PUBLIC STATEMENT ISSUED BY PALESTINIAN POPULAR INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS
 
On October 17, 2001, the New York Times newspaper published an article on a lecture given by Dr. Sari Nusseibeh at Jerusalem's Hebrew University on October 15. In that article, Dr. Nusseibeh is said to have "criticized the Palestinian uprising as hopelessly mired in bloodshed and argued that a peace agreement incorporating a Palestinian state could only be reached if the Palestinians abandoned a longstanding demand for the return of refugees dislocated in war more than 50 years ago to their former homes in Israel." "The Palestinians have to realize," the article quotes Dr. Nusseibeh as saying, "that if we are to reach an agreement on two states, then those two states will have to be one for the Israelis and one for the Palestinians, not one for the Palestinians and the other also for the Palestinians" (Source: Joel Greenberg, "Palestinian Offers Idea: Get Israelis On Our Side", The New York Times, October 17, 2001). Dr. Nusseibeh has also made those statements to a number of media outlets, including Al-Jazeera TV, and to Israel's Channel One Television, on November 7, 2001.
 
Based on the above mentioned article, and on other statements made by Dr. Nusseibeh to various Western, Israeli and Arab media - statements which are much more loaded than the above-mentioned quote, and are against the Intifada, and ridicule the Palestinian mentality, and marginalize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people - we as popular refugee institutions, unions and organizations would like to stress the following:
 
First: Dr. Nusseibeh represents only himself. We deem his speech at the Hebrew University, and his subsequent statements in general as a flagrant violation of our national rights, particularly of our brave Intifada, and of our right of return to our homes from which we were forcibly displaced by Zionist terrorism. Our right of return can neither be abrogated nor cancelled by Dr. Nusseibeh and the like.
 
Second: Mr. Nusseibeh's call for the establishment of two ethnic states contradicts the right of every individual refugee to return to his/her homeland. It also goes in contradiction with the struggle of our people inside the Green Line who bitterly suffer every day and every moment from ethnic racism practiced against them. It is worth reminding Dr. Nusseibeh and others that there are 1.3 million Palestinian citizens inside "Israel," among them some 250,000 internally displaced who live as refugees in their homeland, often a very short distance from their original homes and properties. These refugees are denied the right to return to their homes and lands by the ethnic racist state, and they are prevented from practicing their natural right to live on their properties and reap their fruits. This is their fate solely because they are Palestinians. Does Nusseibeh therefore advocate the establishment of an ethnically pure and racist Jewish Zionist state, as do the extreme racist Zionists?
 
Third: There are international resolutions and laws, and there are human rights laws that guarantee the refugees' right to return to their homes, irrespective of who holds the power or has the authority. Do we surrender our individual and collective rights to an abhorrent ethnic excuse and to the law of the jungle!? What is it that Dr. Nusseibeh wants us to "realize!?" We fully understand that no people in the world except our own has had to accept an unjust UN resolution like Resolution 181 (UN Partition Plan for Palestine), which was a violation of international law, as well as consequent UN resolutions, such as 194, 242, in order to establish their state on the remaining part of Palestine, and for the return of the refugees to their homes. We as a people, along with our leadership, fully understand that the rights of refugees are guaranteed in resolution 194, specifically in its explicit text on their right to return to their homes, and to practice the freedom of choice.
 
Fourth: What Dr. Nusseibeh is stating can not be considered within the freedom of expression or personal opinion. The rights of nations and of individuals can not be subjected to intellectual or academic exercise. These are rights with clear interpretations, and with clear basic rules.
 
Fifth: We demand that Dr. Nusseibeh stop damaging our rights and that he stop abusing the freedom of opinion and expression. We also demand that he follow the Palestinian National Program to which we have all agreed, as a people along with our leadership. Unless Dr. Nusseibeh has his own national or political agenda, there is no reason why he should not follow this program. If however he does have his own agenda, then we demand that he spell it out publicly. We urge him to read various statements made by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Arab, international and Islamic forums, wherein Mr. Arafat repeatedly affirms that the basis for solving the Palestinian refugee question lies in UN General Assembly Resolution 194, with international law and international legitimacy serving as terms of reference.
 
Signatories:
Popular Committees - Gaza Strip
Union of Community Youth Centers in the Refugee Camps – Palestine
National Society for the Defense of the Displaced Inside Israel - 1948 Palestine
Union of Women Activity Centers - West Bank Refugee Camps
BADIL Resource Center, Bethlehem, Palestine
Committee for the Defense of Refugee Rights - Balata Camp, Palestine
Jafa Cultural Center - Balata Camp, Palestine
Higher National Committee for the Return of the Refugees - Sana'oud - Nablus Governorate, Palestine
Office of National Institutions - Tubas Governorate, Palestine
Students Council - Jerusalem Open University - Nablus, Palestine
Handicapped Rehabilitation Committee - West Bank Refugee Camps, Palestine
The Coordinating Committee of Political Factions - Nablus Governorate
The Coordinating Committee of Political Factions - Tubas Governorate
All-Party Coordinating Committee-Jerusalem, Palestine
Aidun Group, Syria
High Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return, Jordan
Al-Awda Network, UK
Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition-Steering Committee, North America
Palestinian Right of Return Coalition-Europe
 
Concluding Statement of the Second Coordinating Meeting of the Coalition for the Palestinian Right of Return
Brussels, 27-30 November 2001
There is no question that the al-Aqsa intifada (uprising), now in its second year of noble sacrifices, has strengthened the Palestinians’ resolve and determination in seeing through to completion their struggle for their national rights, which have become the unifying and focal point of Palestinian sentiment whether in the homeland or in exile.
 
The sacrifices of the Palestinian people during the brave intifada have forged certain developments and changes on the ground. This, in turn, has contributed to constructing new frameworks for struggle and unity which proved more effective in protecting the intifada and maintaining our people’s national goals, defined as: ending the Israeli occupation; establishing an independent sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital; and adhering to our right of return, as spelled out in UN General Assembly Resolution 194.
 
As part of our people’s efforts to secure their national rights, this Second Coordinating Meeting was held in Brussels between 27-30 November 2001 on an invitation from the Bethlehem-based BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, in cooperation with OXFAM / Belgium. Various NGOs, committees and centers working for the defense of our right of return (listed below) also took part in this meeting and were consulted. At a time when our people is engaged in a valiant struggle for their national rights, under the most difficult and complicated of international situations, the aim of this meeting was to improve the level of coordination and cooperation among the participating organizations in order to strengthen the position of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons.
 
The following goals were set for this Second Coordinating Meeting:
1.        Improving the level of coordination and cooperation among the participants.
2.        Formulating a unified discourse on return which is based upon international laws and principles.
3.        Designing a joint action plan for the year 2002.
 
The meeting began with an evaluation session during which participants reviewed their activities related to the defense of the right of return. They reviewed the achievements in this respect and elaborated upon the obstacles and difficulties they faced. They then moved on to a presentation and discussion of the working papers and the topics on the agenda, including:
1.        The participants’ reports on their activities for the previous year.
2.        A paper entitled “The Right of Return and Self Determination – Principles and Priorities,” presented by the two ‘Aidun groups of Lebanon and Syria.
3.        A paper entitled “The Palestinian Refugees’ Right of Return and the European NGO Solidarity Movement,” presented by BADIL Resource Center.
4.        A paper entitled “Towards the Publication of an Arabic-Language Periodical by the Right of Return Coalition,” presented by BADIL Resource Center.
5.        A study of the Bosnian refugees’ experience and of the mechanisms for their return to their homes of origin.
At the end of the discussion sessions and in light of the conclusions and results reached, the participants made the following decisions:
1.        Declaring that the “Coalition for the Palestinian Right of Return” shall serve as the main umbrella organization, which will include all current member organizations and will be open to all NGOs, committees and centers working on the right of return who wish to join the coalition.
2.        Agreeing to reach out to Palestinian organizations and centers working on the right of return in those countries that were not represented in this meeting, to invite them to join the coalition.
3.        Agreeing to strive to strengthen relations with other (i.e., non-Palestinian) solidarity organizations and groups in order to widen support for our right as refugees to return to our homes of origin, in accordance with Resolution 194, and to impress upon the international community its obligation to guarantee our return.
4.        Emphasizing that the general principles on return which were part of the Concluding Statement of last year’s First Coordinating Meeting, held in Cyprus, remain part of the unified basis for the Coalition for the Palestinian Right of Return.
5.        Entrusting BADIL Resource Center with the responsibility for coordinating among coalition members during the year 2002.
The following recommendations were agreed upon:
1.        To continue discussion on the publication of an Arabic-language periodical under the name of the coalition. It was agreed that a decision should be reached on this issue by the end of February 2002.
2.        To refine the paper presented by the two ‘Aidun groups from Lebanon and Syria, in light of the recorded remarks and suggestions.
3.        To address world public opinion in accordance with the bases and principles of the coalition’s discourse on return.
4.        To work to alert Palestinian refugees living in Europe and America of the importance of registering with UNRWA.
5.        To confront adamantly any statement made or position taken that infringes upon our right of return or tries to relegate this right to a mere bargaining chip.
6.        To hold the next coordinating meeting of the coalition in one year’s time.
The right of return has become an essential part of the current Palestinian national struggle and the core foundation of the work of several of our NGOs, popular centers and committees. This being the case, it is imperative that the coalition strengthen itself in order to be able to shoulder the tasks for which it has taken responsibility.
The participants in the meeting also stressed the belief that defending our right of return is a responsibility of all Palestinians wherever they may be and that the decades-old struggle to achieve our national rights will not end until these rights are fully granted. Our people are all united on all these rights and will struggle for them all.
 
At the closing of the meeting, the participants saluted with appreciation our brave intifada, in which our unarmed people are confronting the occupation forces with steadfastness and resolve to achieve their full rights. The participants also saluted our brothers in the 1948 territories, who are struggling against Israel’s racism, all the while clinging to their national identity and their sense of belonging to their nation.
 
A salute of reverence to our martyrs.
A salute of appreciation and reverence to our steadfast prisoners in Israeli jails.
We shall return to our land.
Brussels, 30 November 2001
Participants in the Second Coordinating Meeting of the Coalition for the Palestinian Right of Return:
1.        BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights - Palestine.
2.        Committee for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights & Yafa Cultural Center – Palestine.
3.        Union of Youth Activity Centers – Refugee Camps, Palestine.
4.        National Society for the Rights of the Internally Displaced – 1948 Palestine/Israel.
5.        High Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return – Jordan.
6.        ‘Aidun Group – Syria.
7.        ‘Aidun Group – Lebanon.
8.        Forum of NGOs in Lebanon (an umbrella coalition including most major Palestinian NGOs operating in Lebanon) – Lebanon.
9.        Palestine Right to Return Coalition (Al-‘Awda Network) – North America.
10.     Al ‘Awda-Palestine Right to Return Coalition Europe – Europe.