On World Refugee Day, PLO wants Israel held accountable

Marking World Refugee Day, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Wednesday called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for the Palestinian refugee problem it created in 1948. PLO Executive Committee member and lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement that all members of the international community should hold Israel accountable “for its portrayal of our people's loss as anything other than a violent mass expulsion and for the creation and continuation of the tragic refugee situation.” She said as stipulated in international and humanitarian law, the Palestinian people, whether under occupation or in exile, are entitled to nothing less than their independence, dignity, self-determination, and a just resolution of their tragic plight. “Sixty-five years ago, the Palestinian people suffered a grave historical injustice with the creation of the state of Israel on their land and the forcible dispossession and expulsion of 750,000 indigenous Palestinians; this is known as ‘al-Nakba,’ the catastrophe,” she said. “This process of victimization, exclusion and oppression continues until this day— Israel persists in its violations of international law and human rights, acting with impunity and enjoying full immunity. The military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza that began in 1967 is an added form of oppression manifesting itself in the cruel captivity of the people and their land and resources,” said Ashrawi. She called on Israel “to admit its culpability, and hence its responsibility for the rectification of such an injustice at the human, moral, political, and legal levels.” “The Palestine case is not a question of a disputed narrative, rights or territory; it remains an issue of indisputable justice and humanity,” said Ashrawi.