Speech of Dr. Nabeel Shaath

The Commissioner – General of International Relations Fatah Movemet To the Council Meeting of Socialist International Santo Domingo –the Dominican Republic 23-24 November 2009 Mr. Chairman, Secretary General, Brothers and Sisters It is a great pleasure to be here, with SI friends, particularly Gorge Papandreou and Luis Ayala. Gorge is here both as president, of SI, and as the Prime minister of Greece as well, Congratulations. I am happy to be in Santo Domingo, and as I would like to thank our gracious hosts for their wonderful hospitality. I am happy to be in Latin America, in the Caribbean and I would like to use the opportunity to salute the 23 countries of Latin America including the Dominican republic for voting with the resolution of the UN General Assembly supporting the Goldstone Report, and the human rights of the Palestinian people, and voting earlier with a resolution supporting the national political rights of our people. Latin America is changing, and we are delighted with what we see: a more progressive, more independent and more democratic continent, supporting freedom, human rights and international cooperation for a better world. I represent Fatah, the National Liberation Movement of the Palestinian people, founded by our great leader, the late Yasser Arafat, and led today by our president Mahmoud Abbas. I do bring you his greetings and best wishes for the success of your council meeting. Fatah is a democratic, progressive, and a revolutionary movement which led the struggle for the Palestinian freedom, independence and return, to end the Israeli occupation of our land. Fatah also is the party that committed itself to peace and justice through negotiations, nonviolent struggle, and peaceful resistance .we have been engaged for 18 years in a peace process based on international legality leading to a two-state solution . We choose to build our institutions and government on the basis of democratic socialism. We are proud to be a member of Socialist International, enjoying its support and that of democratic socialist leaders of our quest for peace, freedom and independence: Bruno Kreisky, Olof Palme, Willy Brandt, and later on Anna Lindh, Philipe Gonzales, Miguel Moratinos, George Papandreou and Luis Ayala. We have been enriched and inspired by our membership of this progressive body and we are still cherishing its constant support. Mr. Chairman Brothers and sisters I know the interest of this conference is focused on serious problems of the day: the global economic crisis, the challenge of global development, nuclear disarmament, and the Copenhagen conference attempting to save our environment to save our existence on earth. I know these are interrelated issues, and social democrats have a clean and distinctive input in developing a strategy to lead with them. I followed with great interest your statements, delivered with eloquence, and enthusiasm. I also studied carefully the ideas expounded by the report of the SI Commission for Sustainable World Society. We Palestinians are highly affected by these issues. More than half of our populations are refugees expelled from their country, and are not allowed to go back home. In effect, they have become migrant workers, seriously affected by the global economic downturn. Our budget is supported by financial assistance from international donors, which diminishes with the financial crisis. Israel, the occupying power in our country has a vast nuclear arsenal which is not (………) to any inspection, as it is a non-signatory to the NPT. We have no way of assessing the environmental damage to our ground, climate and people from the Dimona Nuclear arms center, and from the Israeli practice of dumping waste in our land, with all the concomitant risks involved. However, the more serious risks to us, to our neighbors, region, and even to the world is caused by the continuing the occupation of our country, leading to political and armed conflict resulting into major destruction and instability. The SI council reports indicates this risk clearly, and allow me to quote from it: “ongoing political conflicts impede global development in its different dimensions. Some of these conflicts have not only a local impact, but a regional and global one. Their root causes need to be addressed in order to allow for economic, social, environmental, and cultural development. This requires upholding international law, ensuring respect for human rights, and addressing growing inequalities. A successful development strategy must include a strategy to end conflicts and to ensure people’s rights.” Your report is absolutely on the mark .It could not have been more visionary in linking political factors to the global economic situation. The situation in the Middle East is a very obvious and relevant example. Socialist International should be most interested in engaging in the confrontation in the Middle East when it addresses global economic and environmental concerns. President Obama, mentioned frequently in your reports, would agree very much with this conclusion. In his speech in Cairo, he noted that the grievances of the Arab and Muslim World against the west in general, and American in particular, emanate primarily from the Palestinian tragedy and the way the U.S has dealt with it. He concluded that a solution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict will go a long way in creating a climate of trust that would assist in resolving problems in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, removing a major cause of instability and conflict in the area. Mr. Obama suggested that a quick remedy would require putting a full stop to all settlement activities in the west bank, including Jerusalem, and the so called “natural growth”. Once settlements freeze, negotiations could be resumed to create an independent state of Palestine, side by side with Israel. These negotiations would be based on the mutually and internationally accepted terms of reference, and would have brief time line. Mr Obama‘s diagnosis and suggested medicine were right. They were applauded by the Palestinians, the Arabs, and the international community. Mr. Netanyahu rejected both Obama’s diagnosis and medicine. The president of the USA retracted, and retreated, as a result, we had to face yet again, a bleak and risky situation. In return, the extreme right government of Israel suggested a short term settlement moratorium that excludes Jerusalem (which accounts for 40% of all settlement activities ) allows building to accommodate settlers ‘’ natural growth ‘’ which is estimated to be 1% in Israel , but consequent Israeli governments have allowed 9% to be more relevant for settlements ! Public buildings would be exempted from the freeze as well, and to top it all, the Israeli government announced that it has allowed the building of 3500 additional housing units, that are not included in the moratorium. Since Israel builds 2500 units annually on the average in the west bank, including Jerusalem, 2009-2010 will actually see more settlements built than in any year since 2001. That is the deceptive Netanyahu offer that Mrs. Clinton considered unprecedented!!! Mr. Obama was baffled and hesitant, so the Israelis announced yet another 900 housing units to be built in the Gilo settlements, between Jerusalem and Beit Jala, the announcement stunned the world. The EU presidency declared its dismay recalling that settlements activities, house demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. Such activities, the EU presidency stated prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations and threaten the validity of two- state solutions. The presidency recalled that the EU had never recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, nor the subsequent 1980 basic law. ‘’The actions taken by the Israelis government contravene repeated calls by the International Community , including the Quartet, and run counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and voidable solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians” . “If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of the two states’’. These were strong words from the EU, yet the EU continued to discuss upgrading its relationships with Israel the occupying power, and split on endorsing the Goldstone Report, with seven European countries voting against. We really needed some action, not just strong words. It is really very difficult to see how a process based on the Madrid Principle of “land for peace ‘’ can allow Israel to produce no peace, while devouring the land under negotiation. Israel is building houses for Israelis colonizing Arab East Jerusalem while destroying homes of Palestinians that have lived there for centuries. Twenty five thousand Palestinian homes were destroyed since 1967, 5000 since 2004!! When Egypt signed its peace agreement with Israel in Camp David in 1978, Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin committed Israel to a 5 year settlement freeze, during which a Palestinian –Israeli agreement could be reached . Three months later, Mr. Begin reneged on his commitment. Mr. Carter told me “I should have used my power to enforce that agreement. I failed to do so which was a big mistake, and you paid the price.” And we did. In 1978 there were 6000 settlers in the West Bank and Gaza .there is now 540,0000 settlers in the West Bank only. It is impossible to negotiate a territory that is shrinking by the day, and it is impossible to maintain a viable, contiguous territory to build a state on while settlements are fragmenting it into 41 pieces, and a wall of separation made by steel and concrete 700 km long is snaking through it to protect these very settlements. This game of deception has been going on for 18 years; it must stop. We need to see a change on the ground before we head to the table again. Israel unilateral actions are not confined only to settlement activities and wall building and wall building. Israel decided unilaterally to withdraw firm Gaza, and besiege it completely, invading it unilaterally at will, it decided unilaterally to reoccupy the whole west bank, and isolate Arab East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestine, and yet the Israeli government found our compliant to the Security Council asking for its recognition of our state on the 1967 border, a monstrous unilateral act that must be fought by boycott and reinvasion if necessary. Actually it was a decision designed to protect what remains of the two-state solution. As President Abbas approached his people, and the world last month with a broken heart, declaring his will not to run again for a leading role, as a result of the impasse, and the settlement catastrophe. He never gave up on the rights of the Palestinian people, or on the prospects for peace.”Peace based on the two-state solution is still valid and doable” he declared in Ramallah. He stated the eight points necessary for its success: 1. The terms of reference continue to be UN Resolution 242, 338, 1515, the road map, and the Arab peace plan, leading to a two state solution. Negotiations should be resumed, making use of progress achieved in Camp David, Taba, and Annapolis. 2. Borders should be based on the 4th of June borders, with swaps of equal value, provided our water rights and geographic contiguity are not affected. 3. East Jerusalem, occupied in 1967 will be the capital of independent Palestinian State, free access to holy places guaranteed. 4. Refugees; a just and agreed solution based on UNGA 194, the Arab Plan, the Road Map. 5. Settlements in the 1967 occupied territory will be illegal ,all further settlement activities should be halted immediately 6. Security arrangements on the borders of the two states assigned to a third party. 7. Water rights; to be based on international law. With regional water cooperation. Our sovereignty extends over the ground, in the sky, underground, and into the territorial sea. 8. Our political prisoners, our heroes of freedom to be released. President Abbas repeated his readiness to move into negotiations on these bases once settlement activities are totally frozen, until an agreement is reached. Friends; Sisters and Brothers, Despite all the obstacles and difficulties we are still determined to succeed. We remain committed to democracy and social justice, but it is very difficult to achieve them under colonization, exclusivism, and military occupation. How can you manage an economy when you are deprived of the control of your land and water? Gaza remains encircled. 20% of its homes are destroyed and their inhabitants remain without shelter, and yet Israel will not allow one bag of cement in Gaza to rebuild shelters for the winter. We need your support to end the last colony in Asia and the Middle East, to stand up for socialist ideas about the national and human rights of people. We commit ourselves to continue our non-violent struggle to achieve freedom, and independence and to create a democratic society and government in Palestine. We commit ourselves to achieve unity and internal solidarity and finally never to lose right of the absolute necessity of creating peace with our Israeli neighbors, as neighbors and equal partners and not as occupiers and oppressors. There is no valid alternative to a just peace. It is superior to any other. We believe it is still possible and durable. We need your help to make it happen.