We, the people of Palestine, hold these truths to be self-evident:
That all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;
that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness,
to wit, the form of pluralistic democracy, with equality and freedom of race and religion in all parts of the Holy Land of Palestine.
For generations the people of Palestine have suffered destruction of life and property, and our land has been usurped in a fully unprovoked attack, invasion and occupation by colonists adhering to an extremist, militaristic racist ideology.
The people of Palestine, reminding the world that the nation of Palestine never ceased to exist since its first establishment within the boundaries of the British Mandate, and deeply imbued in their hearts and minds with the teachings of their prophets and saints, extend their hands in peace to the illegal occupiers, and offer them collectively and individually safe harbor in the bounds of the State of Palestine, providing only that they will lay down their arms and join in building up our holy land together.
Palestine shall be a constitutional State embodying contemporary norms of human rights guarantees, with ironclad legal safeguards of life and property against confiscations, and prohibitions against terror, rapine and expulsion of the innocent from their homes.
The Palestine State calls on the colonialist occupiers and their illegally constituted regime to enter peaceful negotiations on these points
Drafting a constitution for a modern democratic political solution for the entire territory of Palestine, within its borders obtaining before the fascist invasion of 1947, on the basis of one man, one vote, with equal rights for Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others
Payment of reparations for generations of ethnic cleansing committed against the people of Palestine by the invasive totalitarian regime and its vigilantes, currently established throughout the western parts of Palestine
Establishment of an international war crimes tribunal to mediate the question of individual responsibility for heinous acts committed against the people of Palestine
The Palestine state calls on all citizens and governments of the world and believers of good will everywhere to remain true to that heritage of kindly ideals common to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and humanity at large, especially as regards the treatment of Palestine the Holy, the Land sacred to those three faiths, and her children.
Signed by:
The People and Friends of Palestine
Mr. John-Paul Leonard is a free-lance writer and a regular contributor to Media Monitors Network (MMN)
