U.S Members of Congress Move to Block Israeli Annexation of Palestinian West Bank Territories

The Free Palestine Movement comments on the positive move for peace and justice by U.S. Congress

"You are not alone."

(OCCUPIED PALESTINE) - The Free Palestine Movement accepts the positive statement by twelve members of the U.S. Congress to condition aid to "Israel" on blocking annexation of territories in the Palestinian West Bank.

It is a gesture in the right direction, and we support it as such. However, we caution that it is a very small step and that much more is needed to restore justice.

All of the land that "Israel" claims as its state was taken illegally. Even the 7% of Palestine that was purchased by Zionist interests prior to the 1948 declaration of the "state of Israel" was often obtained fraudulently and in any case has no right to independence any more than purchase of land in any country entitles the owner to declare it independent from the state in which it is located.

"Israel" is a racist kleptocracy. It is racist because it was explicitly founded to favor one race and to expel the indigenous inhabitants, converting Palestine from a country that was almost entirely Palestinian Arab (including non-Zionist Palestinian Arab Jews) into one that is 75% non-Palestinian Jews.

In fact, if one includes the population of the original boundaries of Palestine, the population is still roughly 50% Palestinian Arab despite the fact that more than 50% of the original population has been expelled.

It is a kleptocracy because it was entirely stolen. Even the government of "Israel" recognizes that it is the result of theft. It maintains an Office of the Custodian of Absentee Property to keep track of the owners of the land that it has stolen, including the original land registration documents.

These documents show that at least 80% is stolen, but even the other 20% is also stolen, though not recorded in a similar way.

The gesture of the twelve members of Congress may be considered courageous relative to the current political realities of Zionist influence in the U.S., but it falls incredibly short of justice.

In order to achieve justice, all stolen and destroyed property must be restored to its owners, and all Palestinians must be permitted to return to their homes in Palestine.

Palestine has welcomed many immigrants in the past. Names like al-Hindi (Indian), Daghestani (from Daghestan), Frangieh (from France), as well as resident Armenian, Ethiopian and other communities, and the mozaic of different religious communities testify to the historic tolerance of the Palestinian people.

Unlike the Zionists, Palestinians do not demand expulsion, only restoration of their rights and properties. In return, they offer acceptance of all immigrants who wish to be loyal Palestinian citizens living in peace with other Palestinians.

The Free Palestine Movement therefore welcomes the letter of the twelve members of the U.S. Congress, but views it as only a tiny step in the right direction, hopefully one of many that will ultimately lead to a restoration of full justice for Palestine.

The letter to secretary of state Mike Pompeo is backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), among others.

The letter says:

“We write to you to express our deep concern over the planned annexation of occupied Palestinian territory by the government of Israel... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said annexation could begin as early as July 1, 2020.

“Should the Israeli government move forward with these plans, they would actively harm prospects for a future in which all Israelis and Palestinians can live with full equality, human rights and dignity, and would lay the groundwork for Israel becoming an apartheid state, as your predecessor John Kerry warned in 2014.

“Members of Congress should not be expected to support an undemocratic system in which Israel would permanently rule over a Palestinian people denied self-determination or equal rights.”

“Should the Israeli government continue down this path, we will work to ensure non-recognition of annexed territories as well as pursue legislation that conditions the $3.8 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not supporting annexation in any way.” [READ THE ENTIRE LETTER HERE]

The other signatories were U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Betty McCollum (D-MN), André Carson (D-IN), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Jesús C. Garcia (D-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Danny Davis (D-IL).

Submitted by The Steering Committee of the Free Palestine Movement