Ramallah (UNA/WAFA) – The Palestinian National Council said that the Balfour Declaration issued on November 2, 1917, constituted a catastrophe and created a historical crime against the Palestinian people that continues to this day, as it gave what one does not own to those who do not deserve it, establishing the occupation, colonialism, and forced displacement that the Palestinians were subjected to and whose effects they still face today.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Council added that the continuation of the occupation and its crimes, most recently the ethnic cleansing operations taking place in Hebron and Palestinian villages and towns, reveals that the repercussions of that promise have not stopped but continue today through policies of annexation, Judaization, settlement expansion, and the escalation of settler terrorism. These settlers carry out their attacks on citizens, their lands, properties, and olive trees under the direct protection of the extremist right-wing government, within the framework of plans aimed at imposing colonial realities, eliminating the Palestinian presence, and carrying out ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, especially in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank..
He pointed out that the killing, destruction, displacement, and starvation that the Gaza Strip is experiencing, along with the continued targeting of civilians and violations of the ceasefire agreement, confirm that the truce has not ended the suffering of the Palestinian people and necessitates urgent and effective international action to ensure the protection of civilians, stop the violations, lift the siege, open the crossings, and allow the entry of humanitarian and medical aid without restrictions..
The Council commended the growing international recognition of the State of Palestine and the official and popular expressions of solidarity in various countries around the world. It expressed its appreciation to the countries that have championed Palestinian rights, and to the peoples and free forces that have stood by our people and their national rights. The Council affirmed that these positions represent significant support for our struggle for freedom and independence, and called upon the remaining countries, particularly the United States, to recognize the State of Palestine within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital..
He stressed that any arrangements or initiatives concerning the Gaza Strip or the future of the Palestinian territories cannot succeed without respecting Palestinian sovereignty and national decision-making, the unity of the land and people, and rejecting all attempts at fragmentation, guardianship, and the infringement of national rights..
The Palestinian National Council called on the international community to assume its legal, political and moral responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, who are suffering under the longest racist colonial occupation in modern history, stressing that the policies of the extreme right-wing government and its projects based on annexation, settlement and Judaization have closed all paths to achieving a just peace and undermined the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
He stressed that mere statements of condemnation are no longer acceptable and that what is required are binding international measures that end the occupation, put an end to its crimes, and guarantee the Palestinian people their right to freedom, self-determination, independence, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
(is over)
