President al-Assad at Gaza Summit: Gaza Destiny is ours, Arab Peace
Initiative Dead, Standing by our People and Resistance in Gaza with all
Available Means
Jan 18, 2009
www.sana.sy/eng/22/2009/01/18/208817.htm

Doha, Qatar, (SANA- Syrian news agency)- President Bashar al-Assad stressed
that the Gaza emergency summit, "despite the difficulty of convening it and
the hope that it would be attended by everybody, expressed to our people and
the world that we are with ourselves not with our enemy, with our people
against the occupation, with the children, women and elderly martyrs, and
before all of that with the heroic resistance men everywhere."

In a speech at the Gaza emergency summit in Doha on Friday, President
al-Assad added that "we extend salute to whoever gave this event a value,
salute to whoever sought and created the conditions for it, and most sincere
salute, before and after that, to the steadfastness of the people in Gaza
and to all of the resistance men against the occupation."

His Excellency said that "in these difficult moments, our responsibility as
Arab leaders seems great in offering serious and decisive answers to the
puzzling questions in the mind of every Arab citizen: How can we save the
Palestinian people from the talons of this arrogant brutality.How can we as
an Arab nation take the proper reaction to the crimes of the occupation as
we see the bodies of children and their dismembered bodies strewn
everywhere, and see in the eyes of those who survived the features of panic
mixed with the hope that bold hands would stretch out to them to rescue them
form inevitable fate after they lost safety in brave, war-exhausted Gaza.

How can we do all of that at a time where we were not able to hold our
summit before the passage of more than twenty days of the massacre due to
considerations known to everybody. is it logical that we distance our
feelings from those of the millions of people who feel deep worry for the
sufferings of their brothers in Gaza who in turn hope to get real solidarity
for them.can we be on the right side while our readings and evaluations are
on one side and the feelings of our people on the other?

The destiny of Gaza is our destiny as a whole. We have to take resolutions
that produce actions

President al-Assad added: "But in all cases, to arrive late is better than
not to arrive at all. this applies to our summit. despite the public anger
for holding it late, and despite realistic and not exaggerated hopes
embraced by our people towards the Arab summits, which reflect our official
Arab situation and greatly contradict the public case in its response to the
various challenges we face over the past few years. despite all of that, the
convening of this emergency summit was an urgent public demand by the vast
majority of the citizens on the Arab arena as we see it today at the climax
of its reaction and anger, along with the Islamic and international arenas,
against Israel's ugliness.

If it's taken for granted that we have to embrace the same feelings, then we
as officials have to be in the lead by turning these feelings into action
and resolutions that produce deeds.

The Israeli holocaust will engulf all of us as Arabs unless we extinguish it
now

In previous summits we talked about already outlined plots, but today we are
speaking about plots being applied. we were warning against approaching the
point of danger. but today the holocaust not only started but is also on its
way to move to the next stages which will engulf all of us as Arabs unless
we extinguish it now. the messages we receive from the Arab masses through
unprecedented reaction urge us to respond to them with utmost seriousness..
they are different from previous messages through reading their titles which
say to us: Walk with us, don't appease us. the content of these messages say
that the destiny of Gaza doesn't only belong to its people but rather our
destiny as a whole, and its battle is the battle of each Arab citizen.

The summit is designed to stand by Gaza, not to search for settlements at
its expense

His Excellency indicated that "the content of our summit today is based on
this: To stand by Gaza, not to search for settlements at its expense to
satisfy Israel or those who stand by it..The people of Gaza and its
resistance men are those who outline the criteria that distinguish between
the first and the second.they are the decision-makers, and our role is to
stand by them without any hesitation in everything that supports their
steadfastness, alleviates their sufferings and leads to the solution that
guarantees their security and dignity.

President al-Assad said that "if the basis for what we are going to decide
today is based on our standing by our people in Gaza in the face of the new
Nazi Israeli holocaust, in addition to our conviction of the just
Palestinian issue and the Palestinian legitimate rights, the this will not
be completed without our understanding of the essence of the problem..the
problem doesn't only lie in the occupation in itself, but in the nature and
form of the enemy we confront based on decades of different experiences with
it, which ranged from wars to failed peace attempts. This enemy which built
its existence on massacres, and consolidated its survival on destruction and
usurpation, and outlined its future on adopting the collective
extermination, is an enemy that only speaks the language of blood.

Subsequently, this enemy only understands the language of blood and the Arab
blood which was spilled since the foundation of Israel..this language and
blood were for its advocators the necessary fuel for their machine in the
stages of the foundation of the pure Jewish state which cannot be reached
without forcible deportation of the non-Jews out of Palestine or the
extermination of those who remained in it.

Therefore, what is happening in Gaza is not a mere reaction to rockets.if
these rockets didn't exist, then they would have made them exist and fired
them to find the justification. it's part of a long series that aims at
reaching the Palestine they imagined or claim: a land without people. while
the displaced Palestinians are driven to be settled by other countries or
finding an alternative home. so if we are not going to read the reasons
well, only incomplete and temporary or quick-to-collapse solutions can be
produced.

President al-Assad added that "subsequently, the peace process for us was
mere attempts that didn't develop to become a real peace process because the
Israelis are suffering from a real phobia towards peace, and because crime
makers cannot be excellent in peace making. in addition, it's a rule that a
thief would not return what they stole voluntarily. namely, they don't
return the rights unless they are forced top do so.. this is the essence of
the resistance which the resistance men understood well. their resistance
became the road to the peace which is established through the return of the
rights which we restore from an enemy that only understands the language of
force.

Peace without resistance with a heinous enemy will inevitably lead to
surrender

President al-Assad went on to say that "here lies the difference between
resistance and terrorism..the first are the Arabs and the second are the
Israelis.the first were forced to fight in defense of their rights while the
second is based on murder and aggression against the others. here definitely
comes the clear answer to the questions of how can peace seekers bring about
the peace while supporting the resistance. Syria definitely is meant by
these questions.. we will not only answer by saying that the resistance has
become a main element of the peace. but we answer in an opposite question:
How can a man who wants to establish peace abandon the resistance and not
support it. here lies the difference between peace and surrender. peace
without resistance with a heinous and criminal enemy will inevitably lead to
surrender.

The President added that "this quick image of some elements that
characterize the Arab-Israeli conflict outlines the trends of the possible
solutions to the greater issue, outcomes and spin-offs. What is happening in
Gaza today is one of its offshoots and results. dealing with the result
necessitates dealing with the cause to guarantee the success.

Everybody knows that Israel wanted to turn its aggression on Gaza into a
separation point in the history of its conflict with the Arabs. through its
attempts to break the will of the Palestinians, Israel sought to create a
new reality and a new history to chronicle the event with pre-Gaza and
post-Gaza.... it sought to bring about an achievement that changes the new
resistance-founded equations of the conflict with the Arabs and the
Palestinians, especially after the victory of the national resistance in
Lebanon, and after the resistance in Palestine got stronger. and also after
the culture of resistance started to grow in the mind of the Arabs.

President al-Assad said that "it seems clear and obvious that Israel didn't
learn from the lessons of history. this is a principle that is taken for
granted: Whoever doesn't have land doesn't have history.Whoever doesn't have
history doesn't have memory. Israel built many of its plots and schemes on
the basis that time, Zionist media, and its supporters as well as the
repeated disappointments, will make the next Arab generations change their
points of view towards Israel, and subsequently surrender to its aims and
accept its policies, namely abandoning their land, dignity and sovereignty
and becoming salves who work for its interests and desires voluntarily.

But did things go that way? In fact through a quick look into the course of
events since the usurpation of Palestine we notice gradual renaissance and
growing awareness among the Arabs towards their issues and stronger
determination among the young generation not to repeat the mistakes
committed by some ancestors.

We will never make concessions or surrender

No concession, giving away or surrender: the peace of the strong isn't
given to the weak, the peace of the brave isn't granted to the cowards. this
means that time failed those who bet on it, as did their huge military
machines in Lebanon, and as they are doing to in Gaza, apart from the size
of destruction or the murders committed. this in not heroism. what we mean
is the will which diminished the idea of Israeli expansionism, beginning
from Lebanon and then in Gaza, and later will be in the Bank and the
Golan.it's the will which reversed the idea of immigration among the
Palestinians into sticking to the land.

His Excellency said that "subsequently, no option is left for the Israelis
except submitting to peace and its requirements.this peace cannot be brought
about as long as the symbol of pride in Israel is represented by whose hands
are more stained with the blood of Arabs. This big peace starts today in
Gaza, which is little in terms of area but big and great in terms of
resistance. this peace starts with stopping the aggression which lays the
basis for ceasefire, withdrawal of the Israeli invading forces, lifting the
unjust siege which is considered as a non-military war that leads to slow
death for the Palestinians. whoever is subject to death cannot be blamed for
anything.

Despite all of that, the resistance was committed to the truce while Israel
continued to commit assassinations in public, leading to the martyrdom of
nearly forty Palestinians over the past few months prior to the
aggression..subsequently the allegations circulated by Israel and its
supporters on the responsibility of the Palestinian party for what is going
on are clear-cut lies which the Israelis exercised and did extremely well.

The closure of Israeli embassies, severing ties with Israel and activating
the Arab boycott of Israel

President al-Assad added: "At present, there are a number of initiatives
proposed by more than one state, which have not yet been completed because
of the refusal of Israel to cease fire.

He added that "the stated justification is stopping the smuggling of arms,
and in my opinion, everybody knows quite well that the prevention of arms
smuggling or the prevention of smuggling in general is one of the functions
of states. Is there a Palestinian state in existence? Does Israel recognize
it..and what are its borders? From our side as Arab countries in parallel
with initiatives and in addition to verbal support, we must undertake a
number of practical steps, on top of which is the closure of the Israeli
embassies immediately, severing any direct or indirect ties with Israel, in
addition to the activation of the provisions of the Arab boycott of Israel."
"In this context, Syria has decided and announced immediately after the
start of the aggression to stop the indirect peace negotiations indefinitely
after consultations with Turkey. The Arab Peace Initiative is as good as
dead

His Excellency stressed that "regarding the Arab Peace Initiative, we
consider it as already dead, because the conditions of approval and
subsequent events have indicated that as we pressed to provide evidence of
our serious desire in peace and presented further concessions, Israel went
too far in its arrogance and disregard for our legitimate rights." "The Arab
Peace Initiative is based primarily on peace, and peace hasn't been
achieved, therefore, it is in fact non-existent. In fact, Sharon had killed
it on the first day after we announced this initiative at the Arab Summit in
Beirut in 2002; the very next day Sharon invaded Jenin and killed hundreds
of Palestinians, and this response was the direct reaction and the death
notice of the Initiative by the Israeli side, but we insisted that it was
still alive and kept sending delegations after every Arab summit... We
always were faced by further humiliation to our Initiative, so if we demand
to withdraw it was already withdrawn by Israel... If we call for its death
it was already killed by Israel... What remains for us as Arabs to do is to
transfer the registry of this Initiative from the registry of the living to
that of the dead."

"On the other hand, we must stand by the people of Gaza and the resistance
officially, publicly, materially and by all means without exception, and to
do everything possible to support their steadfastness in the face of the
aggression, particularly by opening the crossing points for individuals,
relief and assistance immediately. we also support the idea of a fund for
the rebuilding of Gaza, with the call for an international conference to
this end," President al-Assad said.

Lifting the siege imposed on Gaza Strip is key to the continuation of
steadfastness

His Excellency added that "we must also take legal procedures to hold Israel
accountable despite the lack of our confidence in the justice of the
international bodies concerned, but this is for history to register that
they are not only racists, but they are the most dangerous form of Nazism in
the modern era, but let's be frank. these steps will remain weak in
comparison with what we have to do. Gaza is not only injured by war but also
by the siege, and lifting this siege is the key for the continuation of
steadfastness, the key for the protection of children from death, and the
key to the success of these proposals by their maximum and not the minimum
limits. "Syria stood with the resistance in Lebanon and proved victorious,
thanks to the resistance fighters first and foremost.we don't claim this
victory for ourselves, but the stand of the brother by his brother is
effective to a large extent, as he provides him with the means for power and
strength. however, keeping the blockade is like someone who prevents the
air, food and medicine from the injured and prevents others from providing
assistance to them. it is an unjust siege that will not be forgiven by God
and will not be forgiven by peoples.

President al-Assad said "we are a nation of peace, and our national, Arab
and humane ethics are based on peace, and because we are so we tried to
forget that there were the massacres of Deir Yassin, Kafr Qasim, Jenin, Qana
I and Qana II and many other Israeli massacres against the Arabs, but Israel
insists on reminding us of its truth... Since we are the owners of a rich
memory, since we are the people of history and owners of the land, we
promise them that we will keep remembering and most importantly, we will
make sure that our children remember as well. we will keep for them the
photos of Gaza children with their open wounds and their blood flowing over
their toys.we will tell them about the martyrs, the bereaved, the widows and
the disabled, and we will teach them that the strong believer is better and
more beloved to God than the weak believer. An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth, and the instigator is the unjust. what was taken by force can
only be restored by force."

"We will explain to them that whoever loses the memory of the past will lose
the future, and we will hang on the walls of their rooms a slogan for every
Arab child coming to this life that says 'do not forget' so that the child
grows up and says to them I will not forget and I will not forgive."

President al-Assad added "I assure them that what they are doing and the war
crimes they are committing will only bring them new Arab generations that
are more hostile to Israel.the immunity of these new generation will further
develop, and their will shall harden stronger and faster in a manner
deadlier than the development and strength of the Israeli military arsenal.
this means in the equation of reality that for every Arab child killed,
dozens of resistance fighters are born, and this also means that they are
digging graves with their own hands for their children and grandchildren."

"Today they have the option to sow what they want for the future, good or
bad... but afterwards they would not have the option to determine the type
of harvest... They have sown blood and will reap only blood, and when the
plant ripens it will be much greater than the seed that yielded it." "I
greet and thank my brother, His Highness Prince Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,
Emir of the State of Qatar, for his efforts for holding the Summit... I
thank all the presidents and Arab and Muslims officials who contributed to
the summit.

Ghossoun / Ahmad Fathi ZAHRA / H. Sabbagh