“Today, our steadfast Palestinian people are subjected to a comprehensive war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem, with the aim of liquidating our national cause and turning it into a humanitarian cause, in a repetition of the 1948 Nakba,” Abbas said.
“But we tell them, the more your aggression and terrorism increase, the stronger, more determined, and more determined our people will become in adhering to their land and their legitimate national rights,” he added.
The Palestinian people face a “genocidal war” amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, Abbas stated.
“Israel’s genocidal war will not break our will. We will remain steadfast on our land and continue the struggle until we achieve victory and independence,” he continued.
The Palestinian leader stressed that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip “are one geographical unit that is indivisible”.
Abbas went on to call for putting an end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and for expediting the delivery of humanitarian aid to the blockaded enclave.
“The only solution is to seek a political solution based on international legitimacy resolutions through holding an international peace conference that ends the Israeli occupation of all the territories of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194.”
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has also released a statement ahead of the New Year condemning the “Israeli war machine’s persistence in the war of genocide”.
“We welcome the New Year and the 59th anniversary of the start of the Palestinian revolution, yet the wounds of our people are bleeding due to the Israeli war machine’s persistence in the war of genocide, destruction, and displacement.”
He stated: “We reaffirm our demand at the beginning of this year for an immediate ceasefire, and we hope and work for the New Year to be the year when the Palestinian people obtain their fair and legitimate national rights to return, self-determination.”
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and ground since the Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, killing at least 21,822 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 56,451 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
