12 IMCWP, Intervention by Palestinian PP

12/9/10 5:40 AM
  • Palestine, Palestinian Peoples' Party IMCWP
Address to the International meeting of Communist and worker parties
Esteemed Chairman Comrades and Friends
First, I would like to thank the South African Communist Party (SACP) for its hospitality and hosting this important meeting here in Johannesburg. Also let me convey the regards of the Central committee of the Palestinian People's Party, and our gratitude for your solidarity with our party and people. I feel honored to join with you today and address this distinguished international meeting.
Twenty-four months ago, when our party had the honor of addressing this body in Brazil, the negotiating process and not the peace process-as it is called- was in a very crucial situation. As you remember, it was the Annapolis conference and the American promise that a viable Palestinian state should be established by the end of that year 2008.
The Annapolis channel was not launched out of good will. President Bush at that time needed the Arab states to support his policies in Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the region. He wanted them to begin normalizing their relations with Israel, even without ending the occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories. Now and after two years, unfortunately the Obama administration is trying to do the same thing and following similar policies. It is giving a full support for Netanyahu's preconditions, and a lip service protest on his settlement activities. President Obama is promising again that a Palestinian state will be established by the end of 2011.
Who will believe that Mr. Netanyahu will be ready within a year to evacuate the occupied Palestinian territories if he cannot or will not declare now a freeze on the construction in settlements? Moreover, who will believe that President Obama will be able to pressure Israel on Core issues if he cannot do that on minor issues like convincing Netanyahu to expand the moratorium on the settlement activities that was expired last September?
In fact, settlement freeze furor is a mask for Netanyahu's true intentions. The controversy around settlements' freeze draws attention towards Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians first recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. As every body knows, the PLO has recognized Israel in 1994.Therefore, there will be no further recognition. Such recognition means that Netanyahu demands a Palestinian concession ahead of time; Palestinians are demanded to give up in advance the right of return of the refugees. It would be as if the United States of America demanded that Iran recognize it as the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) State as a condition for negotiating and then concluding any comprehensive peace settlement with it. Of course, such demands are racist and considered non-starters to begin with.
Dear Comrades and Friends
Israel now is launching a massive building campaign all over the west bank. We should recall that in 1993, the number of settlers was less than one hundred thousand, now and after 18 years of negotiations; it is half a million settler. Therefore, our party (PPP) among others has expressed a position against the indirect and direct negotiations as long as Israel is going on in its settlement activities and not recognizing the terms of reference of the peace process. We have adopted this position long before the Palestinian leadership took up this position. We have decried the American biased mediation and insisted all the time that the Palestinians should not give Israel the cover of negotiations that facilitates creating new facts on the ground. In fact, Israel anticipates that these facts would force themselves in any future solution!
This is the major threat that the Palestinians are facing now, the danger of a unilateral imposed solution; or a state with temporary borders; a mini state that combine the settlement blocs; a mini state isolated behind the separation wall without its capital Jerusalem and without a just solution of the refugee's problem. Netanyahu's understanding of the peace talks intended to deflect international pressure from Israel, while it continues to hold on to the territories.
We believe that Israel will not back off from its expansionist policies unless it is subjected to serious external pressure by the international community; Israel needs to be forced to abide by the international law and the peace process terms of reference; Israel needs to be forced to give up its policy of creating new facts on the ground. Without such a pressure, the situation will remain unchanged and the Israeli intransigence will continue.
Palestinians are entitled to statehood. The Palestinian state is the one that is not recognized. The Palestinians are the ones who need recognition. This is the base for a just and comprehensive solution.
Dear Comrades and Friends
Our party calls for constructive and fruitful negotiations within the framework of an international peace conference based on:
1) A complete halt and freeze of all settlement activities and provocations all over the occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem. And lifting the inhuman siege over Gaza. 2) A full compliance with all the international resolutions concerning the Palestinian problem.
In our point of view, these are the necessary conditions to begin a successful peace process.
It is obvious that Netanyahu is rejecting these reasonable terms and trying to impose his unreasonable terms. In this case, our alternative is to call the international community to hold Israel responsible about the failure of the peace process and calling it to take certain steps to press the Israeli government to act in accordance with the International will.
As a conclusion, it is worth referring to the final declaration that was issued by the meeting of the communist and workers parties in the Arab world that was held recently in Damascus. It says: The Israeli intransigence and the continuous American biased attitude in favor of Israel, requires that the Arab states and the international community support the Palestinian position to go to the Security Council in order to declare the Palestinian independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital. And demanding an international
recognition.
We think that tremendous efforts should be made in order to transfer these demands into a legitimate and just international position. In this course, our party is calling all the fraternal parties here in Johannesburg to adopt this declaration, and at the same time to continue working for boycott Israel and its products, and organize campaigns to ending the blockade of Gaza and to support our people its popular resistance against the wall and colonies settlements and the occupation.
Thank you again for your invitation and we wish this international meeting all the success.
Palestinian People's Party
November-2010