Say NO to Negotiations!

An important statement from Palestinian activists in North America (NoToNegotiations@gmail.com):

Palestinians in Shatat (Diaspora) Say NO to Resumption of Negotiations

We, the undersigned Palestinians and Palestinian organizations in shatat and exile, write today to express our firm opposition to the resumption of bilateral Israeli/Palestinian negotiations under US auspices in Washington DC, today, July 29.

For 20 years, the negotiations have not served Palestinian interests. Through countless sessions of futile negotiations, Israeli settlement construction has escalated, thousands of Palestinian political prisoners are held behind bars, and Palestinian rights - including Palestinian refugees' right of return - are no closer to implementation.

While the Netanyahu government is planning the massive dispossession of Palestinians in the Naqab via the Prawer Plan, the negotiations serve only to provide a thin veneer of legitimacy to the aggressive policies of Israeli occupation and apartheid. Our rights - the rights of the Palestinian people - and our land - the entire land of Palestine - are not for sale or bartering at the negotiating table.

That this process is presided over by the United States government, which provides $3 billion annually in military aid to Israel, and specifically by Martin Indyk, former research director at the infamous Israel lobby organization, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), only adds insult to injury and makes clear that these negotiations will bring nothing of value or benefit to the Palestinian people.

Today, we say: PA President Mahmoud Abbas does not represent us! Our rights cannot and will not be bargained away at a negotiating table in Washington, DC. Instead, we affirm that the Palestinian people are one people and our cause is one cause. Our people have struggled for 65 years in order to achieve the liberation of the land and people of Palestine and the implementation of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

As Palestinians in shatat, we are not being represented here, and we demand to reclaim our voice and role. We do not accept these negotiations, and our rights, our people, and our land are not for sale!