By Pervez Bari
New Delhi: The Aligarh Activists Society (AAS) has called for Unity and Reconciliation among the Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas in a letter handed over to the Minister Counsel of Palestine in a function at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Kennedy Auditorium on Sunday.
According to a press release the AAS had organised a Symposium on "Palestine: Occupation, War Crimes and Demand for Sovereignty". The chief guest was His Excellency Saleh Asad Saleh Muhammad, the Minister Counsel from Palestine Embassy.
The other speakers were Prof. Mirza Asmer Beg, Department of Political Science at AMU and Dr. Arshi Khan, Associate Professor, also in Department of Political Science.
Prof. Beg spoke on the recent developments in Palestine. He stated that the present aim of Israel and its allies is to isolate Iran. Israel is aiming to divert the attention of the world towards other issues, while they make settlements on Palestine and try finishing it off completely.
Dr. Arshi Khan spoke on the historical background of the Palestinian crisis. He said, Israel was created illegally, with active support from Britain and its other allies. The issue of Palestine is not a Muslim-Jew issue, rather it is an issue of self-determination, the right of the Palestinian people to be governed by themselves.
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The chief guest of the event, His Excellency Saleh Asad Saleh Muhammad, Minister Counsel Embassy of Palestine, stated that he was honoured to be at the Aligarh Muslim University. He reportedly said that the Indian Government has always been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. He opined that Palestine is an occupied territory and the occupiers will have to leave it, sooner or later.
Meanwhile, the AAS handed over a letter to His Excellency addressed to President of P.A. Mahmoud Abbas in which they called for unity among the Palestinian resistance and urged Mahmoud Abbas to invite Hamas for a National Unity Government so that the struggle for Palestine can be taken forward.
The letter said: “By the Grace of Almighty Allah, the people of Palestine and their Resistance have won twin victories in the past one month. While the besieged people of Gaza successfully countered the death-mail from Israel and forced them to a truce, the Palestinian cause gained further recognition at the United Nations. We congratulate Palestine on this twin victory”.
The letter pointed out that the world opinion is also changing and people around the world are coming out to speak in favour of the Palestinian struggle. The realistic demands of the cause, that is, a viable State based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of Palestinians to return being guaranteed, is being recognised the world over as the standard for a solution.
However, the thing that pains us most is the disunity and infighting within the Palestinian Resistance. Both Fatah and Hamas are legitimate representatives of Palestinian people and have repeatedly shown their commitment to the Palestinian Cause by their ceaseless struggle and sacrifice. Both are freedom fighters and have our support, respect and admiration. The present moment is the best to bridge the divide and come together for Palestine. Let the past be past, and the future with a Palestinian State our goal, the letter noted.
The letter further said: “We cannot forget that Israeli missiles have not stopped destroying Palestinian homes, nor have the Zionist settlers stopped their theft of Palestinian land”.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that it was intriguing to note that none of the dignitaries from the higher echelon of AMU administration graced the function despite having been invited by the organisers. They were conspicuous by their absence, sources said.
[Pervez Bariis a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]
New Delhi: The Aligarh Activists Society (AAS) has called for Unity and Reconciliation among the Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas in a letter handed over to the Minister Counsel of Palestine in a function at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Kennedy Auditorium on Sunday.
According to a press release the AAS had organised a Symposium on "Palestine: Occupation, War Crimes and Demand for Sovereignty". The chief guest was His Excellency Saleh Asad Saleh Muhammad, the Minister Counsel from Palestine Embassy.
The other speakers were Prof. Mirza Asmer Beg, Department of Political Science at AMU and Dr. Arshi Khan, Associate Professor, also in Department of Political Science.
Prof. Beg spoke on the recent developments in Palestine. He stated that the present aim of Israel and its allies is to isolate Iran. Israel is aiming to divert the attention of the world towards other issues, while they make settlements on Palestine and try finishing it off completely.
Dr. Arshi Khan spoke on the historical background of the Palestinian crisis. He said, Israel was created illegally, with active support from Britain and its other allies. The issue of Palestine is not a Muslim-Jew issue, rather it is an issue of self-determination, the right of the Palestinian people to be governed by themselves.
Meanwhile, the AAS handed over a letter to His Excellency addressed to President of P.A. Mahmoud Abbas in which they called for unity among the Palestinian resistance and urged Mahmoud Abbas to invite Hamas for a National Unity Government so that the struggle for Palestine can be taken forward.
The letter said: “By the Grace of Almighty Allah, the people of Palestine and their Resistance have won twin victories in the past one month. While the besieged people of Gaza successfully countered the death-mail from Israel and forced them to a truce, the Palestinian cause gained further recognition at the United Nations. We congratulate Palestine on this twin victory”.
The letter pointed out that the world opinion is also changing and people around the world are coming out to speak in favour of the Palestinian struggle. The realistic demands of the cause, that is, a viable State based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of Palestinians to return being guaranteed, is being recognised the world over as the standard for a solution.
However, the thing that pains us most is the disunity and infighting within the Palestinian Resistance. Both Fatah and Hamas are legitimate representatives of Palestinian people and have repeatedly shown their commitment to the Palestinian Cause by their ceaseless struggle and sacrifice. Both are freedom fighters and have our support, respect and admiration. The present moment is the best to bridge the divide and come together for Palestine. Let the past be past, and the future with a Palestinian State our goal, the letter noted.
The letter further said: “We cannot forget that Israeli missiles have not stopped destroying Palestinian homes, nor have the Zionist settlers stopped their theft of Palestinian land”.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that it was intriguing to note that none of the dignitaries from the higher echelon of AMU administration graced the function despite having been invited by the organisers. They were conspicuous by their absence, sources said.
[Pervez Bariis a senior Journalist based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is associated with IndianMuslimObserver.com as Bureau Chief (Madhya Pradesh). He can be contacted at pervezbari@eth.net]