Written in response to: How Salam Fayyad plans to save the Palestinian dream, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad brought the PA back from the brink once. Now he wants to create Palestinian settlements, in effect, to counter Israeli moves.http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1103/p06s01-wome.html
Dear Editor,
"If we don't do anything, people will criticize us, and if we come up with something that's proactive, we'll also have critics," shrugs Fayyad. "Is this realistic? We'll never know unless we try."
I very much hope that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad can help save the Palestinian dream with his statehood program. According to Dr. Hussein Ibish of the American Task Force on Palestine "The PA plan provides a mechanism that complements diplomatic efforts to end the occupation and frees Palestinians from being entirely dependent upon discussions with others. It enables them to shape their own future." Hussein Ibish
The American Task Force for Palestine is on record as supporting a Palestinian state that would be democratic, pluralistic, non-militarized and neutral in armed conflicts. Ibish, well aware that many various extremists, hate mongers, hopeless cynics and selfish opportunists are eager to sabotage negotiations and the idea of a viable two state solution, wisely warns that "One of the most probable outcomes of any third intifada would be the ascendancy for the foreseeable future of Islamist organizations and the recasting of the Palestinian national movement as an Islamist cause, which would almost certainly spell the death of the dreams of Palestine and peace. I doubt that the Palestinian national cause could, as a practical political agenda, survive such a grotesque mutation." What is at stake in Palestine: a third intifada and the parade of horribles
Many Palestinians are in forced exile, living in refugee camps, totally dependent on charity and the good will of host countries. UNRWA's current Commissioner-General, Karen Koning AbuZayd will soon be retiring: "Noting her upcoming retirement from her post at the end of 2009, she said that in tragic contrast to the resolution of a number of protracted refugee situations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained resistant to solution, despite the clarity of its components: an end to occupation, Palestinian self‑determination, and security guarantees for both Palestinians and Israelis."
Aware perhaps that real change is in the air, the quote continues "On a more positive note, she said that UNRWA remained acutely aware of its status as a temporary Agency and would one day, when a negotiated settlement was reached, hand over the tasks it currently undertook to a professional cadre of tens of thousands of well-trained Palestinians who were committed to the values of the United Nations." http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7XF7NF?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
A real Palestine will not be perfect, no country ever is- but a real Palestine will most certainly help define and defend a better way forward for all men, women and children in the spirit of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood...." http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American Homemaker & Poet ( & Blogger )
No comments:
Post a Comment