He added, "The world has watched us and knows we are a civilized people that simply calls for its rights."  People in the crowd held banners saying, "We are strong with you," "You are big with the people behind you," and "You are the source of our pride." Others held large photos of Abbas or waved Palestinian flags.  While Fatah -- Abbas' party -- controls the West Bank, Gaza is controlled by Hamas.  The celebration came as Israel's foreign minister expressed support for the Middle East Quartet's call for Israel and the Palestinians to meet within one month to agree on an agenda for new peace talks, with a goal of reaching a deal by the end of 2012.  "We need to accept because there is one very positive thing there -- starting negotiations without prior conditions. We have been calling for this for two and a half years now," Avigdor Liberman told Israel radio on Sunday.  However, Abbas told the crowd Sunday that negotiations cannot commence without a halt to construction of Israeli settlements.  "We have ascertained to all that we want to achieve your rights in a peaceful way through negotiations but not just any negotiations," Abbas said. "There will be no negotiations without international legitimacy and a complete halt to settlements."  The Quartet is composed of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union.  Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Saturday that the Quartet guideline could not be accepted, as it was "short of meeting Palestinian expectations." Malki stressed that the offer failed to address the issue of Israeli settlements and the 1967 borders.  Friday's Quartet statement did not mention the West Bank settlements. It called on the parties to "refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to be effective."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stood before a cheering crowd Sunday upon his return from the U.N. General Assembly, where he launched a controversial bid for Palestinian statehood."In front of