednesday said that he believed the US would also restrain Israel from formally annexing territory in the West Bank, telling the France 24 television channel: “I think it is a red line for the USA.”

In the speech, Abbas also condemned the conflation of support for Palestine with antisemitism, thanking “all the peoples and organizations around the world who protested in support of the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence and to stop the war, destruction and starvation”.

Finally, he said that Palestinians would not leave their lands.

“Palestine is ours. Jerusalem is the jewel of our heart and our eternal capital,” he said. “We will not leave our homeland.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has decried Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon, calling out “the extremist Israeli government” for its continued settlement projects that make a future Palestinian state virtually impossible.

The 89-year-old addressed world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly via videolink on Thursday after being refused a visa by the United States to travel to New York.

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“I speak to you today after almost two years in which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement,” Abbas said.

Addressing genocide

The Palestinian leader began his speech by denouncing Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which has killed at least 65,419 people and wounded 167,160 since October 2023, according to local health authorities. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble of homes and office buildings devastated by Israeli air strikes.

A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, and roughly 200 were taken captive to Gaza.

“What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression,” Abbas said.

“It is a war crime and a crime against humanity that is both documented and monitored, and it will be recorded in history books and the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries.”

The UN outlined Israel’s plans to destroy life in Gaza in a report released on Tuesday, which found that Israeli forces have “systematically destroyed” civilian life across Gaza over the past two years.

“Since October 2023, Israeli officials have demonstrated a clear and consistent intent to establish permanent military control over Gaza and to change its demographic composition while systematically destroying Palestinian life in Gaza,” the report said. It cited Israeli demolition of wells, sewage-pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants as well as the destruction of educational institutions, mosques and cemeteries.

Last week, a UN inquiry found that Israel’s war on Gaza is a genocide, a landmark moment after nearly two years of conflict that critics have called a war of vengeance without any specific goals.

Israel’s assault on Gaza intensified this week with at least 85 Palestinians killed across the territory on Wednesday.

No role for Hamas

Despite the ongoing hostilities, Abbas was clear about Hamas. He soundly rejected the group’s actions on October 7, 2023, saying the targeting of civilians and taking of captives does “not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence”.

Abbas insisted “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance,” saying Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons as part of a state-building process.

Israel’s illegal settlements

Abbas turned his attention to Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law. He said: “The extremist Israeli government continues to implement its settlement disease through illegal settlement expansion and developing projects for annexing settlements.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved forward last week with a settlement expansion plan in the West Bank that would make any future Palestinian state virtually impossible.

The Israeli leader signed an agreement to move forward with the project, which would bisect the West Bank, saying he was fulfilling his promise that “there will be no Palestinian state”.

Abbas called this plan “a blatant violation of international law and relevant Security Council resolutions”.

“Our people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip, are still living through the tragedies of the Israeli aggression and occupation for decades,” Abbas said in his speech. “Years that our people have spent under occupation, killing, arrests and settlement and the theft of money, property and lands, and this still continues without any deterrent or accountability.”

While concluding his speech, Abbas outlined several of the Palestinian Authority’s positions, including the need for an immediate and permanent end to the war in Gaza, the release of all captives and prisoners on both sides, and the need for a guarantee that residents of the Gaza Strip will be able to remain on their lands without displacement.

“No matter how much our wounds bleed and no matter how long this suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive,” Abbas said at the end of his speech.

Where do negotiations go from here?

Abbas was careful not to criticise the US government, but notably, he was not in attendance in New York.

“What’s interesting is that there’s really active diplomacy going on here, and Palestine is not present for that either,” Al Jazeera’s James Bays said after Abbas’s address, referring to a meeting this week between US President Donald Trump and Arab and Muslim leaders. From that meeting came a 21-point peace plan presented by Trump that includes a provision to stop Netanyahu from full annexation of the West Bank, Bays reported, quoting US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

While this may be a notable step forward, it is a step that was negotiated without Abbas.

“It is a plan that has been negotiated without the Palestinian Authority. Is the Palestinian Authority, under the Trump plan, going to play a role in the future of Gaza and, for that matter, the West Bank?” Bays said on Thursday from UN headquarters in New York.

Martin Griffiths, director of the Mediation Group International and a former top UN official, told Al Jazeera it’s ominous that no Palestinians appear to have been consulted about the proposal.

“I think it was very telling that in the Steve Witkoff comments, he made no mention of the Palestinians. I mean that is a red light, in my view, if you don’t include the people under consideration, and it tells us something profound about the possible plan,” Griffiths said.

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, as Erdogan sought a long-awaited deal to buy US stealth fighter jets.

As Erdogan visited the White House for the first time since 2019 during Trump’s first term, Trump called on him to use his influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow’s invasion.

Trump said that he would discuss Ankara’s wish to buy high-tech F-35 aircraft and was ready to end sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian air defence missiles.

Nato ally Turkey was booted out of the flagship US stealth fighter programme during Trump’s first term after it defiantly bought Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system.

“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage,” Trump told reporters alongside Erdogan in the Oval Office.

Trump said Erdogan was “very respected” by both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and “could have a big influence if he wanted to.
Right now, he’s being very neutral.

“The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,” Trump added.

Asked when the US sanctions on Turkey’s defence sector imposed over the Russian missiles could end, Trump replied: “If we have a good meeting, almost immediately.”

The first Trump administration took the action out of concern that Turkey’s purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft system would end up giving Nato’s main adversary a window into the alliance’s capabilities.

‘Highly opinionated’

Trump, who was wearing a badge of a gold fighter jet on the lapel of his suit jacket, confirmed that they would discuss Turkey’s push to end the long-running rift over buying more US aircraft.

“He wants the F-35 and he’s wanted that, and we’re talking about that very seriously,” Trump said, adding that Turkey also wanted to buy more of the older F-16 jets and “you’ll know about that by the end of the day”.

Trump, known for his admiration for forceful foreign leaders, has long shown a fondness for Erdogan and is embracing him despite a crackdown in Turkey on the opposition. His warm welcome also came despite the fact that Erdogan is at odds with key US ally Israel on Gaza and Syria.

“This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one, but he’s a tough one,” Trump told reporters.

“He knows about rigged elections better than anybody,” Trump added about his counterpart, after saying that they had stayed friends even while the Republican was out of office due to what he called a “rigged election”.

United States President Donald Trump has hosted his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the White House for the first time since 2019.

In a brief Oval Office news conference on Thursday, the two leaders gave reporters a preview of the issues they would discuss behind closed doors, including the sale of military equipment, trade and global conflicts.

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“ He’s a highly respected man. He’s respected very much in his country and all throughout Europe and throughout the world where they know him,” Trump said, gesturing to Erdogan. “It’s an honour to have him.”

While Trump has maintained friendly relations with Erdogan during his second term, the ties between their two countries have faced strain in recent years, particularly as a result of Turkiye’s continued trade with Russia.

Still, both leaders sought to cast their relationship in a positive light at Thursday’s meeting, which was followed by a joint lunch.

“We’ve had a very good relationship for a long time,” Trump said, adding, “ This is a tough man. This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one.”

Erdogan, for his part, said that he was “very pleased” to be returning to the White House and hoped to carry Turkiye-US relations to “a much different level”.

Here are some of the key issues the pair addressed in their wide-ranging news conference:

‘Close to a deal’ on Gaza

Thursday’s Oval Office meeting comes days after both Erdogan and Trump spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, where several world leaders pushed for recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Trump himself met Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the assembly.

Though few details have emerged about the sideline meeting, Trump officials reportedly presented their proposal to bring Israel’s war on Gaza to an end.

That war has killed at least 65,502 Palestinians and wounded 167,376 more since its start in October 2023. An independent UN commission earlier this month accused Israel of committing the crime of genocide in the territory.

On Thursday, when asked about this week’s negotiations, Trump reiterated that he had had “a very great meeting with the representatives of the most powerful countries in the Middle East”. He added that the US was “close to a deal” to end the war.

“I think we can get that one done,” Trump said. “I hope we can get it done. A lot of people are dying, but we want the hostages back.”

Trump stressed that the return of the Israeli captives held in Gaza — both the living and the bodies of the deceased — was a necessary condition to achieving a ceasefire.

The next step, he explained, was to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stress that all parties involved want the war to end.

“I believe in the peace efforts Mr Trump is leading,” Erdogan added.

The Turkish leader had been among the participants in the meeting, along with representatives from Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump tells Putin ‘time to stop’ in Ukraine

Trump has also repeatedly pledged to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and has resulted in a slow-grinding war.

But in short remarks on Thursday addressing the war, Trump briefly needled Erdogan for his country’s continued trade with Russia.

“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,” Trump said.

Earlier this week, Trump made headlines when he posted on social media that he believes Ukraine can win back all of the territory Russia has captured since the invasion began.

It was a sudden about-face for the US president, whose administration has long maintained that Ukraine would have to cede occupied territory in order to achieve peace.

At Thursday’s news conference, Trump also chastised Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing the war in Ukraine, calling it “such a waste of human life.”

“ Russia’s spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives — their lives. And they’ve gained virtually no land,” Trump said. “I think it’s time to stop, I really do.”

Trade deals and sanctions

One of the most anticipated elements of Thursday’s meeting was the prospect that the US could resume trading military aircraft with Turkiye.

In 2019, during Trump’s first term as president, the US removed Turkiye from a programme that saw Washington sell sophisticated F-35 fighter jets to allies.

The US expressed fears at the time that Turkiye’s use of Russian technology could result in the collection of US military data.

But on Thursday, Trump hinted he may lift sanctions against the sale of such aircraft to Turkiye if his meeting with Erdogan went well.

“I know he wants the F-35, and he’s wanted that,” Trump said of Erdogan. “And we’re talking about that very seriously.”

The pair also planned to discuss the transfer of F-16 fighter jets. The US had approved the sale of the F-16s to Turkiye in January 2024 after the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.

When asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s as well, Trump said of Erdogan, “I think he’ll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy.”

Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkiye’s defence industries “very soon”, adding: “If we have a good meeting, almost immediately.”

‘Major announcement’ coming on Syria

At Thursday’s news conference, Trump took time to praise Erdogan, as well, for his government’s efforts in war-torn Syria.

He also teased that he would make a “major announcement” later in the day about Syria, but did not elaborate.

Syria had faced a nearly 14-year-long civil war until last December, when a rebel offensive toppled the government of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Since the fall of al-Assad’s government, the Trump administration has begun to lift sanctions against Syria that were designed to address human rights abuses under the former president.

At Thursday’s meeting, Trump credited Erdogan with paving the way for the sanctions relief in Syria. He also praised Erdogan for his role in al-Assad’s removal.

“ I think President Erdogan is the one responsible for Syria, for the successful fight in ridding Syria of its past leader,” Trump said. “ I think this man is responsible. He doesn’t take the responsibility, but it’s actually a great achievement.”

Trump added, “I took sanctions off in order to let them breathe, because those sanctions were very strong.”

Al Jazeera correspondent Kimberly Halkett described Thursday’s meeting as “really about optics for the Turkish leader”, noting that Erdogan had been frozen out of Washington for the last four years and is now taking something of a victory lap.

Ottawa, Canada, 25 September 2025 – The Global Centre for Pluralism announces today the ten laureates for the 2025 Global Pluralism Award. These leaders are being recognised for their exceptional and courageous work to support full participation by marginalised groups in their societies, build trust and cooperation between warring parties, and create systems that foster the protection and celebration of differences around the world.

Selected from over 300 applications across 64 countries, the 2025 finalists are operating in some of the world’s most challenging contexts. From active war zones to communities facing extreme discrimination, they champion a more peaceful and equitable world and provide examples of how it is possible to make practical changes that foster pluralistic societies.

The 2025 Global Pluralism Award finalists are:

• A Land for All (Israel and Palestine): An Israeli-Palestinian movement promoting a visionary future where two states exist within a shared homeland, prioritising reconciliation and a shared belonging despite current polarisation.
• Artistic Freedom Initiative (USA): Provides critical legal and resettlement services to persecuted artists from over 60 countries, preserving cultural memories, languages and identities despite repression in their home countries.
• Cesta von (Slovakia): Empowers the Roma community to find a way out of systemic poverty to participate more fully in their broader society.
• Colombia Diversa (Colombia): Advances justice and inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people through strategic litigation and unprecedented dialogue with oppositional groups, including evangelical leaders and former combatants.
• Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas – CONAMI (Mexico): A network of Indigenous women increasing indigenous women’s participation in decision-making in Mexico and tackling gender-based violence and land rights by centring traditional knowledge in national activism.
• Mais Diferenças (Brazil): Unites Brazilians with and without disabilities to co-create tools that enable all students to experience meaningful learning together.
• New Life Trust Organization (Afghanistan): Fosters women’s entrepreneurship and inter-ethnic solidarity through skills training and artistic expression in one of the world’s most challenging contexts for gender equality.
• Nonviolent Peaceforce (International): Undertakes peacebuilding activities that build trust among all parties to conflict in countries from Ukraine to South Sudan, centring the voices of those on the peripheries to participate in building solutions.
• Southern Africa Litigation Centre (Regional): Supports marginalised populations across 12 African countries through landmark litigation to overcome systemic barriers to full legal, social, and environmental participation.
• Sudanese Youth Network for Ending the War and Establishing a Democratic Civil Transformation (Regional): Unites diverse Sudanese youth within Sudan and across six other countries around a common vision to end the war and transition to a civilian government.

“The Global Pluralism Award seeks out the world’s most powerful examples of pluralism in action. This year, we are proud to welcome 10 new exemplary leaders into our now 50-strong community of award alumni,” said Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary-General of the Global Centre for Pluralism. “This is more than a network; it is a dynamic and growing global community of practice with lessons for all of us. These leaders are on the front lines and provide vital lessons about what is possible around the world. Together, they prove that pluralism is not just an ideal, but a practical solution to the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Dr Marwan Muasher, Chair of the Global Pluralism Award jury, points out that the Award plays a role in building solidarity. “People who work on pluralism need to be recognised and acknowledged around the globe; the Award does a lot in raising awareness about the need for pluralism. It is important for this global community of practitioners to know about each other and their successes in different contexts.”

About the Global Pluralism Award

The Global Pluralism Award recognises pluralism in action. Presented every other year to individuals, organisations, governments and businesses from around the world, the Award celebrates the inspiring and brave work that is helping to build more inclusive societies where diversity is valued and protected.

The Award is conferred by the Global Centre for Pluralism, an independent, charitable organisation founded by His Highness the Aga Khan and the Government of Canada, and is made possible in part by the generous support of TD Bank Group. For more information about the Award, visit Global Pluralism Award.

BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

AFP via Getty Images

AFP via Getty Image

The websites of both the UK and Canadian embassies in Israel have come under criticism after references to “Palestine” were added to their addresses.

Global Affairs Canada updated its site to describe its Tel Aviv embassy as being located in “Palestine”, according to the Toronto Sun. The page initially listed “Israel and Palestine” before later being corrected.

The UK Foreign Office faced similar scrutiny after the website of its Consulate General in Jerusalem added “Palestine” at the bottom of the address. The location had previously been described as “East Jerusalem”.

Read More: Muslim leaders reject Gaza displacement

The changes quickly spread across social media, drawing thousands of views and comments.
“This is nuts, and of note, they’re doing it all on Rosh HaShanah when a large portion of the Jewish community is offline,” wrote X user Dan Levy.

In Canada, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said he had contacted Global Affairs, and a correction was made “a few hours later”.

In the UK, Alex Hearn, director of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: “The UK government erased Israel’s capital even on the Jewish new year.”

Also Read: US allies’ support for Palestinian statehood puts Trump’s Israel policy to test

France has also faced criticism after changing the address of its consulate in West Jerusalem to list “Palestine”.

Canada’s Tel Aviv embassy was briefly listed as “Tel Aviv, Israel, Palestine”. Hearn described this as “geographically incoherent”, adding: “This geographically incoherent address is a political statement, showing they have decided all of Israel is Palestine ‘from the river to the sea’.”

LONDON: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for an end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel’s “expansionary plans,” in a virtual address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

He demanded “intervention” to stop Israel’s war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, warning that plans for a “Greater Israel” would encroach upon the territory of other Arab states.

Gaza is “a war of genocide, destruction, starvation, and displacement,” Abbas said, adding that more than 220,000 Palestinians — the majority of them women, children and the elderly — have been killed or injured in the enclave since October 2023.

He accused Israel of starving more than 2 million people, and of destroying 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings.

“What Israel is carrying out isn’t merely an aggression. It’s a war crime and a crime against humanity that’s both documented and monitored,” he said.

“And it will be recorded in history books and the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries.”

Abbas said Israel’s settlement plans in the West Bank, including the E1 project, would make a two-state solution unviable and contravene international law and several UN Security Council resolutions. 

He noted the unchecked, violent behavior of settlers in the West Bank, saying: “They burn homes and fields. They uproot trees and attack villages, and attack unarmed Palestinian civilians. In fact, they kill them in broad daylight under the protection of the Israeli occupation army.”

Abbas cited recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a “Greater Israel,” and the recent Israeli strikes in Qatar, as reasons for concern for the broader Arab world, calling them “an escalation that’s a grave and a blatant violation of international law, which requires a decisive intervention and deterring procedures and measures.”

He was equally unequivocal in condemning the Hamas attack on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the disarming of the group.

“These actions don’t represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,” he said.

“We’ve affirmed, and will continue to affirm, that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we’re ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there. 

“Hamas won’t have a role to play in governance. Hamas and the other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security forces. We reiterate that we don’t want an armed state.”

Abbas added that though the Palestinian people “are still living the tragedies of the Israeli aggression and occupation,” progress is being made on an independent Palestinian state following high-level diplomatic efforts led by Saudi Arabia and France at a meeting on Sept. 22. 

He thanked the two countries for their efforts, as well as a raft of other governments that have recently recognized Palestinian statehood or announced plans to do so, including the UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Portugal and others. “Our people won’t forget this noble position,” Abbas said.

“We highly appreciate all the peoples and organizations around the world who protested in support of the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence, and to stop the war, destruction and starvation,” he said.

“We reject confusing the solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism, which is something that we reject based on our values and principles.”

Abbas reaffirmed the need for aid to be allowed to flow freely into Gaza through the UN, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, the release of prisoners on both sides, and an end to aggression at religious sites.

He said it is essential that the people of Gaza not be displaced from their land, that Israel release confiscated taxes to help in the reconstruction of the Occupied Territories, and called for support for the PA to hold nationwide elections within a year of the end of hostilities.

“We want a modern and democratic state that abides by international law, the rule of law and multilateralism, and the peaceful transition of power,” he added.

“We declare that we’re ready to work with US President Donald Trump, and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, the UN, and all partners to implement the peace plan that was approved in the conference that was held on Sept. 22.”

Abbas said: “Peace can’t be achieved if justice isn’t achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine isn’t freed.

“We want to live in freedom, security and peace — like all other people on Earth — in an independent sovereign state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as our capital, in security and peace with our neighbors.

“We want a modern civilian state that’s free of violence, weapons and extremism, one that respects law, human rights and invests in people, development, technology and education, not in wars and conflict.”

He added: “Palestine is ours. Jerusalem is the jewel of our heart and our eternal capital. We won’t leave our homeland. We won’t leave our lands. Our people will remain rooted like the olive trees, firm as the rocks.

“We’ll rise from under the rubble to rebuild, and to send from our blessed and holy land the messages of hope and the sound of truth and right, and build the bridges of a just peace for the people of our region and the entire world.”