Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the House to the visit to Ottawa by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Born in Galilee in 1935, Mr. Abbas is one of the founding members of Fatah. After serving as prime minister under Yasser Arafat, he became president of the Palestinian Authority on Arafat's death.
Since he became involved in the Palestinian cause in the 1950s, this moderate has taken a clear stand in favour of diplomacy as a means of creating a Palestinian state. He also orchestrated the talks that led to the Oslo accords in 1993.
In keeping with its traditional position, the Bloc Québécois will continue to support an end to violence and the resumption of peace negotiations, as well as an end to the occupation and colonization of the occupied territory. Lastly, we can only reiterate our support for any action that promotes the creation of two sovereign states existing side by side.
We hope that his visit here will further peace in the Middle East.