Mr. Speaker,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
While, we, the Palestinian leadership were busy in dealing with the ongoing and escalating Israeli aggression against our people, we received with great shock the news about the brutal, terrorist attack on vital American institutions in Washington D.C. and New York that resulted in thousands of innocent victims.
First Palestinian reactions were initiated by President Arafat who took the following steps:
1. Sent a condolences letter to President Bush. He expressed his deep sorrow and shock for the disaster and sympathy with the American people in their ordeal. The President condemned this ugly crime against humanity that goes against all the ethics and values of the Palestinian, Arab and Moslem people.
2.The Palestinian leadership issued a statement in which it condemned this crime and asserted its readiness to join in a collective international effort against terrorism. After all, the Palestinian people are its first victims who suffered most compared to any other nation in the world.
3. Despite the Israeli and Zionist attempts to accuse certain Palestinian elements of being behind this awful crime, our Palestinian people were quick to condemn the act and expressed their solidarity and sympathy with the American people and victims. They followed President Arafat footsteps in donating blood to the American victims.

The Palestinian government stress the following:

1. The Zionist attempts to draw the world attention towards the Palestinians, Arabs, and Moslems as being the perpetrators of this crime must be faced with a strong joint Arab and Islamic effort to condemn all kinds of terrorist acts. Such efforts should be made through the Arab League, the Islamic conference and all other Arab and Islamic institutions to undermine these Zionist attempts. The whole world should be made aware of this Zionist incitement against Palestinians, Arabs and Moslems.
2. This brutal act against the symbols of American pride and stability should initiate an international collective effort to deal with terrorism. This effort must be based on an objective policy that seek the right solution to the real issues and problems in conflict and war ridden regions, especially, the Middle East. Poor nations should be assisted and development efforts there should be doubled, and wider participation in dealing with explosive issues should be encouraged.
3. What happened in Washington and New York calls for the need to rationalize the basis, means and content of international relations. Terrorism has now become a key issue to all nations and to us , the Palestinians, our cause is just , we are partners with the other powers in the Middle East. We must see clearly where we are heading at in the new highly complex atmosphere, we should realize that our moves are closely watched by some who are waiting for the right opportunity to attack taking advantage of this particularly serious and critical stage that the world is going through. In anticipation of the impending international decision and its likely implications, we emphasize that we as an entity, people and leadership are part and parcel of the world community and international legitimacy, we are fully committed to its laws and values. We realize that there are others who are ignoring and violating them. International legitimacy must be brought to life again to be the sole basis for conflict resolution. We have the right to share in defining the concepts of terrorism and the ways and means of combating it. Its danger threaten us all, it is the duty of every member of the international community to join this collective effort. We consider that killing civilians en masse or individually is terror, occupying other peoples' land and building settlements on it is terror, collective punishment is terror, all forms of imposing siege is terror. We were the first to condemn terror acts against Israeli civilians, likewise, we want to hear condemnations of what our people have been subjected to for months, killing, torture, collective punishment. As we truly sympathize with the American people in their painful ordeal, we reiterate our readiness to share in combating terror and in providing for regional and international stability.

Mr. Speaker,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the moment that American Moslem, Christian and Jewish blood was shed in Washington and New York, the blood of our children was shed in Gaza, Jenin and throughout our homeland under the Israeli fire. This unity in blood and suffering calls for international action and a courageous stand on the part of the US administration to continue its efforts aimed at bringing an immediate end to the cycle of violence in our part of the world. In this context, Secretary of State Mr. Collin Powell called President Arafat in order to push for a meeting with Shimon Peres. The Europeans did the same and so did the UN and our Arab brethren. The meeting was tentatively set for Sunday, September 16, but, we started receiving messages from Israel that shed doubts on the value of such a meeting and called for its cancellation. Such messages are not directed against us or our Arab brethren but against the whole world that pushed strongly for such a meeting. These messages should be read carefully, for there are elements in Israel who are xenophobic and still believe that military power can change well established facts or impose on the Palestinians unconditional surrender and concessions. We say loud and clear to the Israeli people and their leadership and to the whole world that we seek peace , justice and our rights, you Israelis admit to your occupation of our land, more than half of you reject settlements on this occupied land, your leaders admit that there is no military solution to our conflict for fear of its ramifications throughout the Arab world. Why are you ignoring the only path for ending once and for all the conflict and bloodshed?. The only solution is through implementing the Tenet plan and the Mitchell plan and the return to the negotiating table, solving all the final status issues according to the international legitimacy and all the agreements which were signed before the recent events.
This is the solution that we seek and want, that the whole world want and support. We confirm our readiness to meet Mr. Peres hoping he will have full authorization needed for making the prospective meeting and understanding successful.

Mr. Speaker,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The whole world is going through a critical stage, this is the time for enlightened action that is based on practical and careful calculations and self searching. Our internal situation should be carefully reconsidered. Politics remain a necessity for our continued steadfastness and for efficient work. However, this does not depend on the government alone because it requires collective work, this way, the PLC will be in the right position, all our national institutions will be in the lead, our Palestinian future requires that. The events that will ensue will dictate that we move in this direction.