The Arabs of Palestine Said No to the Jewish Right of Return
What confusion would ensue all the world over if this principle on which the Jews base their "legitimate" claim were carried out in other parts of the world! What migrations of nations must follow! The Spaniards in Spain would have to make room for the Arabs and Moors who conquered and ruled their country for over 700 years…
— Palestine Arab Delegation, Observations on the High Commissioner's Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine during the period 1st July 1920 – 30th June 1921
The Palestinian Arabs Said No to Equating National Consciousness with Land Rights
There is not a single Arab who has not been hurt by the entry of Jews into Palestine: there is not a single Arab who does not see himself as part of the Arab race… In his eyes, Palestine is an independent unit.
— Moshe Shertok, Speech MAPAI Central Committee, June 9th 1936
They Said No to the Notion That Palestine Was Desolate and Empty
In our lovely country there exists an entire people who have held it for centuries and to whom it would never occur to leave…The time has come to dispel the misconception among Zionists that land in Palestine lies uncultivated for lack of working hands or the laziness of the local residents. There are no deserted fields.
— Yitzhak Epstein, "The Hidden Question," 1907
They Said No to the Exchange of Political for Economic Rights
You say my house has been enriched by the strangers who have entered it. But it is my house, and I did not invite the strangers in, or ask them to enrich it, and I do not care how poor or bare it is if only I am master in it.
—1937 Royal Commission Report, paraphrasing the remarks of an Arab witness
The Arabs Said No to the Jewish Settlement Enterprise
Land is the most necessary thing for our establishing roots in Palestine. Since there are hardly any more arable unsettled lands in Palestine, we are bound in each case of the purchase of land and its settlements to remove the peasants who cultivated the land so far, both owners of the land and tenants.
—Arthur Ruppin, 1930
They Said No to the Reneging on Promises, and They Said No to the Incongruity Enshrined in the 1917 Balfour Declaration
There is not one nation in the world that would accept voluntarily and of its own desire that its position should be changed in a manner which will have an effect on its rights and prejudice its interests … We as a nation are human beings with our own culture and civilization and we feel as any other nation would feel. It will have to be imposed on us by force.
— Awni Abd al-Hadi, Testimony to Royal Peel Commission, 1937
Finally, the Palestinian Arabs Said No to the "Generous Offers" of Partition, Made by the Royal Palestine (Peel) Commission in 1937 and the UN in 1947.
This opposition [to partition] is based upon the unwavering conviction of unshakeable rights and a conviction of the injustice of forcing a long-settled population to accept immigrants without its consent being asked and against its known and expressed will; the injustice of turning a majority into a minority in its own country; the injustice of withholding self-government until the Zionists are in the majority and able to profit by it.
— Albert Hourani, Statement to the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry, 1946
Natasha Gill Natasha Gill is the founder and director of TRACK4, which runs negotiation simulations for mediators, diplomats, journalists, policy makers, students and people directly involved in conflict. A viable peace process does not require either party to embrace or even recognize the...
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