*PACE wish a prosporous and peaceful year of 2011* Assalamualaikum and greetings
As we usher in the new year, vivid memories of the tragic events that unfolded two years ago flooded our minds. 28th December 2010 marked the third commemoration of the start of the month long brutal and unprovoked attacks and wilful killings of men, women and children of Gaza. As Israel continues to pursue a policy of ethnic cleansing and sustained persecution on the Palestinian people, her Washington paymaster justifies Israel's preemptive strike on Gaza as a military necessity. The international community who has tolerated Israel's impunity for far too long, now has refused to be duped into believing the zionist popaganda spin. The Goldstone report is a clear departure from the traditional standpoint of the international community which has largely turned a blind eye on the atrocities committed by the zionist entity. Refused to be held ransom by the zionist agenda, Richard Goldstone, a jew himself, exposed irrefutable evidence of israeli supreme crime on the people of Gaza. The report was almost unanimously endorsed by the UN General Assembly except by the US and her proxy states including Australia. Israel continued to challenge international rule of law by assaulting Mavi Marmara, a ship on a humanitarian mission on the high seas, killing peace activists on board in the process. Such a blunder has caused Israel dearly in terms of her image and international standing. Israel's rash actions have lead to a number of countries especially Latin American states to sever diplomatic ties and prompted them to openly declare their support and recognition on the sovereign Palestinian state, anticipated by august 2011, as hinted by the Palestinian authority. PACE welcome the rising international demands for the restorations of the rights of the Palestinian to a soveriegn state. It is a culmination of the demands of millions of people around the globe for decades long persecution on the Palestinian people to be redressed. This is a move in the right direction towards the complete liberation of the Palestinian land that was usurped by the zionist occupiers from the indegenious people of Palestinine. Although we view in the positive light the call for Israel to observe the UN Resolution 242 by returning back to the 1967 borders, of which the implications include the dismantling of the jewish settlements on occupied territories from the 1967 war, it actually stopped short of the justice the Palestinian people are entitled to. The world should not forget the fact that 'historic Palestine' (of 1948) was the killing fields of innocent Palestinian villagers, forming the backdrop of the 'Nakba' (catastrophe) driving close to a million Palestinians away from their homeland for dear life. The zionist and their British sponsors still have blood of the Dier Yassin and countless other massacre victims on their hands. It was through systematic terror, a tactic which is still being used on the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem to uproot the Palestinian people and to establish on it the Jewish state as we knew it today. PACE hereby supports the declaration of the palestinian state within the 1967 borders as an interim move pending a final resolution which must include historic Palestine of 1948 as an integral and undivided entity of the Palestinian state. The zionist entity of israel and her sponsors must not shy away from admitting the high crime on the Palestinian people. The rights of the Palestinian people particularly the right of return, the rights of the rightful owners of the Palestinian land to reclaim their properties and their homeland, the establishment of the Palestinian state in its entirety and a full redress on the crimes committed on the Palestinian subjects within the framework of the international rule of law. PACE also call on the international community to respect the freedom of choice of the Palestinian people to elect their own government based on genuine democratic principles. Any attempt by the international community to undermine the government that was voted in by the people in the legislative election of 2006 will not augur well for peace and security in the region. The international community must engage the government of the day for peace talks and other security arrangments with Israel. Failure to do this will only prolongs the deadlock and the impasse that has bogged down the 'peace negotiations' between Israel and the Palestinian authority. Empowerment of the Palestinian people is the key for progress in future middle east talks and this entails that HAMAS be given the centre stage role in the process. PACE wish every peace loving citizens around the world a properous and a peaceful year of 2011. Dr hafidzi Mohd Noor Director PACE (Palestine Centre of Excellence) 1st January 2011
