PLO representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, speaks during 1st Arab International Beirut Social Forum 

Date: 13 / 07 / 2007 Time: 13:58

Beirut - Ma'an - 

The first “Arab International Beirut Social Forum” opened in Beirut on Thursday at the UNESCO palace in the Lebanese capital.

The representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, told the conference, which was organised by the "Anti-Israel & Globalization & Hegemony Movement", that the Israeli war machine destroyed Lebanon but could not destroy the Lebanese will and desire for freedom, democracy and independence.

"The Lebanese people and resistance defeated the Israeli arrogance in last year's war on Lebanon, in the same way that the Palestinians did in the Karama battle in 1968," Zaki said, referring to a battle in the Jordan valley in which Palestinian and Jordanian forces dented the Israelis' feeling of invincibility following their overwhelming victory in 1967.

Zaki said that the Lebanese and the Palestinian resistance broke "the Israeli legend of power" and also revealed the weaknesses of the "Zionist entity."

He said that the Palestinians and the Lebanese have shed a lot of blood on the path to freedom and independence. "This is the way towards Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine; the way towards resisting the settlements and the apartheid wall and challenging the siege, the roadblocks and barriers in the occupied territories," he assured.

Zaki also condemned Fatah Al-Islam's acts and their plans against Lebanon and the Palestinians in Lebanon. He said that they have "taken the camp hostage and targeted both the Palestinians and the Lebanese people."

The PLO representative in Lebanon also condemned what Hamas did in the Gaza Strip and compared it to what happened in Nahr Al Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. "What happened in both cases targeted the Palestinian issue," Zaki said.

He concluded by calling on the world to support the Palestinians and the PLO. He also appealed for greater backing for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He also appealed for support for the right of return for the Palestinian refugees.

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