With so much expectation that a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem
will emerge from next month's peace conference, Palestinians and their
supporters alike should heed the words of Dr Salman Abu Sitta whose
extensive research into the history and location of more than 600
Palestinian villages has validated the claims of the Palestinian refugees
who were mercilessly stripped of their homes and land by Jewish militant
gangs in the lead up to, and after the establishment of the state of Israel.
After 60 years of eking out a miserable existence in camps with never a
recognition of their dispossession and their inalienable right to return
home under international law, these Palestinians need to be properly heard
before any decisions are made that could wipe their existence from the pages
of history. - SK
Abu Sitta warns Abbas against recognizing
Israel as national state for Jews
The Palestinian Information Center
7 October 2007
_____________________________________________________________________
GAZA, (PIC)-- Salman Abu Sitta, the general-coordinator of the Right of
Return conference, has sternly warned Saturday PA chief Mahmoud Abbas
not to fall in the Israeli "trap" by recognizing occupied Palestine as national
state for Jews.
In a written message he sent to Abbas and a copy of which was furnished to
Saleem Al-Zanoun, the head of the PLO's national council, Abu Sitta
explained that the Israelis were trying to get this new form of recognition
of their state in a bid push Abbas to concede as many Palestinian national
rights as they could, not least the right of return.
He explained that the Israeli officials were striving hard to convince Abbas
to accept the Hebrew state, which was established on 78% of usurped
Palestinian lands as "national state for the world's Jews", describing such
acceptance, if it takes place, as disastrous to the decades-long Palestinian
national struggle.
"Palestinians in homeland and in the diaspora, particularly the refugees,
were cautiously monitoring your negotiations with Israeli premier Ehud
Olmert because they tackle decisive issues as far as they (Palestinian
people) are concerned", Abu Sitta wrote to Abbas in his letter.
He also asserted that the Israeli efforts were focusing on persuading Abbas
to compromise more Palestinian legal rights, and to accept Israel as Jewish
state with the aim to "legalize their occupation of Palestine, and to clear
themselves of the most heinous crime the modern history had ever seen".
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people were driven out of their homes
at the hands of armed Jewish gangs and militias at gunpoint in 1948, and
forced to live in tragic conditions in miserable tents in neighboring
countries.
UNGA resolution number 194 urged for the immediate return of the Palestinian
refugees; but Israel had never complied with that binding resolution.
"The Palestinian people will definitely reject pressures on them to drop the
right of return or compromise any of their national constants", confirmed
Abu Sitta.
Unity and autumn conference: Moreover, Abu Sitta urged Abbas to stop
rejecting calls from Hamas and other Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim parties
to start national reconciliation and unity dialogue, affirming that such
matters are badly needed as national imperatives before Abbas could head to
the US-planned autumn conference.
"We must read the events very well, and we must realize that national unity
and strong Palestinian internal front would help a lot in strengthening the
Palestinian and Arab stand, and in preserving national constants and legal
rights of the Palestinian people", Abu Sitta furthermore underlined in his
letter.
H also called on Abbas to expedite reforming and rebuilding of the PLO on
strong and healthy basis to genuinely represent the entire Palestinian
people, stressing that a new PLO national council must be elected so as to
put the process of negotiation with the Israelis in the right framework, and
to make it "negotiations with the entire Palestinian people instead of
confining it to a small group of a certain Palestinian party".
In this regard, Abu Sitta urged Abbas to unveil names of the Palestinian
negotiators in order to check their eligibility, knowledge, and credibility
in the Palestinian street.
Finally, Abu Sitta affirmed to Abbas that "The situation is indeed very
serious and very sensitive perhaps more than others could imagine; thus,
listening to the Palestinian public opinion and rallying behind their
national demands would mean a lot on the Palestinian and Arab level, and
would bolster Palestinian steadfastness and resoluteness".
Dr Salman Abu Sitta is the founder and president of the Palestine
Land Society (PLANDS) in London and is a highly respected scholar and
author. As a civil engineer Abu-Sitta has been able to map the over 600
Palestinian villages that were systematically depopulated by the advancing
Israeli forces and resulted in a massive transfer of native Palestinians to
the countries bordering Israel, where thousands remain within 100 miles from
their original communities. He has written several books, including the
monumental "Atlas of Palestine 1948", and over 200 articles about refugees.
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