[News] The Olmert Peace Stunt

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Editorials/2006%20Editorials/November-December/The%20Olmert%20Peace%20Stunt%20Blackmailing%20%20Palestinians%20to%20Give%20Up%20their%20Inalienable%20Right%20of%20Return%20to%20their%20Homeland%20By%20Hassan%20El-Najjar.htm


The Olmert Peace Stunt: Blackmailing  Palestinians to Give Up their 
Inalienable Right of Return to their Homeland

By Hassan El-Najjar

Al-Jazeerah, November 28, 2006

After five months of shedding blood of the Palestinian people, 
killing hundreds and injuring thousands of them, kidnapping them from 
their homes, destroying their utilities and houses, starving them in 
a tight embargo regime enforced by the US and the EU, the Israeli 
occupation government prime monster is announcing to the world that 
he is offering peace to his victims.

Basically, Olmert is offering Palestinians to stop killing them, 
release their teenage sons and daughters from his occupation prisons, 
release their money he has been withholding, withdraw from parts of 
the West Bank, dismantle some of the illegal Israeli settlements, and 
even help them establish their dream of an independent Palestinian state.

WOW!

What a great offer!

In return, all what Olmert wants from Palestinians is just a 
statement containing three sentences.

The first sentence should say that they "renounce violence."

The second sentence should say that they recognize Israel's right to 
live in peace and security.

The third sentence should say that they give up their demands to 
return to their homes and property, which they were evicted from by 
Israelis in 1948.

The PLO has already met the first two of Olmert's demands.

Late President Arafat did that in Geneva, in 1988, as a pre-condition 
by the Reagan administration to deal with him. He even read a peace 
of paper written for him renouncing violence and terrorism. It was a 
humiliating acknowledgement by him that Palestinian resistance to the 
Israeli occupation, a right guaranteed by international law, was 
violence and terrorism. The objective was to please Israeli occupiers 
and their Zionist supporters.

The 1993 Oslo Accords, signed in Washington by Abbas and Peres in the 
presence of Arafat and Rabin together with their host, Clinton, 
represented a mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel. However, 
there has never been any reference to what Israel is, simply because 
Israel cannot be defined until Palestine is defined.

The most important reference defining the borders of Palestine and 
Israel in the international law is the United Nations General 
Assembly (UNGA) resolution 181, known as the Partition resolution, 
which divided Palestine into two states, one for Muslims and 
Christians and the other for Jews. Then came the armistice agreements 
in 1949, which recognized de facto borders.

The Israeli war of aggression in 1967, enabled the Zionist state to 
control all of Palestine together with Sinai (liberated in 1982) and 
the Syrian Golan Heights (still under Israeli occupation).

The Arab League peace initiative recognizes Israel within the 1967 
borders. The Palestinian leaders have accepted it.

Thus, the Israelis and their supporters have got the first two of the 
Olmert demands. A ritual repeat is expected to happen.

However, the third demand is not going to be met until the ten 
million Palestinians worldwide agree. It's not in the hands of Abbas 
or Fateh or Hamas.

UNGA Resolutions 181 and 194 have guaranteed the right of return and 
compensation for the Palestinian refugees and their descendants. If 
they wish to return to their homeland, whether it is called Israel or 
Palestine, they should be allowed to do so.

The core of the conflict is the refugee problem. Without solving it 
in a satisfactory way, the conflict will continue. Arabs and Muslims 
will continue supporting Palestinians. Zionist-controlled governments 
in the West will continue their support for Israel. More invasions 
and wars will be launched to secure Israel, like the disastrous 
invasion and occupation of Iraq. More death and destruction will 
occur on all parties. It's crazy. It has to stop.

If there's a genuine thinking about peace in the minds of the leaders 
of the Zionist Empire, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has to be 
resolved on basis of justice. Only then, there will be peace.

For Olmert to demand that Palestinians relinquish their inalienable 
right of return, he is either an ignorant and stupid person, or he is 
just presenting a stunt for the Zionist media machine worldwide to 
distract the American people away from the war disaster of Iraq.

If Zionists are trying to salvage their Empire, they need to leave 
the Palestinians alone. Israeli occupation forces and settlers should 
leave the Palestinian territories, allowing Palestinians to establish 
their own VIABLE state. When this happens, and several years of 
friendly relations pass, then the refugee problem can be addressed.

To demand the Palestinians to give up their right of return is no starter.

At best, it's stupidity.

But, it may be just another excuse to blame the victims.

It's a cheap media stunt to give President Bush a nice reception in 
Jordan. Then, things go back to business as usual after the visit:

Death, destruction, assassinations, air strikes, collective 
punishment, kidnapping people from their homes, butchering entire 
families, demolition of homes, air raids on electricity and water 
supplies, while starving the population under occupation.

These have been the Zionist contributions to the world, so far.


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