Palestine President: Nakba resulted from power imbalance

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday 'the nakba' (catastrophe of the Israeli occupation of Palestine in 1948) resulted from a serious world power imbalance. "The powers which emerged victorious from World War II sided themselves with Israel while Palestine and the other Arab countries found no allies and lacked unity," Abbas argued in a televised speech on the eve of the Nakba Day. The day, annually commemorated by the Palestinians, follows the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. "The Israeli leaders at that time seemed to have achieved their objective which is to render Palestine into 'people-less land and land-less people' whereas the Palestinians turned to be, in the eyes of the world, a bunch of refugees who are in need of help and charity," Abbas regretted. The Palestinian leader recalled the ordeals of his people, whether those who were internally-displaced or rendered refugees in neighboring countries, during and in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. "While recalling the bitter suffering of my generation when we lacked the leadership and identity at that time, I feel optimism today since we became a more united, more enlightened and coherent entity with a leadership that really counts on the international arena," he stressed. "During decades of relentless struggle the Palestinian people were able to defeat those who aimed to erase our identity and strip us off legitimacy," President Abbas went on. He noted that the Palestinians are open about the international efforts aiming to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the US-conceived two-state solution, appreciating the International Diplomatic Quartet and US Secretary of State John Kerry for their efforts in this regard. Meanwhile, he affirmed commitment to the national fundamentals, including the establishment of the independent state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital and the resettlement of refugees pursuant to UN resolution 194.