Statement by the Australian Palestinian community

The Australian Palestinian Community welcomes the Statement by the Australian church leaders following their recent trip to Israel and the Israeli occupied Palestine. The Palestinian people would like and pray for an end to the conflict and in the establishment of a Palestinian State in the pre 1967 borders currently under Israeli armed occupation.

The Church Leaders acknowledge in their statement the complex nature of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The delegation also affirmed the right of both peoples to political autonomy, security and self determination. This right is based on international law and consistent with the UN resolutions in relation to the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian community joins hands with the Church Leaders and all peace loving people and call for a just peace. We also call the world leaders to take courageous steps to put an end to the current cycle of violence and to end the suffering of the Palestinian people due to the ongoing oppressive Israeli military occupation.

We believe that a just peace will only be achieved if the international community mounts a moral campaign against the Israeli occupation and the apartheid-like Israeli laws and policies in the Israeli occupied Palestine. The international campaign against the white South African regime led to the demise of that regime and it is time that the plight and the sufferings of the Palestinians under the Israeli oppressive military occupation is unmasked and removed.

Silence and inaction by the world community and political leaders contributed to the Holocaust. Silence and inaction contributed to over 30 years of apartheid in South Africa. Political wrangling between some nations allowed the slaughter in Rwanda and Cambodia. Silence and inaction by the world community are contributing to the ongoing slaughter of any prospect for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and prolong the agony of both peoples.

Peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will not be achieved in the near or even in the foreseeable future. Current trends indicate that peace is further away now more than at any other time. Peace will only be achieved if and when the Israeli government acknowledges the rights of Palestinians to a homeland in the pre 4 June 1967 and takes active steps in making this a reality. Israel’s security will become a reality under a peace treaty within a comprehensive settlement of all the issues in the conflict. A comprehensive peace settlement will also deliver the Arab world’s recognition of Israel as a country within internationally recognised borders. There is no security for all parties in times of war and conflict.

The Israeli armed occupation of the Palestinian territories contributes to the ongoing instability and conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation is the core issue and it indirectly impacts on how we live our lives here in the Western world.

Australians of Palestinian backgrounds strongly support the Church Leaders’ statement and we believe that a just peace is the only way to deliver the stability and the security needed by all nations in the Middle East including Israel. Armed conflict is and will only deliver much the same as we have seen in the past 60 years.

Our collective voice and action will make a difference in ending the conflict and hopefully will bring about a change towards a just peace.

For further information please contact:
The Australian Palestinian Committee – Sydney
Mr Abdel Kader Karanouh(Chair): 0413 444 447
Mr Abe Quadan: 0412 460373

29 December 2007