IMRA

RAFAH, September 12, 2005, (WAFA-PLO news agency)- President Mahmoud Abbas Monday raised the flag of Palestine at Rafah Crossing at the border line with Egypt.

He told reporters that such moment is undesirable, affirming that such happiness would be not complete as long as Jerusalem is still under Israeli occupation.

President;;s Abbas visit to Rafah is a part of his tour in the evacuated colonies in Gaza.

Minister of Interior, Nasr Youssef, Secretary General of Presidency, Tayyeb Abdulrahim , Head of the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department, Dr. Saeb Ereikatand other Palestinian officials, accompanied the President.

Thousands of the celebrating citizens and children were welcoming President Abbas and praising his efforts for the Palestinian people and peace. They threw flowers at his convoy.

The citizens cheered when President affirmed that the step after the Israeli evacuation is the political work for the return of refugees, ending colonization in the West bank and establishing the Palestinian state.

Before his visit to Rafah, President Abbas said that there are several issues, relevant to the Israeli evacuation from Gaza, are still debatable with no solution.

During his tour in the evacuated colonies at the northern tip of Gaza Abbas asserted that the issues of the airport and the border crossings have not been solved yet.

While he was touring the areas were known as “Duggit colony”, President stressed the integrity of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

He also reiterated that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) refuses turning Gaza into a “big prison.”

President Abbas reiterated that the PNA would focus on ending the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and establishing the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2005 and is filed under news.