Mohammed Zaatari


Daily Star correspondent

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine sponsored “popular” demonstrations Thursday to mark the 84th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which gave rise to a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

The DFLP and other Palestinian organizations staged a rally at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp and another in front of the UN House in downtown Beirut to protest the creation of the State of Israel after British promises for a Jewish homeland during World War I.

In a memorandum sent to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anan and to representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council, protesters condemned what they described as the “US double standards” when dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

They also condemned “repeated Israeli aggression” against Palestinian towns and refugee camps.

The protesters urged the international community to pressure the Jewish state to withdraw from “occupied Arab and Palestinian lands” in compliance with Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 194 which calls for the return of refugees to their homes.

Demonstrators also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.

Marking the same occasion outside UN House, the DFLP’s politburo member, Ali Faysal, called on the Palestinian Authority to “free all the [Palestinian] prisoners.” This was in the presence of MPs Nasser Qandil, Bassem Yamout, and Marwan Fares.

Qandil called for the unity of the various Palestinian organizations, while simultaneously urging the implementation of Resolution 181, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

For his part, Yamout said the intifada was the best response to the Balfour Declaration and reaffirmed both the Palestinian and Lebanese right to national resistance.

He also called on the United Nations to “provide a clear definition of terrorism.”

Fares said that the intifada’s best achievement could be the “reunification of the Palestinian people.”

Representing the president of the Journalists Union, Kamal Fadlallah said that the Balfour Declaration was a “bleak time” in human history and asked the demonstrators to support the intifada. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/02_11_01/art4.htm" TARGET="_blank">Daily Star.lb

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