A group of anti-war and anti-zionist activist are holding a vigil in support of Palestinian self-determination on:
Tuesday 20th September at 5pm.
This vigil is being held at this time because later in the week on Friday, Palestinian Authority (PA) is making a bid for full UN member ship as a member state.
The vigil is to take place outside Waterstones (High Street, central Birmingham).
We hope to be there for an hour.
Please find the time to come along and show your support for Palestinian self-determination.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank is going to United Nations to demand full recognition as a member state. Needless to say, bar the votes of the United States, Israel and few others this seems to be easily achievable.
Although full recognition as a member state at the UN appears to be a step in the right direction to attain Palestinian self-determination, a closer inspection reveals:
1) The PA has no democratic mandate to go the UN: Up tell now Palestinians are legally represented by the PLO at the UN. The PA does not a have a democratic mandate to speak on behalf of all Palestinians.
2) All Palestinians : The Palestinians that are not only currently living in the West Bank and Gaza but also those that are the descendents of Zionist ethnic cleansing campaigns of 1948 and those that remained where they had been for centuries in what is now Israel.
3) Zionist Ethnic Cleansing: refers to the fact that in 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted and their villages destroyed by Zionists to make way for Israel. The descendents of the ethnically cleansed possess a UN sanctioned ‘right to return’.
4) Right of Return: The descendents of Palestinians that were ethnically cleansed have a right of return to their homes of origin. This right is enshrined in at least 2 United Nations resolutions. UN resolution 194 and UN resolution 3236.
The PA is unelected and has no democratic mandate to speak on behalf of all Palestinians of the occupied West Bank let alone the Palestinians in Gaza, in Israel, refugees or the diaspora.
Any proposal towards Palestinian self-determination should not negate any existing hard won rights or resolutions.
