The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestine refugees in the homeland and the Diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of them forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world.

We cannot build foundations of a state without rule of law.

We have one authority and one law and everyone has the responsibility to follow that law and that authority.

We expect President Bush to implement his own vision of a two-state solution, the birth of the Palestinian State and the ending of the occupation that started in 1967.

We cannot build a viable state with a country that is disintegrating into small pieces.

The PLO and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms, especially State terrorism, and adhere to all agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.

We want the Israelis to leave. They want to leave - so let us let them leave.

And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect this newborn opportunity of peace, that is provided through what we have already declared here today.

We are aiming for political pluralism with a broad spectrum of parties - ranging from the left to the religious parties, as is the case in Israel.

There is a requirement to ensure the withdrawal takes place in a civilized manner. We will be able to show the world we deserve independence and freedom.

The core issue here is that the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms of reference for the negotiations that are based on international law and United Nations resolutions, and that it frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the State of Palestine.

We always have hoped that American diplomacy deploys itself in dialogue and persuasion rather than by ultimatums. That is the path we want in international relations.

No state on earth can afford to allow several authorities to co-exist next to one another.

We need international support so that our people live a life of normality, of dignity, of liberty and freedom. I hope that our cry for freedom may be heard.

Let us all pledge to protect this opportunity in order to see that the wish of peace becomes a true and daily fact in this region.

There have been some mistakes due to the feeling of joy.

I can certainly put myself in Israel's shoes. They are humans just like we are. They want peace and security inside their borders.

We are trying to lead our people to a just peace and to security, and we want to pave the way for the next generations.

We have accepted the principle of democracy and we are committed to respect the popular verdict and the result of that national consultation.

Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or de-legitimizing it; rather we want to gain legitimacy for the cause of the people of Palestine. We only aim to de-legitimize the settlement activities and the occupation and apartheid and the logic of ruthless force, and we believe that all the countries of the world stand with us in this regard.

It is high time that the Palestinian people restore their freedom and independence. It is high time that the decades, the long decades of suffering and pain would stop.

We differ on several issues. And this may include settlement, the release of prisoners, the wall closing institutions in Jerusalem.

I say: The time has come for my courageous and proud people, after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering, to live like other peoples of the earth, free in a sovereign and independent homeland.