Al-Awda Condemns Betrayal by Unelected Palestinian leadership
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January 24, 2011

Palestinians around the world and all their supporters watched in shock, but
not total surprise as secret documents, "The Palestine Papers", detailing
carefully the years of so called peace negotiations were released by the
news network Al-Jazeera during the last few days. While Palestinians are
struggling to win back their rights to their homes and lands, some in the
unelected leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA) were making offers to
give away these rights.

The documents show that they were willing to give up the rights of seven
million Palestinians living in forced exile to return to their homes and
lands. They were willing to cede Palestinian control over most of East
Jerusalem as well as nearly all the land on the West Bank on which the major
Israeli settlements around Jerusalem were illegally built. Even the major
Muslim holy site the al-Aqsa mosque, Harm al'Sharif, was open to "creative"
solution.

Long before these revelations, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition, its members, supporters and people of conscience in the US and
around the world were already deeply suspicious of the maneuvering against
the Palestinian people that Saeb Erekat, Ahmad Qurei and others demonstrated
during these secret negotiations over the past many years. The Palestine
Papers released by Al-Jazeerah confirm our people's worst fears. What the PA
officials committed is a grave breach of duty and a betrayal of their own
people.

The chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and sitting PA
president Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, whose term has long expired, bears full
responsibility. We demand his immediate resignation or removal from office.
A self-appointed puppet leadership beholden only to its US and Israeli
occupation masters cannot be allowed to stand. It does not represent the
aspirations of the Palestinian people, the vast majority of whom are living
in forced exile.

Al-Awda reiterates that a just and lasting peace can only be achieved with
the return of all Palestinians to their original homes, towns, and villages,
with full restitution of all of their confiscated and destroyed property,
and compensation. The Palestinian people, regardless of their religious
affiliation, are indigenous to Palestine. Therefore, they are entitled to
live anywhere in their homeland Palestine which encompasses present-day
'Israel', the West Bank and Gaza Strip. No agreement, negotiations or
parties which purport to trade away these rights or any other inalienable
rights can have any legal basis and cannot bind or compel the Palestinian
people to end the struggle for the fulfillment of all of their rights.

The current PA/PLO leadership has proven to be both untrustworthy and
unworthy. We call on all peace-loving people around the world to condemn
this unelected unrepresentative leadership. We also call on leaders who
support the Palestinian cause to boycott this leadership until it is removed
and replaced with legitimately elected representatives.

It's time for the Palestinians to take charge of their own destiny and be
represented by those who can bring justice to their cause and not and not
serve the illegitimate racist aspirations of their enemies.

Until Return,

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-918-9441
Fax: 760-918-9442
E-mail: info@al-awda.org
WWW: http://al-awda.org