The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
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known Ten Point Programme. In 1978, the Palestinian National Council<br />
called for coexistence between the Palestinians <strong>and</strong> the Jews, <strong>to</strong>gether<br />
in one democratic state. <strong>The</strong> Palestinians agreed on the establishment <strong>of</strong><br />
a Palestinian Authority on the West Bank <strong>and</strong> Gaza Strip only if Israel fully<br />
withdrew from these areas. In 1993, the PLO signed the Agreement <strong>of</strong><br />
Principals known as the “Oslo Accord”, under which the PLO recognized<br />
the right <strong>of</strong> Israel <strong>to</strong> exist, <strong>and</strong> Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate<br />
representative <strong>of</strong> the Palestinian people. <strong>The</strong> most important political development<br />
was in 1998, when the Palestinian National Council voted by<br />
a majority <strong>of</strong> 82% for the Palestinian <strong>Peace</strong> Initiative, which accepted<br />
UNSCR 242 as the point <strong>of</strong> reference for a political settlement that would<br />
lead <strong>to</strong> the establishment <strong>of</strong> an independent Palestine on 22% <strong>of</strong> his<strong>to</strong>ric<br />
Palestine, side by side with Israel on 78% <strong>of</strong> his<strong>to</strong>ric Palestine. On the<br />
other side, in spite <strong>of</strong> all these political developments, Israel continued its<br />
aggression, clinging <strong>to</strong> the occupation, confiscating Palestinian private <strong>and</strong><br />
public l<strong>and</strong>s, continuing colonial settlements building, imposing closures,<br />
destruction, arrests, restriction <strong>of</strong> movements <strong>and</strong> killings, all <strong>to</strong> prevent<br />
the Palestinian people from practicing their right <strong>to</strong> self-determination.<br />
In the pursuit <strong>of</strong> peace, the forces calling for a renunciation <strong>of</strong> violence<br />
<strong>and</strong> a condemnation <strong>of</strong> terrorism prevailed in Palestinian society. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
are the forces which urged using negotiations <strong>and</strong> non-violent resistance<br />
as methods <strong>to</strong> push Israel <strong>to</strong> withdraw from the occupied l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> accept<br />
international law as the point <strong>of</strong> reference for a final political set -<br />
tlement <strong>and</strong> an end <strong>to</strong> the conflict.<br />
Currently, there is a legal Palestinian Authority led by the PLO, which<br />
has the support <strong>of</strong> two thirds <strong>of</strong> the people in the occupied Palestinian<br />
terri<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>and</strong> in the diaspora. This leadership continues <strong>to</strong> renounce violence,<br />
<strong>and</strong> is wedded <strong>to</strong> the necessity <strong>of</strong> formulating a political settlement<br />
based on international resolutions <strong>and</strong> international legitimacy. On<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong>, there is an intransigent Israeli Authority which is only<br />
persistent in the excessive use <strong>of</strong> military power, state terrorism, <strong>and</strong><br />
encouraging settler terrorism. <strong>The</strong> continued Israeli aggression is designed<br />
<strong>to</strong> preserve their annexations, <strong>and</strong> prevent an acceptable <strong>and</strong> sustainable<br />
settlement <strong>to</strong> the conflict. After more than sixty-two years <strong>of</strong><br />
dispossession <strong>of</strong> Palestinian refugees who represent more than half <strong>of</strong><br />
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