Look what the PA is hiding from the US and Britain

Mahmoud Abbas:

• The US and Britain are colonialist states 
• The PA is planning legal action against the United States and Britain
• The Jews had “no right” to a state
• The fate of the “hated Israeli occupation of our homeland" is to “pass.”

The Palestinian Authority often translates Mahmoud Abbas’ important speeches into English and publishes them on the website of its official news agency WAFA. Abbas' speech this week in Cairo was also translated but one striking theme was left out: All the anti-American and anti-British hate speech.
 

The parts of Abbas' speech at the meeting of the secretaries-general of various Palestinian factions, that were not publicized in English, demonized the US and Britain as “colonialist” states that illegally created Israel. He condemned the Balfour Declaration, which recognized the right of the Jewish people to establish a state in their homeland, as a “conspiracy” to “promise to one [the Jews] who has no right”:

Abbas: “Western colonialism – and the US and Britian in particular – conspired to issue the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) in 1917, in which one who has no ownership gave a promise to one who has no right.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 31, 2023]

Abbas further criticized that “the colonialist states” - especially the US - persist in their misconduct by continuing to sponsor Israel who Abbas compared to apartheid South Africa:

“We are also especially focusing on creating changes in public opinion in the colonialist states that have sponsored Israel and are still sponsoring it to this very day, and especially in the US (in this context, we have South Africa as a model) [parentheses in source].”

Abbas’ climax on this issue is that because of all these crimes, the PA is planning legal action against the United States and Britain:

“We also will submit lawsuits against the US and Britain for their responsibility for the Balfour Promise and its implementation through the British Mandate for Palestine.”

Finally, since Palestinians - according to Abbas - have existed “on its historical homeland… on this land for thousands of years,” and Israel's history is “false Zionist and Israeli claims and narratives,” Israel is therefore an illegal occupation that is destined to “pass”: 

“We will certainly triumph, we will defeat the occupation (i.e., Israel)… for every occupation passes in the end, and this will be the fate of the hated Israeli occupation of our homeland."  

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 31, 2023]

Palestinian Media Watch has exposed numerous anti-American statements and statements against Western countries by Abbas and other PA leaders and officials, and documented that PA loyalties lie with other states like Russia and China.

The following are the two reports on Abbas’ speech at the meeting of secretaries-general of the Palestinian factions held in Egypt on July 30, 2023.

The first is the translation in Arabic in the official PA Daily, for Palestinian consumption, followed by the translation in English of the official PA news agency WAFA, for foreign consumption:

Headline: “The [PA] president: The PLO is the sole legal representative of our people, and we must adhere to it, its fundamentals, and its international commitments”

“Ever since Western colonialism – and the US and Britian in particular – conspired to issue the ominous Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration) in 1917, in which one who has no ownership gave a promise to one who has no right, our people that is carrying out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict over land claimed to be Islamic) in Jerusalem and around Jerusalem has been fighting and carrying out Jihad against the colonialism and the occupation. It has been sacrificing thousands of Martyrs, wounded, and prisoners on the path to freedom, honor, and independence.

This lauded people is continuing its legitimate struggle under the leadership of the PLO – its sole legal representative – which has succeeded thanks to the determination of its people, the sacrifices of its Martyrs, and its wise policy to extricate the entire world’s recognition of it and of our people’s right to freedom, independence, and a state…

We will continue our political, diplomatic, and legal activity against these occupiers in all the international forums, including the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the [UN] International Court of Justice (ICJ). We will continue to work together with our brothers and friends in the world to surround the occupation state, impose sanctions on it, and suspend its UN membership, as it received this membership on the basis of its commitment to implement [UN] Resolutions 181 and 194 (see notes below -Ed.) in a letter signed by its [former Israeli] Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. However, it has not upheld its commitments to this very day, and therefore in the coming period we will work with the international community to freeze or annul its UN membership…

As part of this political and legal struggle, we will continue to work with the international institutions, organizations, and courts in order to put the occupation state on trial for the crimes that it has committed during its occupation. We also will submit lawsuits against the US and Britain for their responsibility for the Balfour Promise and its implementation through the British Mandate for Palestine…

One of our most important weapons today is disseminating our Palestinian narrative, which confirms the Palestinian people’s existence on its historical homeland and its consecutive presence on this land for thousands of years (sic., the Palestinians have no history prior to the modern period). The authentic Palestinian narrative is currently gaining acceptance and sympathy worldwide.

Our success in imposing our national narrative on human consciousness is in itself debunking the false Zionist and Israeli claims and narratives, which have strived and still strive to harm the image of our people and its legitimate struggle to restore its national rights.

Our truth against their lie will indeed triumph sooner or later…

We are also especially focusing on creating changes in public opinion in the colonialist states that have sponsored Israel and are still sponsoring it to this very day, and especially in the US (in this context, we have South Africa as a model) [parentheses in source]. We will continue to take action in the European arena, in Latin America, and in Africa…

We have sacrificed thousands of Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded on the path to freedom and independence. The national responsibility, in addition to the sacrifices of these heroes, obligates us to say the truth, even if it is bitter, and to act sincerely, even if our sincerity is painful. Therefore, I say to you with sincerity and responsibility: The [Hamas] coup that was carried out in 2007 (see note below -Ed.) and the despicable [Fatah-Hamas] rift that it brought upon us, our cause, and our people are a new Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) that harmed our people and our cause. We must put an end to this immediately, without hesitation or delay…

The PLO is the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people, and we must adhere to it, its fundamentals, and all its international commitments.

As I told you earlier, the entire world recognizes the PLO as the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people. It is the home that unites all the Palestinians, and more than this – it is the Palestinian people’s national and political entity, the mother of the independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem, and the one who preserves the independent national decision making and the Palestinian national identity. No Palestinian is allowed to disapprove of the PLO and its national and political fundamentals; it is a duty to unanimously agree that we must protect it, because it is considered one of our people’s most important achievements…

Brothers and sisters, at this opportunity I say that we have used the various forms of struggle and different stages in our national journey. Today we see that peaceful popular resistance (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror), at the current stage, is the ideal method to continue our struggle and achieve our national goals. Our selection of this method of national struggle is not a random selection, but rather an intelligent and calculated selection that is based on data and historical experience. In light of the occupation and the continuation of the settlers’ terror, it is our duty to agree to this resistance, in order to block the occupiers’ aggression…

Before I conclude, I would like to say a word on the [PA] elections…

I announce here to you and to the entire world that we want to hold [PA] presidential elections, elections for the [PA] Parliament (Legislative Council), and elections for the [Palestinian] National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) this very day, on condition that our people in occupied East Jerusalem will be able to participate in these elections, both as voters and as candidates, without any obstacles – as happened in 1996, 2005, and 2006.

The one who is preventing these elections from being held is the occupation state. Therefore, we again demand that the international community obligate Israel [to allow us] to hold our democratic elections in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our state, the jewel in the crown, and the flower of the cities…

Our heroic people’s willpower will not be broken. We will certainly triumph, we will defeat the occupation, and we will realize our state’s independence, regardless of the difficulties, for every occupation passes in the end, and this will be the fate of the hated Israeli occupation of our homeland.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 31, 2023]

Report in English from the official PA news agency:

Headline: “President Abbas says Palestinian division must end immediately”

“President Mahmoud Abbas said today that the coup that took place in 2007 and the division it caused must end immediately without any hesitation or delay.

President Abbas made the remarks during the meeting of heads of Palestinian factions that he chaired Egypt’s city of El-Alamein.

He stressed that the division is a new catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people and cause, adding that national unity and joint collective action must be based on clear principles and foundations to end division, achieve unity and arrange the inner house.

President also stressed that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, stressing the need to adhere to its political program, and to all its international obligations.

“The entire world recognizes the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and it is the unifying home for all Palestinians…it is the national and political entity of the Palestinian people, and the mother of the independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, and the protector of the independent national decision and national identity," the President said.

He affirmed that it is not acceptable for any Palestinian to have reservations about the PLO and its national and political program, adding that it is necessary to unanimously protect it, because it is considered one of the most important gains of the Palestinian people.

“The continued barbaric Israeli aggression obliges us all to rise to the level of true national responsibility, and to work on arranging our national home, so that we can confront this occupation that targets our existence, our rights and our sanctities,” President Abbas said.

He revealed that he invited heads of factions for this meeting to study ways to achieve national unity, strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, resist the continuous aggression against the Palestinians, and protect the homeland, people, and sanctities.

“We have practiced different forms of struggle at different stages in our national march, and we see today that peaceful popular resistance, at this stage, is the best way to continue our struggle and achieve our national goals,” he said.

The President noted that choosing this method of national struggle is not a random choice, but rather a well-studied choice based on historical backgrounds and experiences.

“In the face of the occupation, and the continued terrorism of the settlers, we must agree on this resistance to confront the aggression of the occupiers, “he said.

He stressed that the international community must provide international protection for the Palestinian people from those who attack them.

“We must work to end the division and put things back in order, within the framework of one state, one system, one law, one legitimate weapon, and one government, and the interests of our people and our national cause dictate that,” President Abbas said.

As for holding elections, President Abbas said elections are “our only means of sharing responsibility and national participation, and we want to hold presidential, legislative and National Council elections today before tomorrow, provided that our people in occupied East Jerusalem can participate in these elections as candidates and voters without any obstacles, as happened in the years 1996, 2005 and 2006.”

He stressed that the one who obstructs holding these elections is the occupying power, demanding the international community, led by the United States and the European Union, to oblige Israel to allow us hold democratic elections in Jerusalem.

President Abbas thanked Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Egypt for hosting the meeting, and for the facilities they provided for convening this meeting.

He also showed gratitude to Egypt for its continuous sponsorship of the Palestinian reconciliation efforts, and its sincere desire for the success of this reconciliation in order to protect the national unity and the interests of the Palestinian people.”

[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, July 30, 2023]

The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that "His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate "responsible for putting into effect the declaration," which led to the UN vote in favor of partitioning Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947. In response, Britain ended its mandate on May 15, 1948, and the Palestinian Jews, who accepted the Partition Plan, declared the independent State of Israel. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and together with 7 Arab states attacked Israel, in what is now known as Israel's War of Independence.

UN Resolution 181 (the UN partition plan for Palestine) was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1947. It called for the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as a separate entity under the rule of a special international body. The Arab state was meant to be comprised of the western Galilee, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and the remaining territory of the Mandate west of the Jordan River would be the state of Israel - Jordan (known at the time as Transjordan) had already been established in what had been the part of the Mandate that was east of the Jordan River. The resolution was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, but Arab leaders and governments rejected it, and launched a war to destroy Israel.

UN Resolution 194 (Chapter 11, Dec. 11, 1948) states that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." Palestinian leaders argue this means that all Arabs who left Israel during the war (hundreds of thousands) and their descendants (a few million) have a "right of return" to Israel. Israel argues that the resolution only calls for a limited return and only under certain conditions, especially focusing on the words "wishing to return... and live at peace with their neighbors."

2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip - Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah won the 2005 Palestinian Authority Presidential election. However, Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with a majority of 74 out of 132 seats, to Fatah's 45 seats. Fatah's rule of the PA Presidency and Hamas' rule of the PA government led to friction and eventually armed conflict between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas defeated Fatah militarily in the Gaza Strip in 2007, and since then Hamas has ruled in Gaza while the PA continues to rule the PA areas in the West Bank under Fatah.

The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, ‎Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 ‎terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Abbas said: "We want a peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is." At the time Abbas said this, 14 Israelis had already been murdered.