Commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Al Nakba

The General Delegation of the PLO to the US commemorates the 64th anniversary of Al Nakba, a national day of grief and sorrow for our people. In 1948, a whole nation was uprooted from its ancestral land, and thousands became refugees overnight marking the start of the Palestinian saga.

For years, the Israelis have systematically destroyed our villages and erased them from the face of the earth, renamed streets to change their identities, and rewrote history to deny our connection to our historic land of Palestine. But, Israel has miserably failed to erase our memories and our attachment to the land of our forefathers.

We embarked on a path to end the conflict in 1988 when we accepted to exercise our right to self-determination on merely 22% of our native homeland. Despite the historical compromise we made then for the sake of peace, our people and land is still under a brutal Israeli military occupation. Israel is more defiant than ever, blatantly refusing to respect international law and to end its human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

The Chief Representative of the PLO to the US, Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat asserted: ?The struggle that began on the day of Al Nakba continues until today. Millions of Palestinians are still scattered throughout the world without a homeland to return to. Other millions are living under dire conditions in refugee camps, and the rest are suffering from an intolerable military occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories.? Ambassador Areikat added: ?Without the Palestinian people having their freedom, and their independent and sovereign state, there will be no peace, security and stability in the region.?

On this day, the General Delegation of the PLO to the US reaffirms its commitment to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine and the Diaspora. It is also an occasion to reiterate our commitment to a just, honorable, and lasting peace based on a two-state solution and a just and agreed resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem based on United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. It is an occasion to reaffirm our resolve, resilience, and perseverance to achieve the objectives of our people.

BBC Poll: Israel’s global image plummets
5.17.2012

Israel ranks among states perceived to have most negative influence on world, according to BBC poll; only Iran, Pakistan do worse, Israel’s image hits nadir in Europe
Ynet

Israel is ranked third among nations perceived as having a negative influence on the world, the BBC’s annual poll shows, indicating further decline in the Jewish state’s global image.

Only Iran and Pakistan did worse than Israel in the survey.

The poll, undertaken between December 2011 and February 2012, encompassed 24,090 respondents worldwide. Iran took the unflattering top spot, again, with 55% of respondents saying is has a negative influence on the world. Pakistan ranked second (51%), with Israel and North Korea tied for third place (50%).

Last year, 47% of poll respondents said Israel had a negative effect on the world.

According to the latest survey, only 21% of respondents view Israel’s influence as mostly positive, the same figure as last year. A favorable change in the West was only recorded in the United States, with 50% of Americans saying they view Israel in a positive light, compared to 35% who said they view the Jewish state in a negative light.

The US figures constitute the highest approval rating for Israel by Americans since the poll’s initiation, in 2005. Two more nations with favorable attitudes towards Israel are Nigeria (54%) and Kenya (46%).

In post-revolution Egypt, 85% of respondents said they view Israel in a negative light, a 7% rise from last year. The Jewish state’s situation is particularly grim in Europe, with 74% of Spaniards viewing Israel negatively. Negative attitudes were also recorded in France (65%), Germany (69%), Britain (68%), Australia (65%) and Canada (59%).

Support for Israel also declined in China, India and Russia.

According to the survey, the most beloved states in the world are Japan, Germany, Canada, Britain and China.

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08 May 2012

Condition of Dr. Erekat

Dr. Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, suffered a mild heart attack this morning in his home in Jericho. He was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah, where he underwent a cardiac catheterization to remove a clot in one of his arteries.

His condition is stable and he is expected to remain under observation in the hospital for two more days.

Ambassador Maen Areikat spoke to him earlier, and described him as sounding positive and in good spirits.

Statement – Condition of Dr. Erekat (May 8, 2012)

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26 April 2012

Israel Turns Illegal Outposts into New Settlements

The General Delegation of the PLO to the US condemns in the strongest terms the latest Israeli provocation in retroactively formalizing the status of illegal settlement outposts on occupied Palestinian land.

The Israeli government on Tuesday retroactively “legalized” three Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank, formalizing their status in Israeli laws, thereby effectively establishing three new settlements. This is a clear violation of their Roadmap obligations as well as commitments made in previously signed agreements. All settlement activity in occupied Palestinian lands is illegal under international law. This latest act by the Israeli government only adds insult to injury.

These actions took place despite the presence in the region of the US special envoy to the Middle East, David Hale, showing complete disregard for the US administration’s efforts to achieve progress in the political process. Israel’s “legalizing” of the settlement outposts also comes only a week after Palestinian officials delivered a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the latter to take tangible steps towards delivering on previous commitments.

By taking this step, the Israeli government sends an unequivocal message to the world that it is far more committed to land theft than it is to resolving the conflict. Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to cater to extremists who undermine the prospects of a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Unfortunately, his agenda is not for peace; his focus is solely on maintaining his coalition.

The General Delegation of the PLO to the US urges the US administration and the international community to take immediate steps to pressure this Israeli government to cease all of its illegal settlement activities, and make clear that unilateral actions that undermine the political process will no longer be tolerated.

Statement – Formalizing Illegal Outposts (April 26, 2012)

The Fourth Geneva Convention defines administrative detention as:

“The deprivation of liberty of a person at the request not of the judiciary but of the executive branch. Under administration detention, no criminal charges are brought against the detainee and there is no intention of bringing him or her to trial.”

The practice of administrative detention has been systematically employed by the Government of Israel against Palestinians living under Israeli Occupation since 1967. Carried out on the pretext of security, Israel has subjected thousands of Palestinians to administrative detention that breaches all parameters of international law.

Administrative Detention in Israel:

• Between 2009-2011, the lowest number of total detainees held under administrative detention in Israeli prisons per month was 189, while the highest total reached was 564
• Detention has lasted anywhere from 6 months to 2, 3, and even 4 years.
• Administrative detention lacks due process. Detainees are held without trial and neither they nor their attorneys are allowed to see the “secret evidence” against them.
• Even though the Administrative Detention Orders are issued for 6 months, they can be extended for an additional 6 months indefinitely.
• Israel has referred to administrative proceedings as an alternative to criminal trial when sufficient evidence does not exist to charge an individual, or if there is no desire to reveal the evidence.
• On many occasions Israel has administratively detained Palestinians for political opinions, peaceful assembly, and other non-violent actions.
• In violation of international law, many Palestinian detainees have been held inside the State of Israel, as opposed to the occupied territory as required by the Fourth Geneva Convention. On many instances, this violation has led to the denial of the prisoners’ rights to family visitation and attorney consultations.

Administrative detention defies the most basic principles of democracy. The US Constitution strives to uphold these very principles and is stringently opposed to such abhorrent practices, as explicitly addressed in the Bill of Rights:

Amendment V

[A person] nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;”

Amendment VI

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State… and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”

The issue of Palestinian political prisoners languishing in Israeli jails is one of the core concerns of the Palestinian people and figures very prominently in national political discourse. One in every five Palestinians has been detained by Israel since its military occupation in 1967 and since 2000, 8,000 children under the age of 18 have been detained. Also, scores of Palestinian political prisoners detained prior to the 1993 Oslo Accords, who were set to be released a few months after the signing of the accords, still remain in Israeli prisons to this day. Therefore, Israel’s continued use of administrative detention rubs salt to an already sore wound.

On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners Day, 1,600 Palestinian prisoners will follow the footsteps of others before them, and go on hunger strike to protest Israel’s administrative detention policies. These policies stand not only against the basis of democracy but also the internationally-accepted standards of human rights.

The time for Palestinians to enjoy liberty, freedom, and justice for all is long overdue.

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day- The Injustice of Administrative Detention

Monthly Report on Israeli Incitement-March 2012

Life Under Military Occupation-March 2012

30 March 2012

PLO Delegation commemorates 36th anniversary of Land Day

In March 1976, Israel announced plans to expropriate thousands of acres of land from Palestinian villages in the Galilee area. Our people took to the streets on March 30th, voicing their strong opposition to Israel’s illegal expansionist practices. Despite their civil demonstrations, Israeli forces killed six Arabs and wounded 96 others, and that day became known as Land Day.

During the three and a half decades since 1976, Israel expanded its policy of confiscating Palestinian land to the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. Its settlement activity continues unabated, each year with graver implications on the political process and the prospects of peace in our region. The problem is particularly prominent in occupied East Jerusalem, where land is being expropriated in order to provide space for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.

Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem are allowed to live and build on only 13% of the occupied City. Since 1967, Israeli forces have demolished more than 3,000 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to increase Jewish presence at the cost of its Arab inhabitants. Through these policies and its settlement expansion in the rest of the West Bank, Israel actively forestalls the political process and sabotages fostering an environment conducive for peace.

It is for this reason that the memory of Land Day is alive in our minds, and will continue to be until justice prevails, and until the Palestinians are awarded an independent, sovereign, and viable state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On this day, the General Delegation of the PLO to the US commemorates the 36th anniversary of Land Day, and reaffirms its commitment to the inalienable and indisputable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, sovereignty, human rights and liberties.

Statement – PLO Delegation commemorates 36th anniversary of Land Day (March 30, 2012)

12 March 2012

End Israeli Strikes on Gaza

The General Delegation of the PLO to the US condemns in the strongest language the latest Israeli provocation and assault on Gaza, which has led to the killing of 23 Palestinians and the injuring of dozens.

Israel initiated the hostilities on Friday when it conducted yet another unprovoked extrajudicial killing in Gaza in violation of international law. Since then, escalations ensued and Israel mounted continuous airstrikes that have taken the lives of 23 Palestinians. At least four of those killed were civilians, including a 65 year-old man and two boys, Ayoub Assaliya and Nayif Qarmout, ages 13 and 15 respectively. Over 70 others were injured, including 19 children and 7 women. Most of those wounded were not partaking in hostilities. Other Israeli attacks targeted a Red Crescent building, a primary school, and a few ambulances.

This Israeli escalation has been part of a larger war agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Recently, Israeli forces escalated hostilities in the West Bank, and augmented their indiscriminate attacks against civilians partaking in non-violent resistance, including killing 16 year-old Zakaria Abu Arram in Yatta, Hebron. The Israeli government has also been turning a blind eye to attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians. Over 14 settler attacks against unarmed Palestinian residents have been recorded in March.

The attack on Gaza aims to divert attention from Israeli violations in the West Bank, and to thwart any efforts at reviving the political process between the two sides. Furthermore, the attack comes at the conclusion of PM Netanyahu’s trip to the US, where he failed to drag the US into another dangerous military confrontation.

This prime minister has no agenda for peace. He has an agenda for violence, war, and destabilization, whether through escalations in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or elsewhere in the region.

It is time that US officials stop condoning Israeli violations and transgressions. It is appalling to see such countenancing for Israel’s right to defend itself when the escalation was triggered by an unprovoked Israeli strike in Gaza. It is time for the US administration and members of Congress to stop shielding, from any reproach or reprimand, a government with such a dismal record of blatant disregard for human rights and breaches of international law, norms, and conventions.

The General Delegation of the PLO to the US demands that the Israeli government immediately ceases all attacks on Gaza, take the necessary steps to restore calm and spare the lives of innocent civilians. We also call on the US administration and the international community pressure Israel to cease its latest onslaught and respect human life.

Press Release – End Israeli Strikes on Gaza (March 12, 2012)

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