Al-Awda 'Points of Unity'
The following 'Points of Unity' were formally adopted by majority vote (12
votes 'yes', 2 votes 'no', 5 votes not submitted) of Al-Awda's elected chapter
and action committee representatives at Al-Awda's International Convention in
New York on 18th April 2004. Subsequently this document was issued by
Al-Awda, Orange, CT on 6th May 2004.
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1. This Coalition affirms that the Palestinian Arab people, regardless of their
religious affiliation, are indigenous to Palestine. Therefore, they are entitled
to live anywhere in Palestine which encompasses present-day "Israel", the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. This Coalition regards the "Israeli" definition of Jewish
nationals, granting exclusive rights to citizenship and land to any Jew from
anywhere in the world, as part of the racism and discrimination inherent in
Zionist ideology which underlies the policies and laws of the settler state of
"Israel".
2. This Coalition unequivocally supports the rights of all Palestinian refugees
to return to their original towns, villages and lands anywhere in Palestine from
which they were expelled. This Coalition also unequivocally supports the rights
of all Palestinian refugees to compensation for damages inflicted on their
property and lives, and to restitution of all destroyed and confiscated
property. All Palestinians are entitled to the rights to self-determination, to
political, economic and civil equality, and to live in a single democratic state
for all its citizens in all of Palestine. The Palestinian national identity
encompasses more than 5.5 million people living in exile, more than 2.5 million
living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and more than 1.2 million living within
the areas of Palestine controlled by "Israel" since 1948.
3. This Coalition firmly stands against the continued displacement of
Palestinians, the construction of illegal Jewish-only colonies in the form of
residential settlements, the racist confiscation of land and the demolition of
homes since 1948. This Coalition firmly stands against the collective punishment
of Palestinians, and all violations of Palestinian civil, economic, political,
national and human rights. This Coalition abhors and condemns the use of
massacres and abuse of civilians to further the expansion of "Israel" to the
detriment of Palestinian society.
4. This Coalition supports the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and
views it as a struggle against all forms of colonialism. This struggle is
inseparable from the universal and labor struggles for social, economic and
national equality, development, justice and freedom against an imposed global
new world order. This Coalition upholds all of the values enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the
Political Rights of Women, and the International Convention on the Suppression
and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. This Coalition also upholds the
African Charter of Human and People's Rights, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid
Act (Pub. L. 99-440) and the American Convention on Human Rights.
5. This Coalition respects, recognizes, and supports the central role of
Palestinian women in the struggle for national liberation and the right to
return. This includes the leadership of Palestinian women in the right to return
movement.
6. This Coalition will work to educate the public about "Israeli" injustices the
US government subsidizes with billions of dollars annually. Until the
dismantlement of the exclusionary and racist character of "Israel", and until
all Palestinians are granted the right to return and achieve equality, this
Coalition is united in working for and demanding:
• An end to all US political, military and economic aid to "Israel"
• The divestment of all public and private entities from all "Israeli"
corporations and American corporations with subsidiaries operating within
"Israel"
• An end to the investment of Labor Union members' pension funds in "Israel"
• The boycott of all "Israeli" products
• The right to return for all Palestinian refugees to their original towns,
villages and lands with compensation for damages inflicted on their property and
lives
• The right for all Palestinian refugees to full restitution of all confiscated
and destroyed property
• The formation of an independent, democratic state for all its citizens in all
of Palestine
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Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
P.O. Box 1172, Orange, CT 06477