ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS 313foremost from my faith in God, and from my belief in the justice of cause and the
unwavering dedication of our historic leader Yasir Arafat second, and from your trust.
I pledge today to do all that I can, and to exert all of my efforts and energies to put
an end to the suffering of our great people.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Arab states and their leaders who have
assured us of their continued support for our people and National Authority at this
time where their brotherly help is most needed.
I would also like to express my gratitude for the support for the world leaders,
leaders of European states, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and Islamic, Asian,
African, Latin American and Non-Aligned states, as well as to the Secretary General
of the UN and the various Arab, Islamic and international organizations.
It is the time for work, so let us start it strong and unified for the sake of our
people, our youth and future generations, and for the sake of freedom, independence,
reform, and democratic development.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Lord! (they says) Let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant
us mercy from Thee: For Thou art the Grantor
SOURCE: Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, “First Speech of Palestinian National Authority Pres-
ident Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen),” http://www.jmcc.org/documents/abumazen1stspeech05.htm.Israeli Disengagement
DOCUMENT IN CONTEXT
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Gaza Strip—a 140-square-mile sec-
tion of land along the Mediterranean Sea at the boundary of Israel and Egypt—was
home to more than 1 million Palestinians, many of them long-term refugees (and their
descendants) from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was also where Israel had established
or allowed more than twenty Jewish settlements to develop, with a total population
of approximately 8,000. To protect the Jewish settlers, the Israeli government stationed
thousands of troops in Gaza, many of them assigned to escort the settlers as they trav-
eled to and from work and school. As with settlements on the Golan Heights and the
West Bank, affordable housing attracted most settlers to Gaza, as did in some cases
the chance to live by the sea. A minority of settlers were in Gaza because they believed
that God intended Jews—not Arabs—to occupy all the land of Palestine between the
Mediterranean and the Jordan River.
To the surprise of many, in December 2003 Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon
began speaking of Israel “disengaging” from the Palestinians—in other words, setting