Following is a statement issued by Palestinian Authority President and Leadership today, Saturday:
Statement in the name of Mr. President and Palestinian Leadership: Condemning all terrorist acts targeting civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinians, including state, group or individuals terrorism

Ramallah, 13 April 2002 – Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and leadership express their condemnation to all acts of terrorism targeting civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinains, whether this terrorism is state terrorism, or by groups or individuals. This stems from a staunch principle of rejecting a turn to violence and terrorism against civilians as a method to achieve political gains.

Based on this position, which we have delcared since 1988 and during the signing of the Oslo Agreement at the White House. We havereiterated this position several times including on 16 December 2001, when, afterwhich, we did not find any Israeli response to this declaration but military excalation, suffocating siege and a continuous occupation of our people, refugee camps, cities and villages as well as a total destruction of our infrastructure. Henceforth, we strongly condemn the violent operations targeting Israeli civilians, particularly the last one in Jerusalem, as we strongly condemn the massacres conducted, and still being conducted, by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians and refugees for the past two weeks in the city of Nablus, Jenin refugee camp and against the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem in addition to other Palestinian territories.

We call upon the international community, the Security Council and Mr. Colin Powell, who is on an international mission for the sake of peace, to pay attention to these massacres that befell our people because of the Israeli occupation, and the Israeli government’s insistence to obliterate our people’s aspirations for freedom and independence by the use of military force, tanks, jetfighters, rockets, shells and automatic weapons.

In the name of the Palestinian people, we affirm, once again, our comitment to just peace between the two peoples and two states. The peace that guarantees security for Israelis and freedom and independence in a sovereign state for the Palestinian people. Security for all shall be only achieved by peace, and not through occupation, military force, massacres and terrorist acts, particularly against civilians, which will never bring security and peace to both Israelis and Palestinians.

In light of Security Council resolutions, international decisions, President Bush and his Secretary of State declarations and the quadlateral (American, Russian, Euroepan and United Nations) committee statement in Madrid as well as Mr. Colin Powell’s visit, and his presence amongst us, we, all have to work on stopping this war and the immediateIsraeli withdrawal in order to instantly implement Tenet understandings, Mitchell report and immediate negotiations on the basis of the Arab Summit resolutions and the Saudi initiative that was adopted by the Arab Summit in Beirut. This also for the protection of our Christian and Muslim holy sites and the necessity of having an international peace force to monitor this implementation.