Your Highnesses and Excellencies,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General
Of the Organization of Islamic Conference
Dear Brothers,

      I would like to welcome you in Doha and pray to Almighty God to inspire us with wisdom and sound judgment to come out of this meeting, which is held under grave and tragic Palestinian conditions, with concrete resolutions that could help the Palestinian people regain their inalienable national rights.

      We wish H.E. President Yasser Arafat could have joined us at this meeting to give us a clear picture of the grave developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the continuous Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. But he could not attend due to circumstances well-known to all of us as a result of the Israeli intransigent measures and practices. Nonetheless, he is present with us in his ideas and enlightened contribution inspired by the unremitting and steadfast struggle of his people.

      In fact, as I was contemplating the points of this speech, I made an analysis of the progress of peace process in more than a year. I have found out clearly that the fate of the 9th Islamic Summit, its merit and honor, has been from the start to coincide with the Aqsa Intifada. It is as if the leaders of the Muslim Umma are being called upon not to forget, not even for a blink of an eye, their prime cause: the Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian State.

      Hence, we all agree that this meeting must not be a forum for speeches. We have to make it a real test of our collective will and historic responsibility towards the Palestinian issue, in word and deed.

      The situation, as we all know, is grave for the Palestinians, and very grave on the international level, particularly for the Arab and Islamic World. What is left there after the mass killings, siege, isolation, starving, dredging of farms, destruction of the infrastructure, violation of sanctities, denying people access to pray in the Aqsa Mosque and open and undisguised threats to symbols of the Palestinian Authority perpetrated by the occupation forces?

Dear Brothers,

      We are, undoubtedly, at a cross-roads. I do not mean the Arabs and Muslims only but the entire international community as well. Either we reinforce our resolve and faith in international legality, which is no longer easy to attain nor acceptable in the context of the daily flagrant violations of justice and right and dubious absence and inaction of the mechanisms of this legality.
Otherwise, God forbids, is the turn looming in the horizon, leading to evade all those international obligations and conventions and give free rein to the spiral of violence and blood. All parties will bear the responsibilities and consequences of the risks arising from that situation, which will not only storm Palestinians and Israelis alike, but could also extend the flames to the extremely sensitive Middle East area.

      Therefore, it is wise and advisable to opt for the first path - though it is difficult - because it is the safest and most secure. Yet it has two main conditions:

      The first, which I find vital, effective and attainable, is that those who have influence on Israel and at the same time have vital interests in the Middle East area, should bear their responsibilities.
They have to be convinced that the Palestinian people should inevitably attain all their internationally recognized rights, and that resistance of occupation is lawful self-defense.

      Thus,the international community is required today more than any time before to play its aspired role in putting an end to the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories, bringing about a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict based on the implementation of international legality resolutions, thereby enabling the Palestinian people to practice their right of self-determination and to establish their independent state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. This, in my opinion, is the safety valve for peace and stability and for defusing tension in the area, which necessitates that Israel be forced to comply with international laws and made to give up its aggressive policy, end its occupation of the Arab lands, dismantle the Israeli settlements, recognize the right of the refugees to return to their homes, refrain from the attempts to judaize East Jerusalem and change its architectural, cultural and demographic features, according to international resolutions, especially the Geneva 4th Convention, 1949, put an end to its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and complete withdrawal of its forces fully and actually from Lebanese territories in accordance with the international legality resolutions, particularly the U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242, 338 and 425.

      The second condition is our role as leaders and peoples in dealing with this complex situation.

      Our meeting today has a historic responsibility. Its work should start from where our previous efforts to support the legitimate Palestinian rights ended, adopting a firm and earnest stand to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and provide definite mechanisms in cooperation with the international community, to stop the continuous Israeli attacks and secure reaching a final and just settlement in the occupied territories by committing Israel to serious measures and stressing that peace could only be achieved through implementation of accords, the return of lands, and respect of legitimate rights.

      In this context, I would like to propose the formation of a ministerial committee to promptly assume the task of following up this urgent issue, find an Islamic mechanism to stop the deterioration and revive the peace process, resume negotiations on the basis of international legality and its binding resolutions, in collaboration with the United Nations and all international peace loving forces that are keen on security and stability in the region.

Dear Brothers,

      Since we have chosen peace as an irreversible strategic option, we dealt in full cooperation with all international efforts, including the Mitchell Recommendations and Tenet Understandings, which we accepted as one comprehensive package.
We also expressed our satisfaction with the position declared by President George Bush, where he spoke of establishing an independent Palestinian State in the framework of a final, just and comprehensive settlement of the conflict.
We, in addition, welcomed the principles and ideas expressed by the U.S. Secretary of the State, Mr. Colin Powel, where he stressed the importance of putting an end to Israel’s occupation of Arab territories, while at the same time announcing the intention of the U.S. administration to start an active move to stop the deterioration and revive the peace process.

Dear Brothers,

      We have to renew the optimism that prevailed in the wake of those positive American positions, which, unfortunately, was dissipated by the grave developments in the Palestinian territories. Therefore, we ask the United States of America and the international community to take action to put an immediate end to the Israeli policy that could only lead to aborting the last available opportunity to bring peace to our region.

Your Highnesses and Excellencies,
Dear Brothers,

      Our task is grave, but achievable. We have to shoulder this responsibility with utmost determination, potentials and patience. Regaining of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people comes at the top of our priorities. We are confident that our Muslim nation is quite capable of achieving this.

      May God bestow success on our efforts to achieve our aspirations and a better future for our peoples and Muslim nation.

May the peace and blessings of God be upon you.