The Palestinian diaspora is part of the Palestinian people. We are calling for a transparent, democratic National Council that every Palestinian, inside Palestine and abroad, has an equal right to choose.
The International Committee for the Palestinian Diaspora works to secure free, fair, and transparent representation for Palestinians abroad in the Palestinian National Council. Our communities are diverse in thought, background, and political affiliation, and we believe that diversity deserves a democratic system capable of carrying our collective voice, grounded in self-determination and the right of return.
The Palestinian National Council “is the supreme legislative representative body for all the Palestinian people inside Palestine and in the Diaspora.”
On behalf of the International Committee for the Palestinian Diaspora’s Central Ohio Chapter, we hereby express our discontent with the Palestinian political actors actively engaged in the subversion of the national willpower of the Palestinian people at home and abroad.
In private business and political circles, and without input from the Palestinian people, a concerted, secretive effort to build an electoral college is underway. This unilateral appointment of representatives circumvents the transparency necessary to cultivate trust amongst the Palestinian population. We therefore reject any mechanism of exclusion, unilateral appointment, quota, or any other discriminatory instrument that deprives Palestinians of their right to democratic representation.
Our community, similar to many Palestinian communities globally, is diverse in thought, background, and political affiliation. Accordingly, we demand a reformed democratic system to capture our collective voice, through a free and fair election.
Pursuant to the bylaws of the Palestine Liberation Organization (“PLO”), the PNC “is the supreme legislative representative body for all the Palestinian people inside Palestine and in the Diaspora.” Therefore, our community feels compelled to reject any act that degrades the rights of the Palestinian diaspora.
End the process of unilateral appointment and exclusionary practices that violate the aforementioned founding principle of the PLO.
Develop a transparent mechanism that facilitates free and fair elections that guarantee the right of all Palestinians to choose their representatives in an equitable manner.
Recenter Palestinian society around the founding principles of self-determination and the right of return.
We, the Palestinian people, deserve a representative body that embodies our best interests without fear of manipulation. We encourage those of the diaspora to join the call for a unified stance against this blatant violation of Palestinian self-determination. Separately, we invite those involved in the violation of Palestinian self-determination to respond to these claims in the public forum.
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