An open letter to the Palestinian people

By Beth Kennedy, February 27, 2002

Think of me as a typical American, because that’s all I am; no more, and no less.

Perhaps, once, I tended to be sympathetic to your cause… but no longer. My
opinion of the Palestinian Authority is at an all-time low, and you need to know that.

Every time you allow an attack to be launched into an Israeli community, it is as
if it were coming straight into my home, or any other American’s.

Do you honestly think my country would support the establishment of a
Palestinian state when, under the present terms, you continuously murder
Israelis? What further horrors would await us all once you have fully acquired
your own autonomy? I seem to remember people dancing when they learned
our towers fell…

Israel is a sovereign state; you are not. Israel has a right to defend herself. No
state can permit the slaughter of its citizens. When you repeatedly attack her,
Israel must respond. When she does respond, you rail against what you term
“Israeli aggression” and unleash more terror, not stopping to consider your own
obligations.

Yes, you do have obligations. You have the obligation to abide by the various
agreements you have entered into with her. Doesn’t the Oslo Accord require
that you refrain from the use of terror and discontinue violence?…

Now, how does your “intifada” fit into this commitment? Doesn’t the Wye River
Memorandum prohibit illegal weapons?… So, please explain to this American
how the Karine A affirms that commitment. Aren’t you supposed to “prohibit all
forms of incitement to violence or terror?”…

Then, why does Al-Hayat Al-Jadida publish death notices commemorating
heroic martyrs? When the names of cold-blooded murderers are sung out in praise
from minarets, how does this fulfill your commitment to not incite?

Doesn’t the Interim Agreement require you to have regular elections for
government officials, including that of Party Chairman?… When did Yassir
Arafat’s term expire, and how does his illegitimacy in that office help you keep
this commitment?

Furthermore, how do you explain the lack of peace
demonstrations in areas you control? Are potential demonstrators too afraid to
speak up because they fear what could happen? What did happen not too long
ago at the end of a trial in the West Bank?

“Today we are the poorest, the most illiterate, the most backward, the most
unhealthy, the most unenlightened, the most deprived, and the weakest of all
the human race.”

Did you know that General Musharraf, the President of
Pakistan, delivered those words in a speech to Arab ministers a few days ago?
He was talking about the Muslim world.

So, you might as well be firing Kassam rockets into your own hopes and
dreams. As a people, you do not deserve your own state because, as a people,
you refuse to abide by legal standards of behavior as addressed by international
law, and by treaties that Mr. Arafat has signed.

I call upon decent Palestinians, who aren’t afraid to recognize this truth and
aren’t afraid to make a difference, to correct the outrageous anarchy within
your own community. You need leadership that actually leads. How much
longer will you permit terrorists to destroy your people?