President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas said that the State of Palestine seeks to get rid of the occupation and settlement and to stop the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem, leading to the complete end of the occupation of the land of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His Excellency added in his speech at the Third Summit of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue under the slogan: "Sports Diplomacy", today, Thursday, in the Qatari capital, Doha, that despite all the difficulties created by the occupation, Palestinian athletes, like the rest of their people, continue with perseverance and steadfastness to achieve proud accomplishments, and the State of Palestine embodies sports diplomacy, through its participation in all international sports forums, where our athletes carry the cause of their steadfast people who are determined to live.

The President continued: This summit is being held while our region is facing great dangers due to the insistence of the Israeli occupation state on its approach of aggression and violence. Our Palestinian people, including its athletes, as well as the brotherly Lebanese people, are being subjected to a brutal Israeli war of extermination, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children, women and the elderly. The ongoing Israeli aggression has also destroyed more than 90% of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including sports facilities and installations.

His Excellency stressed that peace and tolerance cannot coexist with occupation, war of extermination, racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing, oppression and injustice, preventing the Palestinian people from achieving their aspirations for freedom and independence, and aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people, calling on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the barbaric aggression against Palestine and Lebanon.

The President said that holding this Asian summit under the title: "Sports Diplomacy" represents an opportunity to enhance dialogue in a language no less influential than official diplomacy, as it is a diplomacy that eliminates barriers and provides spaces for human relations based on fair competition, within the framework of governing laws, regardless of identity, religion, race or language.