By Hanna Nasir, President of Birzeit University

February 15

I read your call a few days ago in Al Quds newspaper about achieving peace with your Palestinian neighbors. It is no doubt necessary because all of us in the area are calling for peace. I do not think there is anyone who does not want to live in peace and tranquility. The more important question now is how each side understands this peace.

I understand peace as an end to the conflict between us after we, as Palestinians, gain our historical rights – at least the rights which were agreed upon according to legitimate and international resolutions.

I am saying these things because I believe that this state of conflict will continue even after we gain our rights. The effects of the occupation and the destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure over more than 50 years is not easily erased by a national reconciliation, even if this reconciliation is committed to legitimate international foundations. Historical reconciliation also needs supportive ethical stances such as an apology and a bearing of the moral and perhaps material responsibility for what happened. I am not saying this to complicate matters but rather from my perception of true peace and from the perspective of permanently and fully ending the conflict.

I appreciate– as much as a non-Jew could appreciate– the extent of what you endured at the hands of Nazi Germany and other European countries. This was no doubt a horrendous crime against humanity. So I truly understand your continuous pursuit of Nazi war criminals and I understand that modern Germany would apologize and bear responsibility for what happened. Naturally, this apology will not erase the effects of the crimes but it at least alleviated the tragedy and opened the door to a historical reconciliation between you and Germany.

From the same perspective, we as Palestinians expect Israel to apologize and take responsibility for what happened to us. I was relatively young during the 1948 War but I still fondly remember the Palestinian cities which I – because of my father’s work – used to travel between such as “West” Jerusalem, Jaffa, Safad and Ramleh. Now these cities have become part of Israel. I still painfully remember the Palestinian cities which I used to visit and which are now completely demolished. I remember how in 1948 I saw waves of refugees reach my hometown of Birzeit at nightfall, exhausted and terrified, finding no other shelter save the sky and the olive tree branches. My experience is more or less the same of most Palestinians. And you want us to forget all of this or feign forgetfulness? Do you want us to forget what befell the Palestinian people over the past 50 years and how they were and still are being subjected to continuous attempts to destroy their infrastructure and their very existence?

Despite all this, a few years ago we still accepted a conciliatory solution, which called for an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 only and for finding a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees in line with international legitimate resolutions. You no doubt realize that this solution does not grant the Palestinians more than 22 percent of historical Palestine. However, the Palestinians’ desire for peace compelled them to accept this solution – even if grudgingly.

Then what happened? There were supposed to be negotiations in order to implement international legitimate resolutions and to develop procedures to completely end the occupation. A perception of the relationship between the two peoples and every detail of a historical reconciliation were also supposed to be formulated. Unfortunately, six years and more have passed and Israeli forces have not totally withdrawn. East Jerusalem is no longer ours. Land confiscation and illegal construction of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza continued.

I remember how after the 1967 War the Israelis were saying that if the Pales tinians only acknowledged them they would have realized that in return, Israel would have offered them much more than they had imagined. The Palestinians offered this desired recognition as did some Arab countries. The Palestinians even modified their national charter – the PLO charter, to affirm that they were interested in solving the conflict by peaceful means. But despite all this, the Israeli reactions did not rise to the level of sincerity in dealing with this historical crossroads. The promised solutions did not come. On the contrary, the Israeli people became more extreme and obstinate than ever.

The current Intifada is a direct and actual result of this Israeli stance. No people would accept to remain under eternal occupation. We consider the current positions of the Israeli government insulting because it boasts that it offered more than any other government in the way of peace and withdrawal from the occupied territories. However, everyone knows that what the Israeli government offered is still much less than the conciliatory solution that the Palestinians accepted, which is in compliance with international and legitimate resolutions.

The new Israeli prime minister-elect has publicly declared that he would not even accept the positions of the outgoing government. This in itself totally paralyses the peace process. The Intifada is not a Palestinian picnic. On average two or three Palestinians are killed. We would like nothing more than for our Palestinian blood and Jewish blood, not to be spilled. You call on us to consider the negotiations as the basis for reaching a solution. You say that each side must give painful concessions. Just so we do not get confused with these locutions, I would like to point out that we agreed to the negotiations and we agreed to painful historical concessions and we signed agreements with Israeli leaders in this regard. Do you want us, after all this, to negotiate once again on what we have already negotiated? Do you want us to concede more of our historical rights? Is there a reason for this? Is there a reason that we should concede East Jerusalem? Is there a reason why we should concede the land which settlers forcefully usurped? Is there a reason why we should concede the right of refugees to a just settlement for them and their tragedy?

It is easy for the party that has claimed a military victory to call on everyone else to give painful concessions. However a sincere call must be to accept international and legitimate resolutions as a basis for ending the conflict, regardless of whether these resolutions are painful for either side or for both. It is international legitimacy which guarantees just solutions and adhering to them protects all parties from the threat of wars and their tragic outcomes.

At the same time you are directing your call towards the Palestinian people, I would like for you to direct your pens towards your own people. Ask them to declare their acceptance of international and legitimate resolutions without ambiguity or misinterpretations and their willingness to completely withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 including East Jerusalem. Ask them to find a just solution to the refugee problem. Only then can there be negotiations to overcome the difficulties and to find practical solutions within a limited period of time. If not, the struggle will continue to gain our rights. There is no escape from the liberation of a people, no matter how long it takes.

I do not want to end my letter to you on a pessimistic note. I just want to remind you that historical reconciliation between us is very close. Despite the violence that has overtaken the region at present, the opportunity is still there for reconciliation. If Israel abandons its occupation, expansionist and colonialist ambitions it will find itself in a true oasis of peace which it would be able to protect more than all of its settlers and settlements or than its mighty army.

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