The Palestinian people are currently confronting one of the most consequential moments in our history. After nearly three years of ongoing genocide in Gaza, escalating settler attacks in the West Bank, and continued plans for displacement and annexation, Palestinians face devastating conditions on the ground and grave threats to our people\u2019s geographical and political unity.
As we face this existential threat, the need for a unified Palestinian political project and legitimate national representation has never been more urgent. Only through a unified political project rooted in the liberation of Palestine, ending Zionism and occupation, and realizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees can our people build the collective power necessary to confront the challenges before us. Such a project requires a Palestinian leadership that derives its ultimate legitimacy from a rebuilt national liberation movement that includes all political currents, and from Palestinians themselves, grounded in Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination, other governments, and external political influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the Palestinian question has become unavoidable and gained unprecedented global support. The Palestinian flag has become a primary symbol of liberation and justice across the world. Translating this historic moment into lasting power requires the rebuilding of collective, inclusive and democratic Palestinian institutions across the homeland and the diaspora\u2013institutions capable of bringing together the full diversity of our people and harnessing our strength, experiences, and the contributions of all its components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rebuilding of Palestinian national institutions cannot begin with formalistic elections. Elections should be part of the democratic practices that the national liberation movement uses to determine its representatives. Elections conducted without a broader process of political inclusion and representation risk reproducing a history in which unrepresentative bodies have made decisions on behalf of Palestinians without a true democratic mandate. These elections cannot be a substitute for the political dialogue and process that is required to rebuild the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first priority must therefore be the development of a unified Palestinian political program through a comprehensive national process involving the full spectrum of Palestinian political actors, popular institutions, unions, movements, community organizations across the homeland and diaspora. This process should establish the political foundation, national objectives, and democratic principles upon which representative Palestinian institutions are rebuilt. On this basis, we affirm the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One: A comprehensive national dialogue must precede elections and work towards a unified political program capable of bringing together the Palestinian people and the forces and institutions that constitute our national movement. This process must be shaped by popular institutions, unions, civil society organizations, and Palestinian communities in the homeland and diaspora. In particular, it must include Palestinian youth whose energies and leadership over the last three years represent a renewed national liberation movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two: Once this common political foundation has been established, The Palestinian National Council should be rebuilt through democratic elections rather than anti-democratic appointments that aim to preserve the dominance of particular political currents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three: A democratically constituted PNC should serve as the foundation for rebuilding the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The reconstitution of the PLO and the selection of its leadership should emerge from this broader representative process rather than precede it so as to guarantee that this leadership represents the full range of Palestinian society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four: Elections and democratic processes concerning other Palestinian political and governing institutions should follow this broader process of national reconstruction. The sequence here is critical: 1. the agreement on a unified national political program 2. democratic reconstruction of the PNC 3. rebuilding the PLO and its institutions on that representative foundation and 4. elections and democratic renewal of Palestinian governance structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five: No Palestinian political current should be able to predetermine the composition or outcome of national representative institutions. Palestinians everywhere must have the opportunity to participate in shaping their national movement, choosing their representatives, and determining the political direction of their collective future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six: The purpose of rebuilding Palestinian institutions is not simply institutional reform, or the holding of elections. Rather, it is to rebuild the national liberation movement such that it derives its legitimacy from the Palestinian people themselves. The strength of the Palestinian people has always rested in our capacity to organize collectively across the homeland and diaspora toward the shared goal of the liberation of Palestine and the return of refugees. Transparent and fair elections, and all democratic practices, should serve to realize these purposes rather than becoming a mechanism for deepening political divisions or relinquishing national rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Palestinian Youth Movement
US Palestinian Community Network
Florida Palestine Network
Committee for a Democratic Palestine
Palestinian-American Women’s Association
Union of Palestinian-tAmerican Women
The People’s Center for Palestine
The General Union of Palestinian Students
Al-Awda: the Palestinian Right of Return Coalition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Palestinian people are currently confronting one of the most consequential moments in our history. After nearly three years of ongoing genocide in Gaza, escalating settler attacks in the West Bank, and continued plans for displacement and annexation, Palestinians face devastating conditions on the ground and grave threats to our people\u2019s geographical and political unity.As we face this existential threat, the need for a unified Palestinian political project and legitimate national representation has never been more urgent. Only through a unified political project rooted in the liberation of Palestine, ending Zionism and occupation, and realizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees can our people build the collective power necessary to confront the challenges before us. Such a project requires a Palestinian leadership that derives its ultimate legitimacy from a rebuilt national liberation movement that includes all political currents, and from Palestinians themselves, grounded in Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination, other governments, and external political influence. Today, the Palestinian question has become unavoidable and gained unprecedented global support. The Palestinian flag has become a primary symbol of liberation and justice across the world. Translating this historic moment into lasting power requires the rebuilding of collective, inclusive and democratic Palestinian institutions across …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n