Brasília – This Friday (31st), the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, laid the cornerstone for the new Palestinian embassy in Brasília, in a plot donated by the Brazilian government. At the event, he gave thanks for the recognition of the Palestinian State by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva little over a month.
“You cannot imagine how happy the Palestinian people were with this announcement,” said Abbas to an audience of politicians, diplomats and representatives of the community of Arab origin, especially of the Palestinian colony, who met underneath a tent at the plot of the future embassy, because the morning was rainy. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce was represented by its new Marketing vice president, Rubens Hannun, and by the secretary general, Michel Alaby.
“We have felt the support of the Brazilian people to the Palestinian people,” said the president. “We have seen several South American countries follow that example [of recognizing the Palestinian State],” he said. “We wish peace, we demand peace. Not only for us, but also for the next generations, and I believe that the majority of Israelis believe in peace too,” he added.
Palestine has a diplomatic representation in Brazil, headed by ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben, but from now on, with the official recognition from Brazil, it will have an embassy in fact and in law.
Later on, at an event in the Egyptian embassy, Abbas spoke to Hannun, of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, regarding the promotion, in Brazil, of a forum for investment in Palestine, bringing Arab, Brazilian and South American businessmen together. The event, which should take place in São Paulo, has been under discussion for a while and the Chamber has committed to helping carry it out.
On Thursday evening, at a dinner offered by the Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben, the president claimed that the Brazilian government’s actions “strengthen the possibility of reaching peace through negotiation with our neighbours in Israel.” He stated that he hopes his dream of seeing Palestinian and Israeli children playing together will come true.
“We are doing our best so that organizations worldwide will recognize the Palestinian State as of its 1967 borders,” he said, referring to the territories occupied by Israel in the Six Day War.
During dinner, several people who have somehow contributed to the Palestinian cause were honoured, among them Michel Alaby.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
