Arafat Calls on Israelis to Reach Peace With Palestinians

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 01, 2002

Arafat Calls on Israelis to Reach Peace With Palestinians

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday called on the Israelis to reach peace with the Palestinians in a new year speech to the Palestinian people and the world.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday called on the Israelis to reach peace with the Palestinians in a new year speech to the Palestinian people and the world.

"I call for a bright future for your (Israeli) children and our children to live in peace, forgiveness and co-existence on the holy land and in the Middle East," Arafat said in the televised speech delivered at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

In the speech, which also marked the 37th anniversary of the Palestinian Revolution, Arafat said that "we raise our hands to make the peace of the brave and end the reality of occupation, settlements, aggressive crimes and siege."

It was the third televised speech made by Arafat in the past three weeks, in which he reiterated the Palestinians' wish to end more than 15 months of bloodshed between Israel and the Palestinians.

"It is true that there are people in Israel who do not want to see the end of the violence and the establishment of a Palestinian state, they still see a solution by their warplanes and tanks to make our people kneel," Arafat said.

More than 1,100 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.

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