These "leaders" justified their refusal by saying that they wanted to keep Palestinian identity alive. Left unsaid was that they considered keeping them miserable was an integral part of their plan to maintain this identity.
All of these decisions were made without the refugees themselves having any say in the matter. And the refugees who actually tried to take advantage of these UNRWA initiatives were threatened.
Similarly, when Israel tried to move Gazans out of their camps and into permanent homes in the 1970s, the PLO was against the plan - even though thousands of Gazans eagerly wanted to take advantage of it - and they got two UN resolutions against the voluntary resettlement of Gazans into decent housing.
Palestinian misery was justified as being the best thing for Palestinians, with the decisions being made by people who live in mansions.
Now, the PLO Executive Committee has met and again decided that Palestinian misery is in their own best interest.
In a meeting yesterday, as reported by Wafa, "The Executive Committee also affirmed its firm rejection of the forced displacement of our people, whether in the Gaza Strip or outside it, ....as this displacement that the occupation is trying to promote aims to create a new nakba for our people. Therefore, our people will remain steadfast on their land. They have the right to resist and struggle for their freedom and independence."
That means that the PLO is saying that the Gazans must not leave their homes even if Israel drops leaflets telling them where to go to stay safe. And they are also saying that Gazans must not be allowed to leave Gaza to save their families.
And again, they are justifying endangering the live of their own people as being for their own good.
From their boardroom in Ramallah.
Without asking a single person in Gaza what they would prefer to do.
Notice they are also not demanding that the Gazans be allowed to go to the West Bank, still within the borders of British Mandate Palestine, in areas fully under Palestinian control, to save their lives.
It isn't only Hamas who use Gazans as pawns. The PLO - who claim to be the only true representative of the Palestinian people - are willing to publicly screw them as well.
And the world doesn't even blink.
0 comments:
Post a Comment