Mahmoud Abbas Quotes

Needless to say, if the Arab-Israeli conflict is about interstate disputes and the need to resolve the future of the West Bank and Gaza, it can be solved; if it is a religious conflict, nothing but violence is ahead.

The time has come - and must come - for multilateral conversations about a secure peace in all of Europe.

It is the hope of the European Union that Ariel Sharon will keep the peace process alive and continue the dialogue according to the wishes of all the parties involved.

Our response has been, 'Well, let's then make an effort to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to sit around the table.' That hasn't happened. So we only have ourselves to blame for this crisis.

My colleagues and I have gone in the footsteps of our predecessors since the very first day we were called by our people to care for their future. We went any place, we looked for any avenue, we made any effort to bring about negotiations between Israel and its neighbors, negotiations without which peace remains an abstract desire.

Debating the peace process to most Israelis is the equivalent of debating the color of the shirt you were going to wear when landing on Mars.

Our problem with Israel is that its leaders always talk about war and security but never about peace.

You know, I said in the U.N., I said to President Abbas, 'Look, we're in the same city, we're in the same building, for God's sake, the U.N. Let's just sit down and begin to talk peace.'

It's necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track.

We believe that we should come to an agreement with the Palestinians. But we need two to tango.

I was part of a government that tried to resolve the question of Kosovo by war. Perhaps there is some justice that today I should be the person most responsible for finding a peaceful solution.

I feel that we don't have the luxury of asking whether or not the Palestinians and Israelis can achieve peace. I think we have to just ask the question of when and how.

Since the Six-Day War, the whole world, which is the real arena of battle between us and the Palestinians, believes that Israel is right in regard to procedure, namely problems and disputes should be solved around the negotiating table.

There is nothing that I'd love to do more than negotiate with Palestinians. This is my desire. This is my dream. This is my mission.

I hope that France - and all of Europe - we would take an initiative for the year 2012 to be the year of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Everyone assumes America must play the leading role in crafting some settlement or compromise between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But Jefferson, Madison, and Washington explicitly warned against involving ourselves in foreign conflicts.

There is not going to be a peace process unless there is talks involving Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas, and I think everyone knows that.

We can not go back to a situation where we are cozy with the separatists.

The United States sits down with her enemies because they have some semblance of power.

Peacemaking and peacekeeping should run in parallel.

There is no such thing as a conflict that cannot be ended.

I am sick of answering questions about the fucking peace process.

Conduct peace talks only with those among the Arabs residing in the Land of Israel who are truly willing to recognize the existence of the State of Israel. As to all those who want to continue the battle against Israel, it is incumbent upon us -- including, and above all, the Government and Prime Minister -- to obey the law and wage war against them until their demise.

Everybody knows what I represent. My message is that Israel wants peace, and I am going to do everything possible to find ways to get this peace, this objective of all our people. All of us want peace. The differences are about the conditions of this peace.

There are no military solutions - dialogue and diplomacy are the only guarantee of lasting peace.