Sign on: Palestinian collective statement defends the Right to Return and demands accountability

The US Palestinian Community Network endorses the following statement and strongly encourages all members, chapters, and the broader Palestinian community to add their names. This statement was developed by Palestinian youth in Lebanon in response to Mahmoud Abbas’ recent comments undermining the Palestinian right to return. The statement was launched at a protest at the Palestinian Authority embassy in Beirut; similar protests took place in Amman and New York City. The Palestinian youth are calling upon Palestinians around the world to add their name to this statement. To add your name, please email your name and location to [email protected] or use our online form below.

Palestinian Youth Statement from Lebanon

In his latest statement, Mahmoud Abbas, the term-expired president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), reiterated the PA’s commitment to the futile negotiations process and compromised Palestinian historical rights, foremost among them the Right of Return (RoR).

Abbas’ recognition of the Zionist entity is a blatant violation of our right to Palestine, undivided, and our right to return to it. Such statements are an insult to the sacrifices of our martyrs and the struggle of our people. Furthermore, his characterization of armed struggle as terrorism flagrantly undermines our right to practice to all forms of resistance, particularly under occupation, which is a right enshrined in international law.

We confirm our commitment to the original spirit of the Palestinian National Charter, and we reiterate that our people’s sacrifices of martyrdom and struggle should be solely invested toward the goal of liberating all of Palestine.

We are here today to demand the revocation of the Oslo Accords; the abandonment of the negotiations discourse; and the dissolution of the Palestinian authorities, which have burdened our people with internal divisions along political factions and political arrests.

We are here today to reassert our reclamation of all of historic Palestine, and to reiterate that we are the daughters and sons of this land.

We demand that the leadership of the PLO:

1. Hold Mahmoud Abbas accountable for his statements that are detrimental to the national spirit among Palestinian people worldwide;

2. Pressure Abbas to issue a public apology to all Palestinians, and Palestinian refugees in particular;

3. Reaffirm the Right of Return;

4. Immediately halt all processes of security coordination with the Zionist entity and cut off all channels of political, security and media cooperation;

5. Immediately release all Palestinian political prisoners and activists currently held in the prisons of both Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza;

6. Seek unity and take meaningful steps towards ending the Palestinian political division;

7. Immediately set in motion a process for electing a new Palestinian National Council involving all Palestinians worldwide;

8. Revive and reactivate the PLO, constructing a Palestinian National strategy that upholds the original spirit of the Palestinian Charter and guides the struggle of all Palestinian political groups;

9. Hold accountable any party that compromises historically enshrined Palestinian rights, creating internal divisions.

Together on the path of victory, return and self determination

Sign on:

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