 Interim Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has told parliament that he will follow in Yasir Arafat's footsteps and demand that Israel recognise the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Abbas spoke a day after a small group of leaders of the ruling Fatah movement chose him as its candidate for 9 January elections for Palestinian Authority president, despite demands by Fatah's young guard that a primary be held. The speech marked the first time since Arafat's death on 11 November that Abbas outlined his views on the conflict with Israel. Abbas appeared to be sending a message to Fatah's new guard that he would stand tough in future talks with Israel, despite his pragmatism and opposition to violence. Abbas' ideas about a peace deal with Israel have always been close to those of Arafat: a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as a capital, and Israeli recognition of the right of return of roughly four million refugees and their descendants.
| I still haven't quite gotten it: if you've got your own state, why do you need somebody else's? |
| 'cause their own state won't be as big as they want. |
The refugee issue has contributed to the failure of previous peace talks. Israel has said it is willing to repatriate a few thousand refugees as a good-will gesture, but that absorbing millions would destroy the Jewish character of the state. At a memorial ceremony for Arafat at the Palestinian parliament, Abbas said he would walk in the footsteps of the late Palestinian leader. "We promise you [Arafat] that our hearts will not rest until we achieve the right of return for our people and end the tragic refugee issue," he said. |