In speech at conference "to refute the Zionist narrative," Abbas claims "Israel is a foreign body in this region… created by Western states for purely colonialist purposes"
Excerpt of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ recorded speech that was played at the beginning of “The Zionist narrative – between refutation and deconstruction” conference
Headline: “The [PA] president: A gradual change has occurred in global opinion on the path to recognition of the Palestinian narrative”
“[PA President Mahmoud Abbas said:] ‘I welcome the efforts that have been made to convene this conference, which is refuting the Zionist narrative that falsifies the truth and history, and which all the documents and research studies prove is the product of colonialism.
They planned, executed, and funded the planting of Israel as a foreign body in this region in order to dismantle it and leave it weak. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the forces of colonialism organized the immigration of the Jews to Palestine following the issuing of the Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.), which was drafted by the US and Britain (sic., the US did not draft it), and which they imposed on the British Mandate for Palestine and the Covenant of the League of Nations, until the issuing of [UN] partition resolution 181 of 1947 and their recognition of the State of Israel…
This caused the uprooting of more than half of the original owners of the land, the Palestinians, who currently number more than 6.5 million refugees.
Even though we agreed to a painful historic agreement when we recognized the State of Israel in the 1967 borders according to UN resolutions 242 and 338, and despite the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has violated these agreements and continued stealing lands, establishing settlements, establishing an apartheid regime, and ethnic cleansing through military force…
The world has begun to see Israel as it truly is, a state of occupation and apartheid. I am certain that the contribution of the researchers and participants in this conference will have an important influence on everything concerning the clarification and explanation of the truth regarding the false myths and stories of this Zionist project, which was created by the Western states for purely colonialist purposes.’”