Independence:
From Vision to Reality
From the official Palestinian Fatah Website

(via IMRA 20/11/98) …. The gap between the concept of independence as it was enunciated ten years ago, and the actualization of that concept can only be filled when we exercise sovereignty on our land. The control that the PNA exercises over the areas from which Israeli troops redeployed does not amount to sovereignty, by any definition -- much less the definition given to that term in international law.

We have some of our land, a government, some of our people: the only prerequisite for a true state is to have control over the rest of our land and of our own inter-city and village roads, as well as over our own sea- and airspace. Finally, the Palestinian economy needs to be freed from its status as an appendix to the economy of Israel.

Our people understand that the policies that Netenyahu's government has adopted flagrantly contravene the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. As confiscators -- as thieves -- of land, the Israeli government, the Israeli government continues to use fear as its pretext for opposing the establishment of our state.

In fact, the Israeli government does fear that a lasting and just peace will show up the false beliefs of the Zionist movement, which based its claim to our land on the premise that Palestine was "a land without people for a people without a land". Unlike his predecessor, Shimon Peres, who was willing to move forward in envisioning a new Middle East, Netenyahu tries futilely to escape by moving ever backward into false visions of the past.

The repugnance evinced by Netenyahu and other Zionists at the prospect of the establishment of a Palestinian state -- an event that Peres saw as a bridge that Israelis must cross to become part of the region -- does not alter the fact that Palestinian resolution remains the key to effecting the changes we need.

The more land Palestinians acquire through the little increments being turned over to the PA, the more likely it is that we will effect a qualitative change in the nature of our territory -- i.e., the more likely it is that our lands will exist, not as a patchwork of percentages, but as a sovereign state. The goal of realizing our state is essential in unifying Palestinians to the degree that we were unified when the independence was declared ten years ago.

Nor should courage, persistence, and resolution exist only at the level of Fateh, or of the PLO, or the PNA.

These qualities must be evinced among the whole Palestinian population, in all its movements, both nationalist and Islamic. In order that this be so, a clear plan should be put forward in order to ensure that courage will not be transformed into recklessness, nor persistence into stubbornness and division.

The prospect of achieving independence in just six months' time brings us to admit frankly that we are very late in helping to suggest the steps necessary for confronting the various Israeli reactions to the creation of our state.

What is clear, however, is that Netenyahu's response to President Arafat's statements regarding the establishment of our state directly contradicts international law. Basing his response on his own distorted idea of "reciprocity", Netenyahu considers President Arafat's statements on this matter as a "unilateral act". In return, Netenyahu threatens to annex the parts of the West Bank now under Israeli control.

In our view, lands under partial or complete Israeli control are in the same category as the city of Jerusalem.

The city was annexed 30 years ago, but has even so been designated in all Palestinian-Israeli agreements as part of the final status negotiations. Israel has tried all manner of methods to expel us from our lands, but they have failed. For Israel to continue to occupy and to annex our land will bring about the very eventuality Israelis fear: it will ensure that one day the entire region will constitute a bi-national state, consisting of both Palestinians and Jews.

Many Israelis no longer have any illusions about the inevitability of a Palestinian state. Indeed, they see the creation of such a state as insurance for future Israeli security and regional stability.

We Palestinians believe that our state, which will be established on the basis of UN Resolutions 181, 242, and 338, as well as on the principle of land for peace, will mean peace and stability for both peoples. It will be a democratic state for all Palestinians without prejudicing our legal rights, including the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland.

In order to actualize the declaration of independence, steps must be taken on a number of levels:

1. At the level of Fateh:

Taking into account the historic role Fateh has played in leading the Palestinian struggle, Fateh remains a key factor in unifying Palestinians on the subject of independence. In creating a unified position, Fateh has to raise the issues of Jerusalem and the settlements as final status issues. In both cases, Israel continues to act against the precepts of international law.

2. At the level of Palestinian level:

A unified Fateh is essential to achieving national unity. After all, working toward democracy has become a characteristic of the Palestinian national liberation movement. Differences regarding ways and visions should not lead to confrontations among brothers.

National unity should strengthen the positive bonds among us; these will benefit our people. Malevolent actions directed by forces outside Palestine should not prevent us from being democratic. No one shall be prevented from expressing his or her political views as long as they are expressed within the limits of the law.

3. At the Arab and Islamic level:

The Arab and Islamic dimensions of our society remain two of the most important aspects that will protect our state from Israelization , from becoming an Israeli satellite state. We will remain an integral part of the Arab and Muslim world, despite some unfair actions undertaken against us by some states.

Making our declaration a reality requires an Arab consensus that can be expressed at a summit conference. Such a conference would serve also to reaffirm once again that Palestine is the path of unity for all Arabs.

4. At the broader international level:

The wider international community has always supported the right of Palestinians to establish our own state.

They have shown us their support in various forums, including the UN General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Islamic Conference, and the European Community. We are mindful, as well, of the stands taken by countries such as Russia, China and Japan. To maintain such support, we must solidify our own position and that of the Arab world. As for the US position, ever paramount, it has been demonstrated in Clinton's expressions of sympathy with the Palestinian struggle to achieve our goals. Nor do we forget Hillary Clinton's informal statement some months back in which she supported the Palestinian cause.

5. At the Israeli level:

Our right to declare a state is non-negotiable. However, it is desirable that Israelis express an explicit position, whether negative or positive. The Wye Memorandum was meant to accelerate the resolution of not only interim issues but also final status ones. Needless to say, Netenyahu's government is not likely to help in resolving these issues before May 4, 1999, when the Oslo Agreement comes to an end.

Once Palestinians are no longer bound by the restrictions of the Oslo Agreement, we will declare our state. Although some Israelis support this right, we know that we can expect the full range of Israeli reactions to our declaration.

6. Regarding the requirements of realizing our independence:

The situation that the PLO and the PNA find themselves in is that of a state under construction. Our declaration of statehood will have its effect on our people when they find that their state is at last a sovereign state, and when they see that the lands formerly occupied by Israel are part of the new Palestinian independent state.

As May 4 approaches, we must plan for the provision of water, electricity, and the other needs of our people, with the worst scenarios in mind. We can expect that Israel will close down the crossing points, cut off our water and electricity, and annex more of our lands. Israel may also re-occupy some areas now under PNA control. For all these eventualities, however remote, we must be prepared.

Ministries and popular committees will have the tasks of securing medicine, food, water and electricity

As to civil defense and the preparedness to fight to protect cities and villages from being re-occupied, the fact that we are prepared to fight can act to deter Israeli aggression but not to liberate new lands. We will need to stand fast for the longest possible period, until we cry out to the Arab world and the international community to come to our help.

This will be an integral part of our confrontation strategy, as it has been in the past -- in Al Karama and Beirut, during the Intifada, and during the conflict over Al Aqsa and the tunnels the Israelis dug beneath it. All these lessons enhance our ability to adhere to a strategy that will give us hope and bring us the victory we seek.

Revolution until Victory!