RAMALLAH, October 18, 2011 (WAFA) – Nimer Hammad, political advisor of President Mahmoud Abbas, stressed that the Palestinian leadership sees Palestine as the land of all monotheistic religions – Islam, Christianity and Judaism – but strictly refuses to cast religious or historical dimensions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Hammad, in response to an instigating article against the Palestinian Authority and the bid to the United Nations by the president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Morton Klein, published in the Jerusalem Post on October 17, 2011, told WAFA that there are two peoples living on one land, and each must be given the right to statehood.
Hammad considered Klein stressing the Oslo Accords (1995), especially Article 31, Paragraph 7, as contradicting the established fact that Israel is the one violating these accords with its ongoing settlements construction in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“The Palestinian request to recognize a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders does not mean eliminating negotiations; the recognition would rather ease the negotiation process,” said Hammad.
He questioned the Israeli claims that a Palestinian state recognition would lead to prosecuting Israel before international organizations, mainly the International Court of Justice, saying these allegations reflect an inverted logic.
“If Israel has committed war crimes, it must be pursued. If not, why would Israel fear our membership in the United Nations?” he added.
Hammad denied Klein’s allegations that the Fatah charter includes an article calling for the destruction of the state of Israel, describing the claims as a baseless lie.
Hammad also denied the allegation that Abbas “signed a unity government agreement” with Hamas, stressing that Abbas agreed with Hamas on establishing an independent technocratic government to unite the Palestinian Territory and rebuild what Israel destroyed in the Gaza Strip.
“Yes, we refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. We recognized the state of Israel and its right to existence and security. Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state will result in a racist state and will threaten the Palestinian refugees’ right to return, as well as threaten the rights of the Arabs in Israel, especially their right to citizenship and equality,” said Hammad.
He went on to say that Israel’s security concerns can be dealt with in one way or another, but not by taking over Palestinian land.
Hammad stressed the Palestinians’ right to refuse the presence of Israeli occupation on their land, saying no people in the world would accept the presence of occupation.
“After ending the occupation, we look forward to achieving a peaceful coexistence between the two people,” he concluded.Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA
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