The Revolutionary Council of the Fatah Movement held its twelfth regular session, "The Martyr National Leader Abdul-Ilah Al-Atira Session," this evening, Thursday, in the presence of the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and members of the movement's Central Committee.

The first session was opened after the quorum was reached, with a speech by His Excellency in which he discussed the latest political developments.

The President said, "We meet today in the midst of another difficult phase that our national cause is going through, as the Israeli occupation continues its tyranny and aggression against our people, violating all international laws and treaties, without deterrence or accountability, in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. This is a phase through which it aims to undermine the two-state solution, weaken the Palestinian National Authority, and impose punitive policies and ethnic cleansing on our people. These policies in Jerusalem differ from those in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, with the aim of displacing our people and preventing the establishment of the Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital."

President Abbas added: "For a year and a half, our people have been subjected to a horrific destructive catastrophe and a war of genocide that has claimed the lives of 160,000 martyrs and wounded, and the destruction of more than 70% of the homes and facilities in the Gaza Strip. We have also witnessed persistent attempts to displace our people from Gaza and impose new facts on the ground."

The President continued, "We reiterate our firm position in confronting the displacement plans, which we have rejected and which the majority of the world's countries have rejected with us. We also affirm and work to consolidate the ceasefire, ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, have the State of Palestine assume its responsibilities and tasks in the Gaza Strip, and preserve the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine, noting that the Authority's crews have begun their work at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings."

President Abbas addressed the issue of the occupation's attempts to undermine the work of UNRWA, saying: We reaffirm the role of UNRWA as an irreplaceable international organization, and the necessity of preventing the occupation from undermining it.

The President added, "We also renew our absolute rejection of all Israeli practices, including settlement, theft of our land, and attacks on our people and our holy sites in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

He pointed out that at a time when the occupation deliberately undermines our efforts to impose the rule of law in Jenin and other areas, where our security services were about to complete their mission, we affirm that our security services will continue their missions to preserve security and stability, despite the Israeli obstacles to their missions.

The President called for the necessity of serious action to implement the two-state solution and end the occupation in cooperation with brothers and friends, on the basis of international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. We are also working in this regard in all international forums and courts, and with the Global Alliance and the Arab-Islamic Committee in order to mobilize international support for implementing the two-state solution, preserving the legitimate rights of our people, international recognition of the State of Palestine and obtaining its full membership in the United Nations, and holding the International Peace Conference in New York City in June under the joint presidency of Saudi Arabia and France.

President Abbas said: We reiterate here and everywhere that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of our people, and that the unity of our internal front, strengthening the steadfastness of our people, and staying away from destructive outbidding are the basis for the steadfastness of our national project and saving it from liquidation.

The President noted that the reform program that the Palestinian government is working on is a necessity and a national interest, and we must all support it to ensure improving the performance of its national institutions, enhancing confidence in them, improving the services provided to citizens, most notably health and education, advancing the national economy, empowering women and youth, working with civil society institutions, unions, syndicates and the private sector, enhancing justice, transparency, integrity and accountability, the rule of law and expanding social protection.

He called for strengthening the national front in these critical circumstances that our cause is going through, saying: “We must all work together to strengthen our national front, preserve the PLO as the sole legitimate representative, thwart any meetings, conferences or attempts to create alternative or parallel frameworks, protect the Palestinian cause and strengthen the steadfastness of our people at home and abroad. Sanctions must be imposed on anyone who participates in these meetings and conferences without obtaining official permission.”

The President added: "We must support the steadfastness of all segments of our people, which will strengthen the internal front. We reiterate that we are proud of the sacrifices of the martyrs, prisoners, and wounded, and we feel the suffering and sacrifices of the refugees at home and abroad. It is our responsibility to return the displaced in Gaza, Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas to their homes and provide them with shelter and services."

He continued: "The Israeli aggression on our people has had additional repercussions, which have placed new responsibilities before us, which we are working to include in our economic and social support programs. In the Gaza Strip, 160,000 people were killed and injured, thousands of families are homeless, thousands of children have lost their families, 350,000 families have lost everything and need assistance, in addition to 250,000 workers who have lost their jobs, which requires serious consideration to support all these groups and strengthen their steadfastness."

President Abbas added, "We have established a comprehensive social protection and care system, and amended some laws to secure the needs of all affected categories of Palestinian families who need empowerment and assistance in Palestine. This system will work to preserve their dignity and material needs, and we hope that everyone will trust us."

Following the President's speech, reports will be presented by the Revolutionary Council and members of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement.

During the three days of the session, the comprehensive aggression that our people are being subjected to in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem will be discussed, as well as the ongoing political movements, in addition to examining national issues and a number of internal issues of the movement.