2023-04-30

ًWest Bank and Gaza

West Bank / Gaza / position paper

MUSAWA joins the Civil Society Organizations letter denouncing the EU Comission statement 

An Open letter to The EU

ُThe undersigned Palestinian civil society organizations vehemently denounce and reject the shameful statement made by the EU Commission President, in which she celebrated Israel’s “Independence” day by using racist anti-Palestinian tropes and denying Palestinian history and the atrocities of the Nakba. These remarks depart from basic political and diplomatic principles and shamelessly favor the occupying power, which engages in persecution, aggression, and state terrorism against the Palestinian people.

In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen claimed that Israel has made “the desert bloom”, utilizing a colonial remark that greenwashes Israel’s settler-colonial project, and its displacement of the indigenous Palestinian people and the illegal confiscation of their land. We further reject Ms. von der Leyen’s use of biblical references that align with the Israeli occupier’s narrative that erases the Palestinian people and denies their deep roots in the land and their inalienable right to self-determination. This forms the foundation for the racist so-called “Nation State Law” that Israel is now using to entrench colonization and complete annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.

The horrific events of the Palestinian Nakba which paved the way for the foundation of Israel; including displacing over 750,000 Palestinians and rendering them refugees to this day, razing hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns, and committing dozens of massacres, continue to manifest today through different ways yet with the same overall aim of displacing the indigenous Palestinian people and replacing them with Jewish Israelis across historical Palestine through ethnic cleansing.

The European Union’s failure to hold Israel accountable for its countless crimes and human rights violations, including the crime against humanity of apartheid, fuels the culture of impunity that Israel enjoys as it escalates its aggression against the Palestinian people and their land, especially in light of the new extremist Israeli government. Instead of contributing to ending Israeli violations and delivering long-awaited justice to Palestine, the EU continues to reward Israel, the occupying power, with more political, economic, and technological support and cooperation.

We urge the European Union to assume its responsibility, by refraining from such inflammatory and objectionable language as well as from employing double standards in dealing with issues related to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, as guaranteed by all relevant international laws and agreements. We call on elected European officials to muster the courage and political will to pressure Israel into abiding by international law by holding it accountable with concrete and effective measures that align with existing European Union laws and international obligations and principles.

Finally, we thank our friends and allies across Europe for speaking out and rejecting this overt anti-Palestinian racism and urge them to hold their officials accountable. Like all other forms of hate and discrimination, anti-Palestinianism must not be tolerated.

Signatories:

1. Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)
2. The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO)
3. The Palestinian Women’s Coalition for the Implementation of UNSCR 1325
4. AMAN Coalition
5. Palestinian Non–Governmental Organization against Domestic Violence against Women (Al Muntada)
6. Addameer – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
7. AFKAR Organization for Educational and Cultural Development
8. Al-Haq, Law in the service of man
9. Alnajd Developmental Forum
10. Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society
11. Alternatives Forum - Palestine
12. Arab World Democracy and Electoral Monitor (Al Marsad)
13. Bisan Center for Research and Development
14. Center for Defense of Liberties & Civil Rights “Hurryyat”
15. Community Action Center / Al-Quds University
16. Defense for Children International – Palestine
17. Faisal Husseini Foundation
18. Federation of Woman Action Committee
19. Filastiniyat
20. General Union of Cultural Centers
21. Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS”
22. Jerusalem Human Rights Consortium (JHRC)
23. Jerusalem Legal Aid Center (JLAC)
24. MA'AN Development Center
25. Mothers School Society
26. MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession
27. Palestinian Farmers’ Union
28. Palestinian Health Work Committees (HWC)
29. Palestinian Social Forum (PSF)
30. PALTEAM Association for Community Development
31. Teacher Creativity Center
32. The Civil Commission for the Independence of Judiciary and Rule of Law “Istqlal”
33. The Palestinian Association for Empowerment and Local Development-REFORM
34. The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession MUSAWA
35. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Gaza (PCHR)
36. The Palestinian Development Women Studies Association
37. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy – MIFTAH
38. The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD)
39. The Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation- PYALARA
40. The Women’s Studies Centre
41. Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
42. Union of Palestinian women committees (UPWC)
43. Wasel Center for Youth Development
44. Women Media and Development
45. Women’s Affairs Technical Committee
46. Women’s Studies Centre
47. Women's Action Association for Rehabilitation Women & the Child
48. Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
49. YWCA of Palestine

​and others..