Fatah Central Committee member: Palestinians have been in Israel “for tens of thousands of years”

"Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Tawfiq Tirawi, said that the speech by President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN was a historical [speech] par excellence, expressing the tragedy of the entire Palestinian people, from 1948 until today, and presented the Palestinians' demands with regard to independence, freedom, and the establishment of a state. He said, 'This was a historical speech at a historical time and at a historical place.' In response to Netanyahu's speech, he said: 'This was a pale speech that repeated itself and said nothing new; in it he expressed the occupation regime [and said] that it has historical rights to this land, as though the world doesn't know that the Prophet [Muhammad] ascended [to heaven] from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Netanyahu spoke as though this was the land of his forefathers, forgetting that we have been here for tens of thousands of years.'"