The U.N. should spend its time trying to convert the mindset of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, and Hamas, rather than waste time on Israeli settlements.
Were the West Bank settlements the reason the Arabs attacked Israel in 1948, when the U.N. resolution established Arab segments and the Jewish state?
Were the West Bank settlements the reason in 1964 when the PLO and its 29-clause charter were created? Clause 24 stated, “This organization does not exercise any sovereignty in the West Bank or Gaza.”
Were the West Bank settlements the problem in 1967 when Egypt forced UN troops to leave the Sinai? The troops were stationed to prevent Egypt from attacking Israel.
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Were the West Bank settlements the problem in 1968, when the Palestinian National Council (PNC) slightly amended the 1964 charter by eliminating clause 24 and adding clauses to use “armed struggle” to “liberate” Palestine?
Were the West Bank settlements the problem when the PNC issued its 10-clause Political Program in June 1974 after the Yom Kippur War?
This document said, “The Palestinian National Authority will strive to achieve a union of the confrontation countries, with the aim of completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory, and as a step along the road to comprehensive Arab unity.”
Were the West Bank settlements the problem when Arafat sent a 1993 letter to Rabin in which he listed PLO promises of peace that were contradictions of the 1968 charter?
There has never been a valid PNC recognition of Israel. There has never been a change of one word in the 1968 charter. The Fatah, the PLO, and Hamas still have formal documents calling for the destruction of Israel. There is no Palestinian document in existence to show that there has ever been a change in their mindset to destroy Israel.
William K. Langfan,
Palm Beach
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