ahead of the Annapolis conference. I would hope that you can participate in the efforts.
The Palestinian Grassroots Anti Apartheid Wall Campaign have joined with a host of other civil
society organisations to urge Palestinians to sign a Declaration of Principles ahead of the Annapolis conference. The declaration warns Palestinian leaders of the dangers of bargaining away the national struggle at the Annapolis conference, and calls for the full and unconditional implementation of Palestinian rights and an end to occupation and apartheid.
Further, a mass demonstration is being planned in Ramallah for the 27 November to urge the Palestinian delegation not to make any concessions on fundamental Palestinian rights to the land of Palestine.
Below is the English version of the Declaration of Principles and i hope you can spread it among Palestinian diaspora organizations in Canada asking them to sign on. The Declaration can be
endorsed online at: www.stopthewall.org/pt/ or by sending us a mail at: mobilize@stopthewall.org . It would be great if signatures could come in ahead of
the press conference we are planning to hold tomorrow to present the declaration.
Warm greetings,
Jamal Juma'
Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign -
coordinator--- StopTheWall
Out of our serious concern for our national cause and legitimate rights, which have been under direct and systematic attack from the Israeli Occupation and the United States, who wish to liquidate the Palestinian struggle by taking advantage of the split that has weakened us in the face of the huge pressure that they and their allies have brought to bear;
We call all political and mass movements, civil society federations and networks, private sector institutions and national figures, inside and outside Palestine, assert the following:
The Declaration of Principles and National Rights For Palestine
November 2007
Out of our serious concern for our national cause and legitimate rights, which have been under direct and systematic attack from the Israeli Occupation and the United States, who wish to liquidate the Palestinian struggle by taking advantage of the split that has weakened us in the face of the huge pressure that they and their allies have brought to bear;
We the undersigned, political and mass movements, civil society federations and networks, private sector institutions and national figures, inside and outside Palestine, assert the following:
First: that the inalienable rights of our people must be the central principle for any Palestinian political action. These fundamental rights should never be a subject for negotiation and must not be compromised:
1. The right of refugees to return to their homeland and properties, from which they were expelled, in accordance with United Nations Resolution 194. This right is a basic human right that is not negotiable and therefore cannot be based on an ‘agreed upon solution’;
2. The right to self-determination, an end to the military occupation and the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state enjoying full sovereignty;
3. Occupied Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, free from colonies and colonial settlers;
4. The departure of all Israeli settlers from our land, which was occupied in an act of aggression in 1967, and the removal of the apartheid wall and all the colonies, which are illegal and stand in defiance of international law and international agreements.
Second: that any political step or negotiations at a local, regional or international level should be under international supervision, based on principles of justice and international law, and aimed at the implementation of the inalienable and historical rights of our people, and the establishment of a time line for such implementation, not negotiation on the rights themselves.
1. Because the Annapolis meeting is not based on these principles, and because it does not aim for the implementation of international law, we call on the PLO and the Palestinian Authority not to participate in this meeting; we further call upon Arab countries to boycott Annapolis and not to facilitate the United States’ desire to expand its aggression in the region and its attempt to crush all the forces opposed to its domination in the region.
2. In the event that the PLO and PA decide to attend the Annapolis conference, they must not bow to the American and Israeli demands for concessions on these fundamental rights under any circumstances, under any justification.
3. We warn all individuals and organizations who attempt to meddle with the inalienable rights of our people and to promote normalization with the occupation and it institutions under slogans of “peace” and “dialogue”. These normalization efforts and initiatives must be widely boycotted by Palestinian society, and all normalizers must be exposed and shamed.
4. We call for a boycott of all bilateral, regional and international conferences or meetings not based on the principles stated above, now or in the future.
5. We stress the unity of the Palestinian people in all parts of our homeland and in the diaspora, and the unity of our national rights and cause Third: We categorically reject any attempt to recognize Israel as a “Jewish state”, as this would necessarily mean:
1. Exempting Israel from the crimes of ethnic cleansing perpetrated against our people over the past sixty years;
2. Waiving the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and their properties, from which they were expelled in 1948 and in the years after;
3. Justifying and reinforcing the Israeli system of racial discrimination and apartheid against Palestinian citizens of Israel, as a prelude to expel them from their homeland on the pretext of preserving the Jewish State;
4. Reinforcing the Zionist ideology which is based on racism, ethnic cleansing and colonialism.
Therefore, we consider that any recognition of this kind is equivalent to conceding the right of return, which would entrench the exile and dispossession of our people and put an end to our cause. Anyone contemplating taking this path will bear the resulting historical responsibility.
Fourth: We assert the need to embark on serious and immediate action to find a solution to the
recourse to armed internecine conflict in Gaza, through national dialogue, in order to end the division in Palestinian society in order to:
1. Reunite the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in one entity, and to agree to start preparations for early legislative and presidential elections based on the National Accord document;
2. In parallel with the above, start implementing the Cairo Agreement regarding the reform of the PLO through activation of the Preparatory Committee for the election of the Palestinian National Council with the participation of all Palestinian national and Islamic forces.
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