Pakistan has always been persistent in its support at all levels and forums for resolving the Palestinian dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. During his visit to Pakistan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had separate meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who assured the former that Pakistan favoured an early settlement of the Palestine-Israel conflict on the basis of two-state solution.
They asseverated that Pakistan will continue to take a principled stance of unqualified support to the Palestinian people for their right to self-determination and sovereign state. In the past also, irrespective of any shade of government, Pakistan has always given unqualified support to the Palestinians who are struggling against illegitimate occupation of their land by Israel since 1948 when the Zionist/imperialist state of Israel was created in the heart of Arab land. Palestinians have undergone the longest suffering and ordeal in the annals of history, and despite various UN resolutions and accords there seems to be no end in sight to the atrocities perpetrated on them. After 9/11, former president George W Bush had said that the enemies of freedom have attacked the US because “they hate our freedom, democracy and values”. But the fact of the matter is that 9/11 events were the result of unqualified US support to the criminal policies of Israel, and this is one of the reasons that the US is hated throughout the world. It has to be mentioned that 11th September is the anniversary of the League of Nations proclaiming the British Mandate in 1922 that paved the way for the creation of Palestine. The date represents the first physical step towards the implementation of the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of Israel. But this fact was never brought to light because international mass media are owned or dominated by Jews. The British Mandate of Palestine was given by the League of Nations to the United Kingdom to administer the territory comprising today’s Jordan, Israel and territories governed by Palestinian Authority and formerly governed by Ottoman Empire. But what was Balfour Declaration? This was a letter dated November 2, 1917 from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community for onward transmission to the Zionist Federation, on the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the World War I. The letter stated the position agreed at a British cabinet meeting on October 31, 1917 that “British government supported Zionist plans for a national home in Palestine with the condition that nothing should be changed, which might prejudice the rights of existing communities there”. There was also perception that European countries were wary of the Jews, and Hitler had started their genocide because of their total control over Germany’s economy. On 14th May 1948, the UN, the successor to the League of Nations, implemented the 1947 UN Partition Plan and established the state of Israel. With backing of the West, Israel continued usurping the Palestinian land, and balked at UN resolutions giving the Palestinians the right to have an independent state. In July 2004, after 37 years of 1967 war an international court had declared the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel as illegal. International Court of Justice in its judgment had declared the West Bank barrier built by Israel as illegal, and Israel was under an obligation to cease forthwith the construction of wall built in the occupied Palestinian territory including in and around Jerusalem, and to demolish the raised structures. The court had called upon the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take action to halt the construction work, but to no avail. The moot question remains unanswered whether any country has the right to invade and occupy the other’s land? What is the legal position of Palestinian lands - Gaza Strip and the West Bank when the UN charter does not allow such occupation? The Oslo Accord was based on the principle of “Land for Peace”, and the US was a guarantor for implementation of the agreement. But Israel would not implement it. Even President Bush’s ‘road map’ has been torn into bits by Israel, and Sharon had unilaterally announced to withdraw from Gaza Strip, where Israel forces earlier continued moving in and out with the tanks and armoured cars killing hundreds of Palestinians whenever they felt like doing it. It is too well known that the Israeli lobby afflicts US Congress and the President. The immense power of the Jewish lobby is a proven fact, and nobody on Capitol Hill will dare defy this all-powerful lobby. Perhaps it would not be wrong to say that the security of Israel is the cornerstone of the US foreign policy. When Afghanistan was bombed during Clinton’s presidency, it was to kill Osama bin Laden because he wanted that Israel should vacate Arab lands. He also wanted that the US should withdraw its forces from Saudi Arabia, because the objective of their presence is keeping the region under its control, which is in the interest of Israel. Even when the US attacked Iraq, it was to destroy a powerful Arab country that could have offered a palpable threat to Israel. The six-day war of June 1967 between Israel and Arabs brought total ruination and humiliation on Arabs, who did partially succeed in restoring their lost honour in October 1973 war. But recognizing the futility of seeking recovery of their lost territory through UN, Egypt entered into peace treaty – The Camp David Accord with Israel and recovered Sinai. The Palestinians however continue to groan under Israeli-occupation, which with passing of each day is becoming more repressive and intolerable. The Palestinian existence in the occupied lands has become a long night of terror and misery, with relentless Israeli policies of dispossession and deprivation. During last 40 years, a number of initiatives for peace have been taken, in the context of Security Council Resolution 242 but none has succeeded. Palestinian problem continues to defy any solution, primarily due to intransigence of Israel, blindly supported and encouraged by US. The Palestinian tragedy has been further compounded with the treachery of Arabs, duplicity and silence of International Community. And in no small measure due to the incompetent leadership of the Arab countries, which preferred rhetoric to reality and indulged in romantic belief that the justice of their cause would eventually prevail. Security Council Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967 had provided the basic framework for negotiations and peace to remove the effects of 5th June war. Subsequent efforts at negotiated settlement were made, and Oslo Accords were based on this resolution. That these peace efforts and accords have failed to deliver are due to the ambiguity of the 242 and also Israel’s policy of aggression and expansion. Resolution 242 “emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” asked for “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict” and respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area, and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries
They asseverated that Pakistan will continue to take a principled stance of unqualified support to the Palestinian people for their right to self-determination and sovereign state. In the past also, irrespective of any shade of government, Pakistan has always given unqualified support to the Palestinians who are struggling against illegitimate occupation of their land by Israel since 1948 when the Zionist/imperialist state of Israel was created in the heart of Arab land. Palestinians have undergone the longest suffering and ordeal in the annals of history, and despite various UN resolutions and accords there seems to be no end in sight to the atrocities perpetrated on them. After 9/11, former president George W Bush had said that the enemies of freedom have attacked the US because “they hate our freedom, democracy and values”. But the fact of the matter is that 9/11 events were the result of unqualified US support to the criminal policies of Israel, and this is one of the reasons that the US is hated throughout the world. It has to be mentioned that 11th September is the anniversary of the League of Nations proclaiming the British Mandate in 1922 that paved the way for the creation of Palestine. The date represents the first physical step towards the implementation of the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of Israel. But this fact was never brought to light because international mass media are owned or dominated by Jews. The British Mandate of Palestine was given by the League of Nations to the United Kingdom to administer the territory comprising today’s Jordan, Israel and territories governed by Palestinian Authority and formerly governed by Ottoman Empire. But what was Balfour Declaration? This was a letter dated November 2, 1917 from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community for onward transmission to the Zionist Federation, on the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the World War I. The letter stated the position agreed at a British cabinet meeting on October 31, 1917 that “British government supported Zionist plans for a national home in Palestine with the condition that nothing should be changed, which might prejudice the rights of existing communities there”. There was also perception that European countries were wary of the Jews, and Hitler had started their genocide because of their total control over Germany’s economy. On 14th May 1948, the UN, the successor to the League of Nations, implemented the 1947 UN Partition Plan and established the state of Israel. With backing of the West, Israel continued usurping the Palestinian land, and balked at UN resolutions giving the Palestinians the right to have an independent state. In July 2004, after 37 years of 1967 war an international court had declared the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel as illegal. International Court of Justice in its judgment had declared the West Bank barrier built by Israel as illegal, and Israel was under an obligation to cease forthwith the construction of wall built in the occupied Palestinian territory including in and around Jerusalem, and to demolish the raised structures. The court had called upon the UN General Assembly and Security Council to take action to halt the construction work, but to no avail. The moot question remains unanswered whether any country has the right to invade and occupy the other’s land? What is the legal position of Palestinian lands - Gaza Strip and the West Bank when the UN charter does not allow such occupation? The Oslo Accord was based on the principle of “Land for Peace”, and the US was a guarantor for implementation of the agreement. But Israel would not implement it. Even President Bush’s ‘road map’ has been torn into bits by Israel, and Sharon had unilaterally announced to withdraw from Gaza Strip, where Israel forces earlier continued moving in and out with the tanks and armoured cars killing hundreds of Palestinians whenever they felt like doing it. It is too well known that the Israeli lobby afflicts US Congress and the President. The immense power of the Jewish lobby is a proven fact, and nobody on Capitol Hill will dare defy this all-powerful lobby. Perhaps it would not be wrong to say that the security of Israel is the cornerstone of the US foreign policy. When Afghanistan was bombed during Clinton’s presidency, it was to kill Osama bin Laden because he wanted that Israel should vacate Arab lands. He also wanted that the US should withdraw its forces from Saudi Arabia, because the objective of their presence is keeping the region under its control, which is in the interest of Israel. Even when the US attacked Iraq, it was to destroy a powerful Arab country that could have offered a palpable threat to Israel. The six-day war of June 1967 between Israel and Arabs brought total ruination and humiliation on Arabs, who did partially succeed in restoring their lost honour in October 1973 war. But recognizing the futility of seeking recovery of their lost territory through UN, Egypt entered into peace treaty – The Camp David Accord with Israel and recovered Sinai. The Palestinians however continue to groan under Israeli-occupation, which with passing of each day is becoming more repressive and intolerable. The Palestinian existence in the occupied lands has become a long night of terror and misery, with relentless Israeli policies of dispossession and deprivation. During last 40 years, a number of initiatives for peace have been taken, in the context of Security Council Resolution 242 but none has succeeded. Palestinian problem continues to defy any solution, primarily due to intransigence of Israel, blindly supported and encouraged by US. The Palestinian tragedy has been further compounded with the treachery of Arabs, duplicity and silence of International Community. And in no small measure due to the incompetent leadership of the Arab countries, which preferred rhetoric to reality and indulged in romantic belief that the justice of their cause would eventually prevail. Security Council Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967 had provided the basic framework for negotiations and peace to remove the effects of 5th June war. Subsequent efforts at negotiated settlement were made, and Oslo Accords were based on this resolution. That these peace efforts and accords have failed to deliver are due to the ambiguity of the 242 and also Israel’s policy of aggression and expansion. Resolution 242 “emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” asked for “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict” and respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area, and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries
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