Israel Matzav

'Refugees' warn Abu Mazen not to accept 'two-state solution'

A prominent spokesman of 'Palestinian refugees' - the people who have been living in 'camps' in Arab countries for sixty years waiting for the Jews to be thrown into the sea - has warned 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen not to compromise their 'rights' by accepting a 'two-state solution' at the upcoming international conference gang-up on Israel.

In a letter to Abbas, Salman Abu Sitta, a prominent spokesman for Palestinian refugees, wrote: "We are aware of the pressure you are facing to abandon the Palestinian position and endorse Israel's vision. But what has drawn our attention more than anything else is Israel's attempt to redefine the idea of the two-state solution. Israel now wants mutual recognition - Israel as the national homeland of the Jews and, on what's left of the land, Palestine as the national homeland of the Palestinians."

Abu Sitta described the Israeli formula as "extremely dangerous," saying it should be rejected by all Arabs. He said accepting this formula would be tantamount to abandoning the Arab right to Palestine and accepting the Jews' ostensible historical and biblical rights to the land.

In addition, Abu Sitta argued, the Israeli stance abolishes the right of return for Palestinians on two levels: recognition of this right and its fulfillment.

"This would constitute a historic burden; no Palestinian could bear its consequences in front of his people and history," he cautioned. He said it was inconceivable that the Palestinians would abandon the right of return after decades of fighting.

Abu Sitta is not alone. 'Palestinians' being held in 'camps' in Arab countries are equally opposed to conceding Israel's 'right to exist'.

Representatives of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon also appealed to Abbas not to relinquish the right of return. In letters to Abbas, they criticized Abbas's promise to hold a referendum on any deal he reaches with Israel. "Since when are our rights a disputed matter?" they asked. They said such a referendum would be meaningless because it would be held only in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Why should the 'Palestinians' change their position now? After all, it's gained them so much in the last sixty years.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:49 AM