Fatah youth: We adhere to “all options” of struggle, all of Israel is Palestinian
“Fatah’s Shabiba [youth] movement in the West Bank published a press release in response to the declarations made by the extreme right-wing Prime Minister of the occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that President Mahmoud Abbas [publicly] declare his recognition of Israel as a Jewish state at Birzeit University…
In its statement, Fatah’s Shabiba said that Netanyahu and his right-wing government should learn from history, which has proven at every stage that nations yearning for freedom, justice and independence inevitably achieve victory, and that occupation, racism and darkness are fated to vanish. It [the movement] noted in its statement that every olive tree and every speck of dust in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Acre, Safed, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Gaza and all of Palestine recognizes the true owners of the land, for Palestinian land is alive and knows its original inhabitants, and knows who the new invaders are. [The message also stated that] the Nakba (“the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of our people, their expulsion from their villages and cities and the destruction of [their] villages over 66 years ago, will not erase the facts nor change the true face of the land.
In addition, Fatah’s Shabiba addressed a message to Netanyahu: ‘If this racist would look himself in the face, he would see the snows of Poland, where his father Benzion Netanyahu and his ancestors were born, while, if he had the courage to look into the eyes of the children of Palestine, he would see the soil of Jerusalem, the olive [trees] of Beit Jala, the orchards of Haifa, the coasts of Jaffa, the Arab character of Palestine…’
Fatah’s Shabiba said that any solution failing to realize the aspirations of our people – a free and independent homeland without the occupation and its herds of settlers; the right of return for refugees according to the decisions of the international institutions and [UN] resolution 194; freedom for our prisoners and the right of our people to full sovereignty over its land and natural resources –would be completely unacceptable. It [Fatah’s Shabiba] called on the international community to take concrete and effective steps to strengthen and implement the decisions regarding the boycott of the occupation and the imposition of sanctions on it. In addition, it emphasized that [our people] should draw inspiration from the experience of South Africa in this area…
Fatah’s Shabiba concluded its message by underscoring its intention to continue the popular resistance in all arenas and its preparedness for all options. It [the movement] called the third generation of Palestinians, after the generation of the grandfathers and fathers, the generation of adherence to principles and resistance.”
Note: UN resolution 194 (Chapter 11, Dec. 11, 1948) states that "the 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."