Mahmoud Abbas: Real security depends on a serious political process

From a speech by the President of the Palestinian Authority at the London conference on the Middle East

I would like to stress that we as Palestinians are committed to honouring our obligations under the road map. The road map is the only plan that has a realistic prospect for implementation. And with regards to the road map, we have only one demand - that our implementation efforts be mirrored by Israel's true implementation of the provisions of the road map as presented by the Quartet.

I would like to stress that we as Palestinians are committed to honouring our obligations under the road map. The road map is the only plan that has a realistic prospect for implementation. And with regards to the road map, we have only one demand - that our implementation efforts be mirrored by Israel's true implementation of the provisions of the road map as presented by the Quartet.

A few days ago, Israeli civilians were targeted in a suicide attack in Tel Aviv. We reaffirm our strong condemnation of this attack and for this approach. This again demonstrates that the extremist forces still insist on destroying any efforts at a peace process, negotiations and resolving the conflict by peaceful means. Such forces reject the democratic approach, which we as Palestinians insist on reinforcing, as attested by the fact that all Palestinian factions have denied responsibility for this attack and reaffirmed their commitment to the cease-fire.

I fully believe that our security efforts serve the needs of the Palestinian people who are thirsty for safety and security. Yet at the same time, security is vulnerable to regression and even collapse if it is not protected by a serious political process between us and the Israelis, the delay of which is unjustified. Experience has taught us that security measures in the absence of a serious political framework will not lead to the consolidation of security and opening of horizons for peace.

When I refer to a serious political process, I mean a process that gives the Palestinian people confidence that the occupation that began in 1967 will end without delay. Creating such confidence requires that the manifestation of such occupation - the construction of settlements, the Wall and land confiscation - immediately come to a complete end.