From time to time, the Palestine Center distributes articles it believes will enhance understanding of the Palestinian political reality. The following article by Rashid Khalidi was published by The Nation on February 21, 2017.
“nce again, the future of Palestine is being decided behind the back of the Palestinians. Once again, they have been made invisible. In 1917, when the Balfour Declaration was being crafted in the British cabinet, Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann had direct access to key decision-makers. It was a privilege not extended to any Palestinian. ‘In Palestine,’ Balfour himself said, ‘we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country.’ Weizmann also had direct access to President Truman in 1947 when the United States pushed through the United Nations General Assembly partition resolution that gave more than half of Palestine to the 30 percent that made up its Jewish minority. There were no Palestinian representatives at the United Nations then, nor in 1967, when the Security Council adopted resolution 242, which called, vaguely, for ‘a just settlement of the refugee problem,’ while ignoring all other aspects of the Palestine question. This pattern of disregard for Palestinian rights and interests continued under subsequent US administrations, each of which has generally acted as ‘Israel’s attorney.’“
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.
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