ACD/ Palestinian President: Summit Offers Chance to Enhance Impactful Dialogue Alongside Official Diplomacy

Doha: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed his country's efforts to get rid of the occupation and settlements and stop the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem, leading to the complete end of the occupation of the State of Palestine with its capital, East Jerusalem. Giving his speech at the 3rd Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit (ACD) on Thursday in Doha, he stated 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 that the State of Palestine embodies sports diplomacy, through its participation in all international sports forums, where athletes carry the cause of their steadfast people who insist on life. Abbas added that this summit is being held while the region is facing great dangers due to the insistence of the Israeli occupation state on the approach of aggression and violence, as the Palestinian people, including their ath letes, as well as the brotherly Lebanese people are being subjected to a brutal Israeli war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children, women and the elderly, pointing out that the ongoing Israeli aggression has destroyed more than 90 percent of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including sports facilities and installations. He stressed that peace and tolerance cannot coexist with occupation, war of extermination, racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing, oppression, 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 brutal aggression against Palestine and Lebanon. Abbas said that holding this ACD summit under the title of "Sports Diplomacy" represents an opportunity to enhance dialogue alongside official diplomacy, as it is diplomacy that eliminates barriers and provides spaces for human relations based on fa ir competition within the framework of governing laws, regardless of identity, religion, race or language. Keywords Source: Qatar News Agency