QUESTION OF PALESTINE
Letter dated 30 June 1978 from the Acting Chairman of the
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People addressed to the Secretary-General
I have the honour to inform you that, in the light of recent events, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People deems it highly relevant to bring to the attention of all Member States certain important communications received by you from the Palestinians in the occupied territories, which were transmitted to the Committee on 6 March 1978 by the Secretariat.
The Committee is convinced, on the basis of the signatures appended to the documents, that they represent the true sentiments and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
The elements put forth in the first document are the following:
(I) The Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and as such not only has the full right but is duty-bound to express the views and attitudes of the Palestinian people.
(II) It recalls the commitment of the world to the United Nations resolutions, especially General Assembly resolution 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, and to the resolutions of the Algiers and Rabat summit meetings recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It further declares their adherence to these resolutions, confirms their commitment to the decisions of the thirteenth Palestinian National Conference held in Cairo, demands that all parties respect the will of the peoples of the world, including the Palestinian people, and denounces any attempt to derogate from the legitimate rights of the people, at the forefront of which is the right to self-determination.
Proceeding from the above-mentioned premises, it affirms the following principles:
(I) It stresses that the fierceness of the battle taking place in the face of the present imperialist onslaught against the achievements of the Palestinian people and all the Arab peoples requires that a wide Arab front be organized to include all the Arab States that reject all forms of that imperialist onslaught in the region, as well as all the Arab people's organizations and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and that all the economic, political and military capabilities be mobilized to deter that attack, thus putting an end to plots against all the national achievements in the Arab region and deepening the alliance of that front with all anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist forces.
(II) The Palestinian people in the occupied territories clearly confirm their complete faith in the unity of the Palestinian people inside and outside those territories. They also affirm the unity of the Palestinian representation through the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is the only source authorized to speak on behalf of that people, and they denounce any attempt at organizing a substitute or equivalent leadership.
(III) The rights of the Palestinian people as affirmed by various United Nations resolutions are not subject to bargaining. Foremost among these is their legitimate right to determine their own future on their land in complete freedom. Consequently they reject any form of trusteeship, no matter what its source may be, and any form of solution that detracts from the independence of the Palestinian people and the independence of their will and hence they reject also any mandatory link between the Palestinian State with any other party so long as such a course runs counter to the freedom of the Palestinian people to determine their own future.
(IV) The Palestinian people from the occupied territories salute the struggle of all Arab peoples and all the forces that lend their support to our just struggle. Above all, they salute the struggle of their expatriate people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization and call for a firm stand in the face of all attempts aimed at shaking Arab solidarity based on the will of the Arab nation to rid itself of the imperialist onslaught and Zionist aggression.
(Signed) Raul ROA KOURI Acting Chairman Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People |
___________
* A/33/50/Rev.1.
78-15581
ANNEXI
Signatures appended to first document
Hassan Mohammed Milhim
Mayor of Halhoul
Fahed Kawasmi
Mayor of El-Khalil (Hebron)
(Signature illegible)
Mayor of Dourah
George Hazboun
Deputy Mayor of Bethlehem
Atallah El-Rashmawi
Member, Beit-Sahur Municipal Council
Fuad Rizk
Deputy Mayor of Beit-Jala
Public Utilities Workers and Staff Union (seal)
Bethlehem
George El-Rayi Abu-Eitah
President, Arab Orthodox Club
of Beit-Sahur
Yusuf Abdallah Abou-Zeid
Dr. Haidar Abdel-Shafi
Former President of the Legislative
Council, Gaza
Shaban Eid
Member, Legislative Council
Mohammad Al-Radwan
Journalist
Nictor Kuffah
Pharmacist, Landlord
Yunis El-Jarou
Barrister
Sami Mohammad Abu Salim
Qalqilya Municipal Council
(signature and seal)
Municipality of Jenin
(signature and seal)
(Signature illegible)
Mayor of Salfeet
Khaled El Awad
Qabatyieh
Municipality of Arraba
(signature and seal)
Charity Association of Jenin
(signature and seal)
Saad Eddine El-Alamy
Mufti of Jerusalem
Hilmi El-Mubtasib
President, Islamic Council
Dr. Salem Matouk
President, Red Crescent Association,
Jerusalem
Dr. Amin El-Khateeb
President, Charitable Asscoiations
Federation
President, Arab Alumni Club, Jerusalem
Jiryes El-Khoury
Vice-President, Jordanian Bar
Association and its representative
in the West Bank
Ibrahim El-Daqqaq
President, Engineers Association,
West Bank
Mamoun El-Sayed
Editor-in-Chief, El Fajr daily newspaper
Tailors Workers Union, Jerusalem
Yakoub Farraj, Secretary
Hind El Husseini
Director, Arab Children's Home,
Jerusalem
Shoemaking Workers Union, Jerusalem
(signature and seal)
Restaurateurs and Coffee-Shop Owners
Committee
Ali Abu Assab, Abdel-Rauf Abu Assab
Al-Shaab Arabic daily newspaper,
Jerusalem
(signature and seal)
Jerusalem Electric Corporation
Workers Union
Abed Abu Diad, Secretary
Abdallah El-Akkawi
Headmaster, Dar El-Awlad School
Mahdi Abdul-Hadi
President, Arab Intellectual Assembly
Isamil Ajweh
Journalist
Khalil Khano
Construction and Public Institution
Workers Union
Ramallah-Al-Bireh (signature and seal)
Kareem Khalaf
Mayor of Ramallah
Al-Bireh Minicipal Council
(signature and seal)
Betunia Municipality Department
(signature and seal)
Orthodox Club of Ramallah
(signature and seal)
Family Rehabilitation Association,
El-Bireh
(signature and seal)
Al-Hilal Athletic Club
(signature and seal)
Beir Zeit Municipality
(signature and seal)
An-Nahda Women's Association, Ramallah (signature and seal)
Ramallah First Boy Scouts Troop
(sigature and seal)
Comnunity Friends Charitable Society
El-Bireh – Ramallah
(signature and seal)
El-Bireh Youth Association
(signature and seal)
|
Daoud El-Sayegh Yusna El-Barbari President, Gaza Women's Federation Mohammad Ali Basheer Former member of the Legislative Council for Deir El-Balah Fayez Abu Rahma President, Bar Association (Signature illegible) Mayor of Nablus ( seal) Municipality of Tulkarm (seal – signature illegible) Tullcarm Chamber of Commerce (signature illegible) Medical Association, Tulkarm President, Dr. Ghazi Hannoun Anabta Municipal Council (signature and seal) Palestine Red Crescent Association, Tulkarm Sarah Hannoun Qalqilya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (signature and seal) General Federation of Trade Unions, Nablus (signature and seal) Municipal, Public Utilities, Commercial Stores and Private Business Workers and Employees Union of Tulkarm (signature and seal) Jack Hazmou Editor, Al-Bayadir magazine, Beit Hanina Dr. Samir Katbeh President, West Bank Medical Association Dr. Naseeb Abdul-Lateef President, Dental Association Pharmacists Asscoiation, West Bank Branch Ammad El-Tazeez, President Daoud Istanbuli President, Agricultural Engineers Association, West Bank Taysir Kanaan Presiding Judge, Appellate Court Salah Eddin Advertising, Publishing and Insurance Agency, Jerusalem (signature and seal Mahmoud El-Hibiyieh Director-General, El Makased Islamic Society Fatima El-Nisnas Member, Women's Association Khalil Touma Poet Fayeq Barakat Ali Mahmoud El-Taziz Chairman, Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce Kamel El-Duweik Member, Executive Committee, Employees Association Akramah Sabri Preacher, El-Aqsa Mosque; Director Preaching and Guidance Youth Activities Centre, Jalazone (signature and seal) Youth activities Centre, Tulkarm Refugee Camp (signature and seal) El-Arroub Refugee Camp Youth Activities Centre (signature and seal) Kalandia Youth Activities Centre (signature and seal) Balata Refugee Camp Youth Activities Centre (signature and seal) Jericho Women's Charity Association (signature and seal) Jericho Municipality (signature and seal) West Bank Chambers of Commerce Office (signature and seal) Youth Activities Centre – Dheisheh Refugee Camp Fatima Jibril President, Kalandia Camp Co-operative for Sewing and Handicrafts Khadija Salim Director, Kalandia Camp Community Promotion Centre Bashir El-Barghouthi Palestinian Journalist El-Bireh Chapter, Arab Women's Federation (signature and seal) Jerusalem Government Employees Club (signature and seal) Volunteer Work Committee of Ramallah, El-Bireh (signature and seal) Salwad Municipal Council, Region of Ramallah (signature and seal) Bani Zeid Club, Region of Ramallah (signature and seal) Bani Zeid Municipal Council (signature and seal) Jordan Family Planning and Welfare Association, Bireh/Ramallah Branch (signature and seal) Red Crescent Society of El Bireh, President (signature illegible) |
ANNEX II
Signatures anpended to second document
Friends of Community Charitable Society, El-Bireh/Ramallah (signature and seal) Karim Khalaf Mayor of Ramallah El-Bireh Municipal Council (signature and seal) Orthodox Club-Ramallah (signature and seal) Family Rehabilitation Society, El-Bireh (signature and seal) First Ramallah Boy Scouts Troop (signature and seal) El-Bireh Youth Institution (signature and seal) Upper Beit Oor Cultural and Athletic Club (signature and seal) Bani Zeid Club (signature and seal) |
Volunteer Work Committ~e of Issawieh (seal) Volunteer Work Committee of El-Bireh/Ramallah (seal) Volunteer Work Committee of Kalandia (seal) Arab University Graduates Club, Jerusalem (signature and seal) Al Ittiliad Club of Bethlehem (signature) Bir Zeit University (signature and seal) Ramallah Municipality (signature and seal) Betunia Municipal Department (signature and seal) Bani Zeid Municipal Council (signature and seal) |
ANNEX III
Signatures appended to third document
Hekmat Al-Masry (signature) Ahmed Shawky Mousa Mahmoud (signature) Qalqilya Municipality (seal) Nablus Chamber of Connnerce (seal and signature) Nablus Municipality (seal and signature) Deir Diwan Municipal Department (seal); signed by the Head of the Department Nablus Red Crescent Society (seal); signed by Dr. Faek Al-Masry Family Rehabilitation Society of El-Bireh (seal); signed by Mohamed Saad El-Din and (the name is illegible) The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of … (illegible; seal and signature) Tulkarm Municipality (seal and signature) Arab Federation of Trade Unions (seal; signature is illegible) For the physicians of Nablus, Dr. Salah Al-Bustamy (signature) For the dentists of Nablus, Dr. Nadim Awad (signature) Jordanian Red Crescent Society, Al-Bireh Branch (seal and illegible signature) Mohamed Hassan Milhim, Mayor of Halhul Municipality (seal and signature) Jordanian Family Control and Protection Society, Halhul (seal and illegible signature) Trade Union of Sewing Workshop Workers of Al-Khalil (seal and signature) Ragaei … (last name is illegible), lawyer (signature) Mayor of Al-Khalil, Engineer Fahd Al-Qawasmi (seal and signature) Kamal Al-Doweik, member of the Municipal Council of Al-Khalil (signature) Jordanian Red Crescent Society, Al Khalil Branch (seal and illegible signature) Ishak Al-Natsha, lawyer, member of the Municipal Council of Al-Khalil (signature) |
For the pharmacists of Nablus, Dr . Omar Al-Masry (signature) Ms. Faiza Abdul-Mohsen, authoress and woman of letters, head of the Childhood and Maternity Society, Nablus District (signature) Hamdi Kanaan (signature) Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Tulkarm (seal and signature of Sarra Hannoun) H. Helmi and A. Al-Hadi (signatures) Betunia Municipality Department (seal and signature of Ahmed Lutfi Othman, Mayor) Ramallah Municipality Department (seal and signature of the Acting Mayor) Al-Bireh Municipal Council (seal and illegible signature) Beir Zeit Municipality (seal) For the lawyers of Nablus, Saleh Abu-Obeidah (signature) Salwad Municipal Council, Ramallah District (seal and signature of Mousa Mahmoud Mousa) Ali Said Ashour, member of Al-Khalil Municipality (signature) University Graduates Association of Al-Khalil District (seal and illegible signature) Dr. Awni Al-Saghir, member of Al-Khalil Municipality (signature) Mustafa Abdul-Nabi, Deputy Mayor of Al-Khalil (signature) Representative of the subsidiary Committee of the Egyptian Bar Association in Al-Khalil (illegible signature) Abdul Kader …, member of Al-Khalil Municipality (signature) Mayor of Dora, (seal and signature) Khalid Al-Oseili, member of Al-Khalil Municipality (signature) |
ANNEX IV
Signatures appended to fourth document
Tulkarm Municipality (seal and illegible signature) Chairman of the Sub-Committee of the Doctors' Syndicate, Dr. Salah Al-Bustami (signature) Nablus Chamber of Commerce (seal and illegible signature) General Federation of Trade Unions, Nablus (seal and signature of the Secretary General of the Federation) Nablus Municipality (seal and illegible signature) Jenin Municipality (seal and signature of Ahmed Shawki Mousa Mahmoud) Mayor of Halhul (seal and illegible signature) Chamber of the Sub-Committee of Doctors' Syndicate in Jenin, Dr. Khalid … (signature) Chairman of the Sub-Committee of Pharmacists' Syndicate in Nablus, Dr. Nimr Al-Masri (signature) For the engineers of Nablus District (illegible signature) Association of Arab Women Federation, Nablus, Ms. Andalib Al-Amad (seal and signature) Qalqilya Municipal Council (seal and illegible signature) |
For Nablus dentists, Dr. … (illegible signature) Lawyers' Sub-Committee in Nablus, Salah Abu-Obeidah (signature) Jenin Charitable Society, Jenin (seal and illegible signature) Family Rehabilitation Society, Al-Bireh (seal and illegible signature) Hanna Khoury Al-Atrash, Mayor of Beit Sahour (seal and signature) Municipal Federation of Bethlehem (seal and illegible signature) Syndicate of Workers and Employees of Public Institution in Bethlehem (seal and illegible signature) Municipality of Beit Jala (seal and illegible signature) Al-Bireh Municipal Council (seal and illegible signature) Ramallah Municipal Department (seal and signature of the Mayor of Ramallah) |
ANNEX V
Signatures appended to fifth document
Mayor of Al-Khalil, Engineer Fahd Al-Qawasmi (seal and signature) Nablus Municipality (seal and illegible signature) Head of the Islamic Organization (illegible signature) Faiza Abdul-Meguid, for women's organizations in the West Bank (signature) Illegible signature Society of Arab Women Federation, Nablus (seal and the signature of Ms. A1-Andalib Amad) Nablus Chamber of Commerce (seal and illegible signature) Syndicate of Doctors' Sub-Committee in Nablus (illegible signature) Syndicate of Pharmacists' Sub-Committee in Nablus (illegible signature) Mr. Fawzy Al- … (the last n~e is illegible), for the lawyers in the West Bank (signature) Municipalities, the Bar Association and charitable organizations in the District Al-Bireh Municipal Council (seal and illegible signature) |
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bethlehem area (illegible signature) Municipal Corporation of Bethlehem (seal and illegible signature) Dr. … (illegible) Mayor of Jericho (illegible signature) |
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Document Type: Letter
Document Sources: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), General Assembly, Security Council
Subject: Agenda Item, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, Occupation, Prisoners and detainees
Publication Date: 30/06/1978