Palestijnen uit alle geledingen verwerpen Bush's voorstel tot compensatie van de vluchtelingen, veelal onder verwijzing naar VN resolutie 194. Er heersen veel misverstanden over deze resolutie, dus even een paar feiten op een rijtje. Deze resolutie is in 1948 door de Algemene Vergadering aangenomen (en dus geen onderdeel van het internationale recht), nog voordat er wapenstilstandsovereenkomsten tussen Israël en de buurlanden waren getekend. In deze resolutie worden een aantal aanbevelingen gedaan, onder andere met betrekking tot Jeruzalem:
7. Resolves that the Holy Places - including Nazareth - religious buildings and sites in Palestine should be protected and free access to them assured, in accordance with existing rights and historical practice; that arrangements to this end should be under effective United Nations supervision; that the United Nations Conciliation Commission, in presenting to the fourth regular session of the General Assembly its detailed proposals for a permanent international régime for the territory of Jerusalem, should include recommendations concerning the Holy Places in that territory, that with regard to the Holy Places in the rest of Palestine the Commission should call upon the political authorities of the areas concerned to give appropriate formal guarantees as to the protection of the Holy Places and access to them, and that these undertakings should be presented to the General Assembly for approval;
De Arabische staten hebben deze resolutie afgewezen en van de aanbevelingen wat betreft Jeruzalem (naast bovenstaande werd, in navolging van de delingsresolutie, internationalisering van Jeruzalem voorgesteld) is niks terecht gekomen, omdat zowel Israël als de Arabische staten daar tegen waren. Sterker nog, tussen 1948 en 1967 heeft Jordanië 56 van de 57 synagoges verwoest en grafstenen van de Joodse begraafplaats gebruikt om wegen aan te leggen. In schending van het wapenstilstandsverdrag tussen Israël en Jordanië is Joden de toegang tot de Klaagmuur systematisch geweigerd. De VN noch andere internationale lichamen hebben dit veroordeeld of een poging ondernomen dit te veranderen.
Over de vluchtelingen zegt 194:
11. Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible;
Een beetje mager om aan een Algemene Vergadering resolutie, die door beide partijen is verworpen, en slechts de aanbeveling doet dat de vluchtelingen die in vrede met hun buren willen leven moeten kunnen terugkeren, een onvervreemdbaar en voor altijd geldend internationaal recht te ontlenen. Bovendien ging het toen om zojuist gevluchte Arabieren, nu gaat het met name om nakomelingen, soms van de derde of vierde generatie, die heel hun leven elders hebben gewoond.
Het lijkt bijna een wanhoopsdaad om je voor een vermeend recht op een zulke gebrekkige basis te beroepen, maar toch wordt resolutie 194 door velen zo gebruikt en wordt dit (te) weinig weersproken.
Ratna
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Palestinians Collectively Reject Bush Proposal
By Ali El-Saleh - Asharq Al-Awsat
13/01/2008
www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=11445
By Ali El-Saleh - Asharq Al-Awsat
13/01/2008
www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=11445
London, Asharq Al-Awsat- The proposal by US President George Bush during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories of laying down an international mechanism to compensate the Palestinian refugees has aroused Palestinian reactions that could be described as homogenous in their content, whether at the official, unofficial, or opposition levels. The Palestinian stance can be summarized by saying that this proposal if it indicates anything, it does indicate an attempt to bypass the resolutions of the international legitimacy, especially Resolution 194, which gives the refugees the right to choose between return and compensation for those who do not want to go back.
Nimr Hammad, political advisor to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazin), told Asharq Al-Awsat, "What President Bush said expresses his viewpoint." Hammad added: "We do not believe that the solution is to shrink the international resolutions, including Resolution 194 for which the United States have been voting all the past years, and consider them as nonexistent. There is a resolution and a right that have to be taken into consideration. The formula agreed upon and ratified at the Arab, Palestinian, and even US levels is that of an agreed and negotiated settlement based on Resolution 194. Here I am also talking about the Arab initiative, the Road Map, and UN Resolution 1515, which was sponsored by the United States." Hammad concluded by saying: "Perhaps through this proposal President Bush is trying to convince the Israelis and attract them to the negotiations' table."
Moreover, Azzam Al-Ahmad, leader of Fatah parliamentary bloc, told Asharq Al-Awsat, "An international resolution ought to be taken as a whole and not in a piecemeal way." Al-Ahmad considers the proposal: "This is a deviation from Resolution 194 to which all ought to adhere." Al-Ahmad pointed out, "The resolution refers to the public right upon which the PLO can now decide, and to the private or individual right which is superseded by the public right. However, it will remain the right of every Palestinian refugee to demand this right individually." According to Al-Ahmad, similar discussions took place in the Camp David negotiations in July 2000, in which late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraq participated, and which were sponsored by former US President Bill Clinton.
Yahya Musa, deputy chairman of the Hamas bloc in the Legislative Council, considered, "with this proposal, Bush is trying to erase history and the international resolutions for the benefit of his jelly-like and ambiguous vision." Musa added that with this proposal of his, Bush was exploiting the circumstances to direct the issue in a way to serve his aims and beliefs, and to support Israel.
Sami Abu-Zahri, Hamas spokesman, said that Bush's proposal, by talking about compensation only, represented an abolition of the right to return, and a deviation from the resolution that gave the refugees the right to return to their homes from which they were expelled. Abu-Zahri added: "This proposal reflects Bush's stances toward the other principal issues, such as Jerusalem. He talks about amending the borders, and supporting the annexation of settlement blocks, which means usurping the Palestinian rights." "All this," according to Abu-Zahri, "emphasizes his stance, which he declared on his arrival in Tel Aviv, namely confirming the Jewishness of the State of Israel,"
Jamil Majdalawi, chairman of the Refugees Committee at the Legislative Council, described Bush's proposal as an attempt to wriggle out of Resolution 194, and to empty it of any content. Majdalawi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said, "The basis of Resolution 194 is the right of the refugees to return to their homes from which they were expelled by force. As for the compensation, it is a completion of this essence of the resolution, and it is offered to anyone who does not want to return." Majdalawi continued, "Bush now presents the compensation as a sole option. I am afraid he finds something that encourages him to make this proposal in some Arab resolutions (the Arab initiative) and some Palestinian behaviors and vague texts, not to mention what some Palestinians, such as the Geneva groups and their infamous document, presented of ideas to resolve the issue of the refugees. These ideas not only strike at the core of Resolution 194, but they also squander the political and social entities of the Palestinian people, and consecrate their living in exile permanently. Naturally, these factors and others are the ones that encourage Bush to look for an alternative to Resolution 194."
Qaddurah Faris, member of the so-called "Geneva group," told Asharq Al-Awsat, "The issue of the refugees should not be handled this way, but it should be handled within the context of a comprehensive solution. First of all, fragmenting the issues will not do. Secondly, Bush said clearly that the United Nations failed to find a solution, and its resolutions are dated; this way, he destroys all the international references of the solution. "Qaddurah, who is one of the younger leaders of Fatah Movement, added, "The issue of compensation is part of Resolution 194. Talking about compensational one is a selective stance. The issue of the refugees and other issues should be handled collectively."
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
Nimr Hammad, political advisor to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazin), told Asharq Al-Awsat, "What President Bush said expresses his viewpoint." Hammad added: "We do not believe that the solution is to shrink the international resolutions, including Resolution 194 for which the United States have been voting all the past years, and consider them as nonexistent. There is a resolution and a right that have to be taken into consideration. The formula agreed upon and ratified at the Arab, Palestinian, and even US levels is that of an agreed and negotiated settlement based on Resolution 194. Here I am also talking about the Arab initiative, the Road Map, and UN Resolution 1515, which was sponsored by the United States." Hammad concluded by saying: "Perhaps through this proposal President Bush is trying to convince the Israelis and attract them to the negotiations' table."
Moreover, Azzam Al-Ahmad, leader of Fatah parliamentary bloc, told Asharq Al-Awsat, "An international resolution ought to be taken as a whole and not in a piecemeal way." Al-Ahmad considers the proposal: "This is a deviation from Resolution 194 to which all ought to adhere." Al-Ahmad pointed out, "The resolution refers to the public right upon which the PLO can now decide, and to the private or individual right which is superseded by the public right. However, it will remain the right of every Palestinian refugee to demand this right individually." According to Al-Ahmad, similar discussions took place in the Camp David negotiations in July 2000, in which late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Baraq participated, and which were sponsored by former US President Bill Clinton.
Yahya Musa, deputy chairman of the Hamas bloc in the Legislative Council, considered, "with this proposal, Bush is trying to erase history and the international resolutions for the benefit of his jelly-like and ambiguous vision." Musa added that with this proposal of his, Bush was exploiting the circumstances to direct the issue in a way to serve his aims and beliefs, and to support Israel.
Sami Abu-Zahri, Hamas spokesman, said that Bush's proposal, by talking about compensation only, represented an abolition of the right to return, and a deviation from the resolution that gave the refugees the right to return to their homes from which they were expelled. Abu-Zahri added: "This proposal reflects Bush's stances toward the other principal issues, such as Jerusalem. He talks about amending the borders, and supporting the annexation of settlement blocks, which means usurping the Palestinian rights." "All this," according to Abu-Zahri, "emphasizes his stance, which he declared on his arrival in Tel Aviv, namely confirming the Jewishness of the State of Israel,"
Jamil Majdalawi, chairman of the Refugees Committee at the Legislative Council, described Bush's proposal as an attempt to wriggle out of Resolution 194, and to empty it of any content. Majdalawi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said, "The basis of Resolution 194 is the right of the refugees to return to their homes from which they were expelled by force. As for the compensation, it is a completion of this essence of the resolution, and it is offered to anyone who does not want to return." Majdalawi continued, "Bush now presents the compensation as a sole option. I am afraid he finds something that encourages him to make this proposal in some Arab resolutions (the Arab initiative) and some Palestinian behaviors and vague texts, not to mention what some Palestinians, such as the Geneva groups and their infamous document, presented of ideas to resolve the issue of the refugees. These ideas not only strike at the core of Resolution 194, but they also squander the political and social entities of the Palestinian people, and consecrate their living in exile permanently. Naturally, these factors and others are the ones that encourage Bush to look for an alternative to Resolution 194."
Qaddurah Faris, member of the so-called "Geneva group," told Asharq Al-Awsat, "The issue of the refugees should not be handled this way, but it should be handled within the context of a comprehensive solution. First of all, fragmenting the issues will not do. Secondly, Bush said clearly that the United Nations failed to find a solution, and its resolutions are dated; this way, he destroys all the international references of the solution. "Qaddurah, who is one of the younger leaders of Fatah Movement, added, "The issue of compensation is part of Resolution 194. Talking about compensational one is a selective stance. The issue of the refugees and other issues should be handled collectively."
--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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