Selected Statements From the Palestinian Press

“Israel received promises from the Americans, but it will not get peace from the Palestinians by confiscating their lands and water, and denying the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and resettle their lands.

Ahmed Qurai’ (Abu Ala’), Palestinian Prime Minister, al-Quds, 16 April 2004

“I reaffirm the necessity to give Palestinians a greater role in negotiating their future. I reject the violation of international resolutions and call to respect the 1967 borders and right of return for Palestinian refugees.”
Husni Mubarak, Egyptian President, al-Ayyam, 17 April 2004

“There is no chance to make peace in the Middle East, unless Palestinian refugees are allowed to return to their homes inside Israel.”
Rafik al-Hariri, Lebanese Prime Minister, al-Ayyam, 21 April 2004

“The Jordanian government reaffirms the right of return for Palestinian refugees, in order to reach a solution to their case according to the UN Resolution 194 and the Arab initiative.”
Marwan Moa’sher, Jordanian Foreign Minister, al-Quds, 16 April 2004

“The United States of America is not qualified now to play a role as a mediator in the peace process, after President Bush’s support for Sharon’s plan.”
Naser al-Qudwa, Palestine Representative in the UN, al-Quds, 16 April 2004

“American President George Bush can’t negotiate in the name of the Palestinian people and cancel UN Resolutions 242, 338 and 194 and the agreements and the road map. The shorter way to make peace is through ending the Israeli occupation and the Israeli withdrawal from the 1967 occupied territories and resolving the Palestinian refugee problem based on the UN Resolution 194.”
Saeb Erekat, Palestinian Minister for Negotiation Affairs, al-Hayyat al-Jadida, 15 April 2004

“The Palestinian people will continue their just struggle until they achieve their freedom and independence and their rights and especially their sacred right to return to their original homes.”
Jamal Shati, head of the Refugee Committee (PLC), al-Quds, 19 April 2004

“The position of the American President is a new Nakba and a real catastrophe for the Palestinian people, and the most dangerous in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Taysir Nasrallah, member of the Palestine National Council, Balata Refugee Camp, al-Quds, 17 April 2004

“The American position that legitimizes the [Israeli] settlement policy and the occupation of the lands by military force and denies the right of millions of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes is a dangerous indicator and damages any chance to continue the peace process in the Middle East.”
National and Islamic Emergency Committee, Bethlehem District, al-Quds, 17 April 2004