Prominent Palestinians across the world are calling for the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to be rebuilt on democratic foundations and for an inclusive and comprehensive national conference to be called as soon as possible as the first step towards this goal.
The statement, issued on Wednesday by the "Palestinian Popular Campaign", was signed by Palestinian activists, academics, ex-prisoners, intellectuals, unionists and members of the Palestinian National Council (PNC).
Individuals inside Palestine and elsewhere have signed the document.
The statement calls for all Palestinians to be included, with the goal of forming a unified leadership able to confront the present challenges including Israel’s plans for the "day after" the war, and the alleviation of the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The statement, titled "Statement for unity and a call for a Palestinian national conference", reads:
"In the face of the continuous Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and the ongoing war of genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip, and the state of political division, and in light of the stagnation of the PLO, […] and the absence of a unified Palestinian leadership able to rise to the challenges of the current phase […] a popular campaign has been organised calling for unity and the rebuilding of the PLO on unitary and democratic foundations."
According to the statement, hundreds of Palestinian personalities are participating in the popular campaign, which has started preparing for a Palestinian national conference, and aims to establish a programme which can contribute to forming a united Palestinian leadership.
The conference will include the Palestinian factions, civil society organisations, independent personalities, and others and will adhere to the principles of a just solution.
The campaign also emphasised the need for swift action in light of the critical juncture in Palestinian history.
"In the face of the atrocities the occupation state is committing […] it is no longer possible to meet the demands of the present dangerous stage, and the one which will follow the aggression, without a unified Palestinian leadership".
It highlighted that Israel and its allies aim to enforce a new security and administrative scheme on the Gaza Strip, ensuring its separation from the West Bank while maintaining Israeli security oversight.
"Israel’s determined destruction of the entire infrastructure of Gaza is callously planned so it can be rebuilt as an optimum site of occupation"
Anna Saif on how Israel's plans for post-war Gaza are more militarised than they do in the West Bank⤵ https://t.co/jZYI0ByR0o
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab)
This plan, in which Israel was plotting to involve Palestinian and Arab cooperation, couldn't be confronted without a unified leadership, according to the statement.
"The issue of Palestine has returned to occupy a central place on the global and regional agenda, and has opened new horizons for achieving justice in Palestine [although] at a heavy price which has been exacted by the barbaric occupation, and which it is still exacting, from our people in the Gaza Strip. These precious sacrifices […] must not be squandered because there is no unified representation for this great people," it read.
Among the hundreds of Palestinian figures and activists who have signed the statement so far are Mustafa Barghouti, Ghassan Abu Sitta, Moin Al-Taher, Dr. George Giacaman, Munib al-Masri, Waleed Saif, Ahmed Ghoneim, Nadim Rouhana, Ahlam Al-Tamimi, Sliman Mansour, and Tamim Al-Barghouti.
This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition on 27 March 2024. To read the original article click here.
