Saturday, August 17, 2024

DFLP Statement: Full Version

 

Political Statement Issued by the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine

First:

The Central Committee praised the heroic resilience of our people and the valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip. The brutal war has entered its 11th month, and yet the army of genocide has failed to achieve any of its objectives. The resistance has regained its vitality, developed its combat methods, renewed its military arsenal, and continues to confront the occupation forces, inflicting heavy losses on them, as even the enemy has acknowledged. Despite attempts to downplay these losses, the extent of the casualties among soldiers and officers, as well as in equipment and machinery, is undeniable. These losses have had a detrimental effect on the cohesion, readiness, and human structure of the enemy’s army, and its ability to continue the war against our people in Gaza and the resistance that stretches from the far north to the far south. Gaza has become a symbol of defiance that has ignited the emotions of people and freedom lovers around the world. Furthermore, the crimes and massacres committed by the occupation against our people have highlighted its fascist nature, which has played a significant role in garnering wide international support for our national cause. This support has manifested in the condemnation of the occupation and its crimes, bringing the Palestinian cause to the forefront of the international community’s agenda. This includes discussions in the White House, the U.S. Congress, the UN Security Council, the General Assembly of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and various international and regional summits. Our people and resistance have reaffirmed their determination to persist in their struggle and fight in all forms, until the enemy’s might is broken, and it is humiliated and forced to submit to our people’s legitimate national rights—freedom, self-determination, independence, and the return of refugees to their homes and properties in Palestine.

While saluting our people and their valiant resistance and commending their heroic resilience that has astonished the world, the Central Committee stresses the need for serious efforts in all forums to compel Israel to implement the unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolutions 2735 and 2728. These resolutions call for forcing the enemy’s government to cease its aggressive war, withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip—including the Salah al-Din axis, Rafah crossing, and the Netzarim axis—lift the siege on Gaza, allow the flow of food, fuel, and medical supplies, ensure the return of displaced persons to their homes, provide them with decent shelter to prevent voluntary and forced displacement, and expedite the reconstruction of infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, environmental services, and health services. The evacuation of critically injured people abroad for treatment, the rebuilding of service institutions such as municipalities and social institutions, and the provision of necessary conditions for the reconstruction of what the occupation has destroyed through its war to restore life once again to Gaza.

The Central Committee also reaffirms the continuation of work with allies and friends to bring the occupying state to justice before the International Court of Justice for its crimes against our people. This includes summoning its military and political officials, foremost among them the killer Benjamin Netanyahu, his war minister Yoav Gallant, his chief of staff Herzi Halevi, and his terrorist ministers, to the International Criminal Court to receive severe punishment for the war crimes their blood-stained hands have committed against our people and our land.

Second:

The Central Committee of DFLP addressed the annexation war that the fascist government has launched against the West Bank in various forms and methods. These include ongoing bloody attacks that have intensified against cities and camps in the West Bank, involving killings, destruction of infrastructure, and mass arrests. Additionally, there are “legal” measures aimed at annexing parts of Area B to Area C, including the Knesset’s decision by majority to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, imposing military rule over Area A, reducing the powers of the Palestinian Authority, and imposing a financial siege on it. This has caused significant harm to the Palestinian economy, led to the demolition of homes under various pretexts, the displacement of hundreds of families, the confiscation of water springs, the seizure of agricultural tools such as tractors and trucks, the looting of sheep herds and poultry farms, and the displacement of their owners— farmers, peasants, and Bedouins—from their lands. As a result, the West Bank, under Israeli law, resembles a part of Israel, with the exception of some pockets under the control of a politically, security-wise, and geographically besieged authority.

The Central Committee also noted The Palestinian Authority's incapacity and frequent silence regarding the entirety of the occupation’s policies and actions. This includes the concerning behavior of some of its security forces, which hints at impending strife, such as pursuing, arresting, and even assassinating resistance fighters in the West Bank, and coordinating in certain areas with the occupation’s army. The Authority’s response has been limited to issuing statements of condemnation and denouncement, devoid of any practical steps to confront the occupation. It even goes so far as to request the White House to pressure Israel to stop its actions (!), ignoring the pressures from the U.S. administration to reshape the Authority’s structures. This is in line with the ten conditions presented by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, aiming to create a more pliable Authority that aligns with the occupation’s policies and its liquidation steps, as well as with the U.S. regional arrangements to extend the Arab-Israeli normalization and establish a political-military Israeli-Arab-American alliance against the regional national liberation movements, including the Palestinian, Lebanese, Yemeni, and Iraqi movements.

The Central Committee affirmed That with its unilateral applications of the Oslo Accords, the occupying state has reached its terminal phase after more than 30 years of Palestinian struggle and sacrifices. As a result, the Palestinian Authority has become a paralyzed entity with no prospect for development, where the highest goal it can achieve is merely administrative self-rule over the population, subordinated to the occupying state and dependent on it politically, security-wise, and economically. This is a practical implementation of Netanyahu's declarations and his fascist government’s projects, affirming that no other state will exist alongside Israel between the river and the sea.

Third:

The Central Committee of DFLP sees these developments as a consequence of relying on the Oslo Accords and their obligations, which, at the same time, represent a practical realization of the Zionist liquidation project. These developments place the national situation in a new reality, where reliance on American promises—including the two-state solution, which has significantly declined in U.S. policy calculations—is no longer viable. The same goes for the attempts to revive the Oslo Accords, including dragging the Palestinian situation into the “Aqaba-Sharm El-Sheikh” security process.

The Central Committee emphasizes That the solution lies in withdrawing from the Oslo Accords, its obligations, and commitments, and reevaluating the relationship with the occupying state. This includes implementing the decisions of the National and Central Councils, which involve:

1. Withdrawing recognition of the occupying state until it recognizes the Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders with Jerusalem as its capital, annuls the annexation of Jerusalem, halts all forms of settlement, repeals settlement laws, and releases Palestinian prisoners.

2. Halting all forms of security coordination with the occupation army and its security apparatuses and reformulating the security doctrine of the Authority’s forces to serve as a protective shield for our people and their mass movement.

3. Disengaging from the “Paris Economic Protocol” and adopting an alternative economic strategy with a popular struggle nature that lays the foundation for building a national economy free from the occupation’s constraints and aggressive measures.

The Central Committee also calls on all national forces To assume their responsibilities by forming and activating a unified national leadership that includes all forces, providing political cover for comprehensive popular resistance in all its forms against the occupation. It is necessary to organize the popular movement, strengthen its resilience, provide it with all means of endurance, and deter the aggressive actions of settlers by defending the lands and agricultural interests threatened with confiscation or destruction.

The Central Committee of DFLP emphasizes That this task must be at the forefront of the national and popular Palestinian movements' priorities to break free from stagnation and fragmentation, and to mobilize all elements of strength within the people, their political forces, and their national and social institutions.

Fourth: "Beijing Declaration" ... A Step Toward Ending the Division

The Central Committee of DFLP reviewed the outcomes of the "Beijing Declaration" and considered it a significant step forward that lays a practical foundation for ending the division and restoring internal unity within Palestinian national institutions.

The Central Committee also praised the important role played by the People's Republic of China in facilitating the dialogue's success, seeing it as a major gain for the Palestinian cause on the international stage. This broadens the circle of regional and international forces genuinely interested in the national cause and supporting our people's legitimate and inalienable national rights under the leadership of the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of our people.

In this context, the Central Committee emphasized the importance and necessity of immediately translating the outcomes of the Beijing Dialogue into action. This should begin with the immediate convening of the temporary leadership framework and the formation of a national unity government composed of active and competent individuals to manage public affairs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This will block any projects aimed at isolating Gaza, separating it from the West Bank, fragmenting the unity of Palestinian state territories, and undermining the material foundations of the national Palestinian project.

The Central Committee stressed the responsibility on the shoulders of the secretaries-general of the Palestinian factions to start implementing the outcomes of the "Beijing Declaration" as outlined in its final paragraph, which calls for adhering to specific timelines for completing the agreed-upon steps. The Central Committee affirmed that, given the significant developments in the national cause, no one can afford to wait or delay in translating the Beijing Declaration's outcomes. Postponing this until the war in Gaza ends would only serve to empty the Beijing Declaration of its content and abandon its essence. This postponement is based on failed bets that do not serve the interests, resilience, or struggle of our people. Instead, it aligns with the U.S.-Arab-Israeli solution, aiming to impose a mandate on our people in Gaza and reshape its structure to align with Israel's vision for its future.

The Central Committee of DFLP calls on all national forces and the entire Palestinian mass movement, both at home and in the diaspora, to assume their national responsibilities by exerting maximum pressure on the political leadership of the Palestinian Authority. The aim is to compel them to immediately implement the outcomes of the "Beijing Declaration" without hesitation or delay. We are racing against time, and the developments in our cause put us all at a crossroads. It is evident that some paths could undermine the national project. Therefore, we must thwart this Israeli-American option by elevating the national option outlined by the Beijing Declaration's outcomes.

Fifth: The Beijing Declaration ... The Path to Rebuilding the Palestinian System

The Central Committee reflected on the state of the Palestinian political system and its deterioration, noting that the policy of monopolizing national decision-making has become a serious threat to our people's national interests, especially in light of the escalating Israeli aggressions in Gaza as part of a genocidal war and in the West Bank under the "decisive war" declared by the occupying state.

The Central Committee of DFLP emphasizes the need to escalate the national struggle to rebuild the Palestinian political system, which has decayed and become incapable of bearing national responsibilities. The policy of monopolization has turned it into a cover for policies that rely on American promises and alignment with the Arab system's project to generalize normalization with Israel. This is a mistaken bet that, by doing so, it will secure its position in the regional system equation that the U.S. is working to establish, even if it means lowering the ceiling of the national project.

The Central Committee of DFLP asserts that the solution to the crisis in the Palestinian political system lies in rebuilding it on democratic foundations through general elections based on full proportional representation for both the National and Legislative Councils, as well as presidential elections. Meanwhile, until elections can be held, the Democratic Front once again puts forward the initiative it launched on 16/1/2022. This initiative calls for the immediate expansion of the membership of the PLO's Central Council to include all Palestinian forces without exception, and for the election of a new Executive Committee with a comprehensive representative nature. This committee would cooperate and coordinate with the national unity government to organize general elections at the earliest possible opportunity, emphasizing the need to devise a national formula for organizing elections in occupied Jerusalem and preventing the occupation authority from obstructing these elections.

The Central Committee of DFLP believes that the suspension of regular meetings of the Executive Committee has paralyzed its role and its ability to exercise its powers, failing to meet the challenges and dangers facing our national cause and rights. This has further harmed the performance and role of all PLO institutions. The Central Committee insists that there is no alteExecutive Committee's full role with its coalition composition, as the daily political leadership, through its regular meetings under the chairmanship of the Executive Committee's president, exercising its powers as a collective leadership in decision-making instead of relying on the policy of monopolization or resorting to ineffective consultative meetings of Executive Committee members, which lack any decisive powers.

The Central Committee of DFLP reiterates that the outcomes of the "Beijing Declaration," including its affirmation of the PLO's representative position, its political program, and its reference to international legitimacy resolutions, provide a solid foundation for taking effective steps towards rebuilding the Palestinian political system.

Sixth: UNRWA in the Face of the Israeli-American War

The Central Committee of DFLP warned of the dangers posed by the war waged by the Israeli occupying state against UNRWA, with the backing of the U.S. administration. Amid the U.S. decision to abandon its funding obligations to UNRWA, despite being one of the founding countries, the occupying state is launching a fierce war against the agency by preventing it from performing its duties in occupied Jerusalem and destroying its institutions in Gaza, including its schools used as shelters, where thousands of martyrs have fallen under the banner of the international organization. This constitutes a flagrant, multifaceted violation of international law and the sanctity of United Nations institutions. The Knesset has even labeled it a terrorist organization, with a telling and significant silence from the United States.

The Central Committee of DFLP views the open war by the occupying state and the U.S. administration against UNRWA as fundamentally targeting the right of return for refugees to their homes and properties and undermining UN Resolution 194, which guarantees this right. It also daily harms the interests of refugees in Gaza and refugee camps, especially in Syria and Lebanon, where both countries suffer from severe economic and living crises, greatly impacting the lives of refugees and their right to a decent life.

Therefore, the Central Committee of DFLP asserts that defending UNRWA, our people's right to its services, and the necessity of providing sustainable funding to cover its general, emergency, and exceptional program costs is an urgent task for the Palestinian popular movement, its political forces, the PLO, the sisterly Arab countries, and global capitals that still see UNRWA as a factor of security and stability in our region, an urgent necessity, and a political entitlement that cannot be overlooked, especially given the worsening conditions in the occupied territories and Palestinian refugee camps everywhere.

Seventh: "Flood of the Free"... From Support Fronts to World Capitals

The Central Committee of DFLP extends its sincere greetings to the support, engagement, and combat fronts alongside our people, including the Lebanese resistance led by Hezbollah, the steadfast Syrian front in the Golan, the brotherly Yemen led by Ansar Allah and the Yemeni army, and Iraq led by the Popular Mobilization Forces. The committee views this support as a renewed affirmation of the unity of Arab liberation movements on the ground, facing Israeli occupation and the Atlantic alliance. The national cause has been and will remain the central axis for ensuring the security and stability of the region and defeating the U.S.-Israeli project.

The Central Committee also extends its greetings to the free people of the world, in major capitals and other cities, as they express their solidarity with our people's steadfastness, resistance, and legitimate national rights, condemning the occupation and its massacres, and demanding Israel be referred to the International Court of Justice and its leaders to the International Criminal Court.

In this context, the Central Committee calls on the Front's organizations, Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities everywhere, and all friends of Palestine worldwide, to continue various forms of activism. They should pressure their governments, parliaments, and unions to boycott the occupying state politically, economically, academically, and culturally, and to stop providing it with arms, ammunition, and other supplies, which the Israeli fascist army turns into tools for mass murder. This has been evident in the major massacres witnessed at shelters in Gaza, most recently at the Al-Tabi’in School, and in so-called safe areas like the massacre at the Al-Mawasi camp.

Eighth: South Africa

The Central Committee DFLP extends its militant greetings to the friendly state of South Africa, the initiator of the historic move to refer the Palestinian issue and the crimes of the occupation, along with its illegitimacy, to the International Court of Justice. The committee also salutes the dozens of countries that adopted the issue alongside South Africa, considering it a crucial step that has significantly contributed to exposing the brutal reality of the Israeli state and the fascist nature of its Zionist project, which is based on a genocidal war against our people and their political extermination by refusing to recognize their legitimate national rights and obstinately obstructing relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

Ninth: Prisoners

The Central Committee of DFLP focused on the issue of prisoners in the occupation's prisons and detention centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The committee highlighted the brutal practices that detainees endure at the hands of enemy soldiers, marked by extreme savagery, which the Israeli occupation has been unable to hide from public opinion. These practices violate all international laws and conventions, expressing blatant brutality and fascism, reflecting the deep-seated hatred and enmity of the occupiers towards our people.

The Central Committee of DFLP reaffirms the necessity of continuing to expose the occupation's crimes against our prisoners and internationalizing their cause before international forums, including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the Human Rights Council. The committee also emphasizes the need to organize the broadest possible international movement to condemn the occupation state's practices against our prisoners. It also underscores the importance of energizing all forms of mass movements in the West Bank and the diaspora, organizing national, Arab, and international solidarity campaigns with our prisoners.

Additionally, the Central Committee stresses the prisoners' right, and that of their families and the families of martyrs, to social care, rejecting all Israeli and Western pressures to label our heroic prisoners as terrorists and the dubious calls to deprive them of their legal, social, and human rights.

Tenth: Salute to the Resisters, the Steadfast, and the Martyrs, Leaders and Fighters

The Central Committee of DFLP is honored to conclude this communiqué by extending a salute to all the fighters of our Palestinian people across all fieldsthose within the occupied territories, who are directly confronting the Israeli occupation and its brutal army, and those across the diaspora, who are united with popular movements in world capitals. The committee stresses the necessity of earnest work to provide all elements of steadfastness and perseverance in the ongoing battle against the U.S.- Israeli alliance and its followers.

In this context, the Central Committee of DFLP sends a special salute to all arms of the Palestinian resistance and its military wings, as well as to all Arab forces on the support fronts. The committee also extends a particular salute to our heroic comrades in the "Martyr Omar Al-Qasim Forces," who have not hesitated or faltered for a moment in rushing to the field, engaging in courageous confrontations against the enemy and its officers and machinery, inflicting heavy losses in special operations or in joint operations with other resistance forces, upholding the spirit of unity and partnership on the battlefield.

The Central Committee of DFLP also offers the highest respects and reverence to the noble martyrs who have watered the lands of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen with their precious blood in honorable battles, where they have creatively taught the enemies lessons in courage, bravery, and boldness.

As the Central Committee of DFLP dedicates this session to the names of the martyr leaders—Ismail Haniyeh, Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas; Talal Abu Zarifa, Member of the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front; and Fouad Shaker, one of the prominent leaders of the Lebanese Hezbollah—it pledges before the memory of all the martyrs to continue the struggle in all fields, both at home and in the diaspora, alongside the rest of our people’s forces, factions, and parties, within the framework of the PLO, our sole legitimate representative, until our indomitable goals are achieved: freedom, self-determination, the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967, and the resolution of the refugee issue in accordance with Resolution 194, which guarantees their right to return to the homes and properties from which they were displaced in 1948.

And we shall be victorious.

The Central Committee

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine

August 2024

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