[IMRA - 25 May 2006: WAFA, the PLO news agency, reported that "President
Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he would put the National Reconciliation
Document proposed by pioneer Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails into a
general referendum." A review of the text of this document finds that optimistic media reports of
the significance of this development ignore very serious problems that makes
this document a "nonstarter" for peace: right of return, complete
withdrawal, "liberation of prisoners" (armed gangs can attack Israel
anywhere for this purpose?), only confiscate weapons that " harm the
resistance and distort its image and that threaten the unity of the
Palestinian society", and more.] The full text of the National Conciliation Document of the Prisoners
May 11, 2006
[As translated by JMCC]
http://www.jmcc.org/documents/prisoners.htm
In the name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful,
"Abide by the decree of God and never disperse" (a verse from the Holy
Quran)
Based on the high sense of national and historical responsibility and due to
the dangers facing our people and for the sake of reinforcing and
consolidating the Palestinian internal front and protection of national
unity and the unity of our people in the homeland and in the Diaspora, and
in order to confront the Israeli scheme that aims to impose the Israeli
solution which blows up the dream of our people and the right of our people
in establishing their independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty;
this scheme that the Israeli government intends to impalement in the next
phase as establishment of the erection and completion of the apartheid wall
and the Judaization of the Jerusalem and the expansion of the Israeli
settlements and the seizure of the Jordan Valley and the annexation of vast
areas of the West Bank and blocking the path in front of our people to
exercise their right in return. In order to maintain the accomplishments of our people achieved in long
struggle path and in loyalty to the martyrs of our great people and the
pains of their prisoners and the agony of their injured, and based on the
fact that we are still passing through a liberation phase with nationalism
and democracy as the basic features, and this imposes a political struggle
strategy that meets with these features and in order to make the Palestinian
comprehensive national dialogue succeed, and based on the Cairo Declaration
and the urgent need for unity and solidarity, we present this document (the
national conciliation document) to our great steadfast people and to
President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and to the PLO Leadership and to the PM
Ismail Hanieh and to the Council of Ministers and to the Speaker of the PNC
and to the members of the PNC and to the Speaker and members of the PLC and
to all Palestinian forces and factions and to all nongovernmental and
popular organizations and institutions and to leadership of Palestinian
public opinion in the homeland and in the Diaspora. Hoping to consider this document as one whole package and with the hope to
see this document get the support and approval of everybody and that it can
contribute to reach a Palestinian national conciliation document. 1- the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the Diaspora seek to
liberate their land and to achieve their right in freedom, return and
independence and to exercise their right in self determination, including
the right to establish their independent state with al-Quds al-Shareef as
its capital on all territories occupied in 1967 and to secure the right of
return for the refugees and to liberate all prisoners and detainees based on
the historical right of our people on the land of the fathers and
grandfathers and based on the UN Charter and the international law and
international legitimacy. 2- to work quickly on achieving what has been agreed upon in Cairo in March
2005 pertaining to the development and activation of the PLO and the joining
of Hamas and Islamic Jihad Movements to the PLO which is the legitimate and
sole representative of the Palestinian people wherever they are located and
in a manner that meets with changes on the Palestinian arena according to
democratic principles and to consolidate the fact that the PLO is the
legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people in a manner
that reinforces the capacity of the PLO to assume its responsibilities in
leading our people in the homeland and in the Diaspora and in mobilizing the
people and in defending their national, political and humanitarian rights in
the various fora and circles and in the international and regional arenas
and based on the fact that the national interest stipulates the formation of
a new Palestinian National Council before the end of 2006 in a manner that
secures the representation of all Palestinian national and Islamic forces,
factions and parties and all concentrations of our people everywhere and the
various sectors and the figures on proportional basis in representation and
presence and struggle and political, social and popular effectiveness and to
maintain the PLO as a broad front and framework and a comprehensive national
coalition and a gathering framework for all the Palestinians in the homeland
and in the Diaspora and to be the higher political reference. 3- the right of the Palestinian people in resistance and clinging to the
option of resistance with the various means and focusing the resistance in
the occupied territories of 1967 alongside with the political action and
negotiations and diplomatic action and continuation of popular and mass
resistance against the occupation in its various forms and policies and
making sure there is broad participation by all sectors and masses in the
popular resistance. 4- To set up a Palestinian plan towards comprehensive political action and
to unify the Palestinian political rhetoric on the basis of the Palestinian
national consensus program and Arab legitimacy and the international
legitimacy resolutions that grant justice to the Palestinian people who are
represented by the PLO and the PNA as president and government, and the
national and Islamic factions and the civil society organizations and the
public figures in order to mobilize Arab, Islamic and international
political and financial and economic and humanitarian support and solidarity
to our people and to our PNA and to support the right of our people in self
determination and freedom and return and independence and to confront the
plan of Israel in imposing the Israeli solution on our people and to
confront the oppressive siege on the Palestinian people. 5- To protect and reinforce the PNA since it is the nucleus of the future
state; this PNA which was established by the struggle and sacrifices, blood
and pain of the Palestinian people and to stress on the fact the higher
national interests stipulates respecting the temporary constitution of the
PNA and the effective laws and respecting the responsibilities and
authorities of the president elected according to the will of the
Palestinian people through free, honest and democratic elections and to
respect the responsibilities and authorities of the government that was
granted the confidence vote by the PLC. And the importance and the need for creative cooperation between the
presidency and the government and joint work and hold regular meetings
between them to settle any disputes that might arise through brotherly
dialogue based on the temporary constitution and for the sake of the higher
interests and the need to hold a comprehensive reform in the PNA
institutions, especially the judicial apparatus and the respect of the
judiciary authority at all levels and to implement its decisions and to
reinforce the rule of the law. 6- to form a national unity government on a basis that secures the
participation of all parliament blocs, especially Fatah and Hamas and the
political forces that desire to participate on the basis of this document
and the joint program to upgrade the Palestinian situation at the local,
Arab, regional and international levels and to confront the challenges
through having a strong national government that enjoys Palestinian popular
and political support from all forces and to present the best possible care
for the sectors that carried the burden of steadfastness and resistance and
the Intifada and who were the victims of the Israeli criminal aggression,
especially the families of the martyrs, prisoners and injured and the owners
of the demolished homes and properties which were destroyed by the
occupation, in addition to the care to the unemployed and the graduates. 7- Administration of the negotiations is the jurisdiction of the PLO and the
President of the PNA on the basis of clinging to the Palestinian national
goals and to achieve these goals on condition that any final agreement must
be presented to the new PNC for ratification or to hold a general referendum
wherever it is possible. 8- To liberate the prisoners and detainees is a sacred national duty that
must be assumed by all Palestinian national and Islamic forces and factions
and the PLO and the PNA as President and government and the PLC and all
resistance forces. 9- The need to double efforts to support and care for the refugees and
defend their rights and work on holding a popular conference representing
the refugees which should come up with commissions to follow up its duties
and to stress on the right of return and to cling to this right and to call
on the international community to implement Resolution 194 which stipulates
the right of the refugees to return and to be compensated. 10- to work on forming a unified resistance front under the name
"Palestinian resistance front" to lead and engage in resistance against the
occupation and to unify and coordinate action and resistance and to form a
unified political reference for the front. 11- to cling to the democratic trend and to hold regular general free and
honest and democratic elections according to the law for the president and
the PLC and the local and municipal councils and to respect the principle of
peaceful and smooth transfer of authority and to promise to protect the
Palestinian democratic experience and respect the democratic choice and its
results and respect the rule of the law and the public and basic freedoms
and freedom of the press and equality among the citizens in rights and
duties without any discrimination and to protect the achievements of women
and develop and reinforce them. 12- to reject and denounce the oppressive siege against the Palestinian
people which is being led by the US and Israel and call on the Arabs at the
popular and official levels to support the Palestinian people and the PLO
and the PNA and to call on the Arab governments to implement the political,
financial, economic, and media decisions of the Arab summits that support
the Palestinian people and their steadfastness and their national cause and
to stress that the PNA is committed to the Arab consensus and to joint Arab
action. 13- to call on the Palestinian people for unity and solidarity and unifying
the ranks and support the PLO and the PNA as president and government and to
reinforce steadfastness and resistance in face of the aggression and siege
and to reject intervention in the Palestinian internal affairs. 14- to denounce all forms of split that can lead to internal conflicts and
to condemn the use of weapons regardless of the reasons in settling internal
disputes and to ban the use of weapons among the members of the Palestinian
people and to stress on the sanctity of the Palestinian blood and to abide
by dialogue as the sole means to solve disagreements and freedom of
expression through all media, including the opposition to the authority and
its decisions on the basis of the law and the right of peaceful protest and
to organize marches and demonstrations and sit ins on condition that they be
peaceful and without any arms and not to attack the properties of citizens
and public property. 15- The national interest stipulates the need to look for the best means
towards the continuation of participation of the Palestinian people and
their political forces in Gaza Strip in their new situation in the battle
for freedom, return and independence and to liberate the West Bank and
Jerusalem in a manner that makes the steadfast Gaza Strip a real support
force to steadfastness and resistance of our people in the West Bank and
Jerusalem as the national interest stipulates reassessing the struggle
methods to seek the best methods to resist occupation. 16- the need to reform the develop the Palestinian security institution with
all its branches on a modern basis and in a manner that makes them capable
of assuming their tasks in defending the homeland and the citizens and in
confronting the aggression and the occupation and to maintain security and
public order and implement the laws and end the state of chaos and security
chaos and end the forms of public armed presence and parades and
confiscation of the chaotic weapons that harm the resistance and distort its
image and that threaten the unity of the Palestinian society and the need to
coordinate and organize the relation with the forces of resistance and
organize and protect their weapons. 17- to call on the PLC to continue to issue laws that organize the work of
the security institution and apparatuses with their various branches and
work on issuing a law that bans exercise of political and partisan action by
the members of the security services and to abide by the elected political
reference as defined by the law. 18- to work on expanding the role and presence of the international
solidarity committees and the peace loving groups that support our people in
their just struggle against the occupation, settlements, the apartheid wall
politically and locally and to work towards the implementation of the
International Court of Justice decision at The Hague pertaining to the
removal of the wall and settlements and their illegitimate presence. Signed by: Fatah - PLC member Marwan Barghouthi, Fatah Secretary.
Hamas - Sheikh Abdul Khaleq al-Natsheh - Higher Leading Commission
Islamic Jihad Movement - Sheikh Bassam al-Sa'di
PFLP - Abdul Rahim Mallouh - member of PLO Executive Committee and Deputy
General Secretary of the PFLP
DFLP - Mustafa Badarneh
Note: Islamic Jihad expressed reservations on the item pertaining to the
negotiations |