THE ONE STATE DECLARATION
The Electronic Intifada, 29 November 2007
 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9134.shtml
For decades, efforts to bring about a two-state solution in historic
Palestine have failed to provide justice and peace for the
Palestinian and Israeli Jewish peoples, or to offer a genuine
process leading towards them.
The two-state solution ignores the physical and political realities
on the ground, and presumes a false parity in power and moral claims
between a colonized and occupied people on the one hand and a
colonizing state and military occupier on the other. It is
predicated on the unjust premise that peace can be achieved by
granting limited national rights to Palestinians living in the areas
occupied in 1967, while denying the rights of Palestinians inside
the 1948 borders and in the Diaspora. Thus, the two-state solution
condemns Palestinian citizens of Israel to permanent second-class
status within their homeland, in a racist state that denies their
rights by enacting laws that privilege Jews constitutionally,
legally, politically, socially and culturally. Moreover, the
two-state solution denies Palestinian refugees their internationally
recognized right of return.
The two-state solution entrenches and formalizes a policy of unequal
separation on a land that has become ever more integrated
territorially and economically. All the international efforts to
implement a two-state solution cannot conceal the fact that a
Palestinian state is not viable, and that Palestinian and Israeli
Jewish independence in separate states cannot resolve fundamental
injustices, the acknowledgment and redress of which are at the core
of any just solution.
In light of these stark realities, we affirm our commitment to a
democratic solution that will offer a just, and thus enduring, peace
in a single state based on the following principles:
- The historic land of Palestine belongs to all who live in it and
to those who were expelled or exiled from it since 1948, regardless
of religion, ethnicity, national origin or current citizenship
status;
-Any system of government must be founded on the principle of
equality in civil, political, social and cultural rights for all
citizens. Power must be exercised with rigorous impartiality on
behalf of all people in the diversity of their identities;
- There must be just redress for the devastating effects of decades
of Zionist colonization in the pre- and post-state period, including
the abrogation of all laws, and ending all policies, practices and
systems of military and civil control that oppress and discriminate
on the basis of ethnicity, religion or national origin;
-The recognition of the diverse character of the society,
encompassing distinct religious, linguistic and cultural traditions,
and national experiences;
-The creation of a non-sectarian state that does not privilege the
rights of one ethnic or religious group over another and that
respects the separation of state from all organized religion;
-The implementation of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees
in accordance with UN Resolution 194 is a fundamental requirement
for justice, and a benchmark of the respect for equality.
-The creation of a transparent and nondiscriminatory immigration
policy;
- The recognition of the historic connections between the diverse
communities inside the new, democratic state and their respective
fellow communities outside;
-In articulating the specific contours of such a solution, those who
have been historically excluded from decision-making -- especially
the Palestinian Diaspora and its refugees, and Palestinians inside
Israel -- must play a central role;
-The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks for justice
and reconciliation.
The struggle for justice and liberation must be accompanied by a
clear, compelling and moral vision of the destination - a solution
in which all people who share a belief in equality can see a future
for themselves and others. We call for the widest possible
discussion, research and action to advance a unitary, democratic
solution and bring it to fruition.
Madrid and London, 2007
Signed:
Ali Abunimah
Naseer Aruri
Omar Barghouti
Oren Ben-Dor
George Bisharat
Haim Bresheeth
Jonathan Cook
Ghazi Falah
Leila Farsakh
Islah Jad
Joseph Massad
Ilan Pappe
Carlos Prieto del Campo
Nadim Rouhana
The London One State Group
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