Thousands of Palestinians gathered on Wednesday November 11th to honor the deceased former Palestinian authority chairman Yasser Arafat. The sixth annual memorial rally took place in Ramallah city. Both his nephew, Nasser al- Qudwa and the current Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas spoke at the event. Abbas declared Arafat to be 'the Palestinian lighthouse', saying his name will eternally serve as a second name for Palestine. Abbas also addressed the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and declared "The children of Israel and Palestine must taste the flavor of coexistence, stability and mutual respect before missing out on such an opportunity". He also stated that no agreement will be signed before all Palestinian prisoners held in Israel are released. As for the Israeli settlement building, Abbas stated that the importance of peace outweighs that of building in the settlement region and that any solution offered by Israel which does not include Jerusalem in it, is not an option and is by no means be acceptable.
