Press Releases

BADIL Resource Center
05 December 2003
For Immediate Release

In the interests of promoting informed discussion on Palestinians’ hopes for a peace agreement, BADIL is publishing Palestinian organizations’ perceptions of the Geneva understandings.  The first, from local groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, was issued last month.  See www.badil.org  “Let’s really hear from the grass roots”. 

The following is an unofficial translation of a statement from Fateh issued 1 December with its views on the Geneva initiative:

In the Name of God

Our Freedom Fighting People, Our People in Palestine and in Exile

Initiatives and proposals for solving the Arab-Israeli Conflict appear from time to time. Whether Israeli or Israeli-Palestinian, regional, or international, these proposals are based on the premise that the Palestinian refugee issue can be resolved within the framework of a future Palestinian State.

Of even greater danger is the fact that the current Palestinian regime has opened the door for such initiatives without having a clear vision that is consistent with our people’s aspirations! The current regime has encouraged and participated in these initiatives, justifying their position by saying that they are searching for a political breakthrough with the Israeli and international community. Oblivious to the harm being done to the unity of the Palestinian people, this regime includes those who initiate and direct and those who reject such initiatives. This situation is pushing the Palestinian people towards an internal conflict that could lead to a “civil war” just to maintain the interests of the Palestinian elite currently in power. This elite – guided by their own self-interests – threatens the unity and steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the right to return of the Palestinian refugees, which is the core of the Palestinian issue.

Concerned about a unified Palestinian position that is consistent with the national consensus, we affirm the following:

First: Taking into consideration that the Right of Return is the foundation of the Palestinian consensus; the core of the Palestinian struggle; the justification for the current revolution; and the dream of two-thirds of the Palestinian people, we strongly reject all initiatives, agreements, and understandings, whether formal or informal – including Beilin-Abu Mazen, Nusseibeh-Ayalon, the Geneva agreement, among others – that compromise this sacred right. We see such initiatives and agreements as a dangerous trend that transforms the national consensus into a bargaining chip for negotiations.

Second: We do not place responsibility only on those who participated in such initiatives. We also blame the Palestinian regime which plays with the fate of the people and contributes to the damage done to the people’s aspirations. For the last three months, this regime has been consumed with petty internal conflicts over the formation of a government rather than the concerns of our people and the critical issues. The regime, which has placed the most corrupt persons in positions of responsibility in ministries, security and civil organizations, has persisted in playing with and harming the unity of our people and the national consensus – foremost being the right of return – in an unprecedented manner, in order to maintain Palestinian sovereignty over any square meter.

Third: We remind those who play with the future of our people that an independent Palestinian State on the 1967 occupied land is not part of the strategic consensus, but only a transition program adopted by the PLO at the 1974 meeting of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). The right of return is a key element of the Palestinian National Charter and the primary reason for the beginning of the Palestinian revolution. If there was a need for tactical measures it is the Palestinian State which should be used as a bargaining chip in order to achieve the return. The Palestinian State is no longer a priority nor in the popular interest of the Palestinian people. It has become an Israeli security interest that also happens to serve some in the current Palestinian regime, who see the Palestinian State as a means to increase their own illegitimate profits. Sacrificing the Palestinian State for the sake of achieving the return, therefore, serves the comprehensive Palestinian strategy, while sacrificing the right of return for the sake of a pseudo State with limited sovereignty sacrifices the people’s rights, dreams and aspirations.

Fourth: We believe that we can reach a comprehensive and just peace, a peace in which this land accommodates both peoples within a democratic secular state; a peace that recognizes the rights and duties of both Palestinians and Israelis; a peace that removes borders, walls and checkpoints; a peace that is not based on displacement and the separation of cities, but rather one that is based on the return of Palestinian refugees; a peace in which everyone is a winner and not a compromiser; and, a peace in which both parties triumph and no one loses.

Fifth: In order to maintain the unity of our people; build democratic Palestinian institutions; and, facilitate each person’s right to contribute and participate in the building of civil society and the formation of policy, we call for transparent democratic elections on all levels, starting with the FATEH Central Committee, through Municipal Councils, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Presidency and the Palestinian National Council. The purpose of these elections is to reorganize the Palestinian house and protect it from ongoing administrative, financial, and political corruption, and stop the process of collapse and division.

Based on the abovementioned concepts, and without hesitation, we will start a Popular Campaign in Palestine and in Exile under the Title: “Return First, and Peace for Two Nations in One State”.

With this slogan, we will be faithful to our people’s dreams and ambitions. We will be faithful to the blood of our martyrs. We will adopt a more realistic approach to achieve a comprehensive and just peace that does not impose painful compromises on anyone. A solution to the conflict that ignores the interests of two-thirds of the Palestinian people can only be considered as a ceasefire between two parties.

Unified and together until achieving Return, Liberation, and Peace

FATEH - Palestinian Liberation Movement

Palestine, 1/12/2003