Abbas Calls for Palestinian State Based on 1947 Borders

by Ilse Posselt

UN Partition Plan – Resolution 181 (1947)

Friday, 23 September 2016 | The offer came in 1947 with the United Nations (UN) Partition Plan. The Promised Land, the resolution recommended, should be divided to create independent Jewish and Arab states existing next to one another on the strip of land wedged between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

The Jews accepted the offer and rejoiced at the prospect of creating a homeland on a tiny patch of the original land pledged as an inheritance to Abraham’s descendants thousands of years ago. The Arabs scoffed at the proposal, opting instead to wage a war aimed at driving the Jews into the sea—and starting a pattern that would repeat for the next few decades.

Yesterday, nearly 70 years after the Arab world and the Palestinians shunned the offer, Palestinian Authority (PA) President, Mahmoud Abbas, took to the podium at the UN General Assembly to demand a return to the borders proposed in the 1947 Partition Plan.

Dressed in a smart gray business suit and lavender tie, Abbas told his audience, “Israel, since 1948, has persisted in its contempt for international legitimacy by violating UNGA Resolution 181 (II): The partition resolution, which called for the establishment of two states on the historic land of Palestine according to a partition plan…”

“Israeli forces,” Abbas raged, “seized more land than those allotted to them.”

Continuing his emotive narrative, Abbas alleged, “Regrettably, however, the Security Council is not upholding its responsibilities to hold Israel accountable for its seizure of the territory allotted to the Palestinian state according to the partition resolution. I appeal to you read this resolution once again.”

The PA President then proceeded to take the United Kingdom to task for issuing the Balfour Declaration in 1917, a document that expressed Britain’s support for the rebirth of a Jewish state and that was instrumental in the establishment of the State of Israel nineteen years later.

“We ask Great Britain, as we approach 100 years since this infamous declaration, to draw the necessary lessons and to bear its historic, legal, political, material and moral responsibility for the consequences of this declaration, including an apology to the Palestinian people for the catastrophes, misery and injustice this declaration created.”

Choosing to ignore the War of Independence and acts of violence like the Hebron Massacre in 1929, Abbas alleged that the declaration resulted in “the perpetration of the most heinous crimes against a peaceful people in their own land that never attacked anyone or partook in a war against anyone.”

The brunt of Abbas’s tongue-lashing was, however, reserved for Israel. The Jewish state, he claimed, shoulders full responsibility for the stalled peace process and the failure to establish a two-state solution. Accusing Israel of “colonization activities,” “aggression against our cities, villages and refugee camps,” “policies of collective punishment,” “extrajudicial executions,” and “aggression and provocations against the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he argued that such actions were “not those of a state that sought peace.”

The PA President also threatened to present a Security Council resolution against Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. “We hope no one will cast a veto.” The United States vetoed such a resolution in 2011, the Jerusalem Postreports.

After wishing his audience, “Peace be upon you,” Abbas stepped from the podium, making way for the next speaker: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli PM did not mince any words answering Abbas’s accusations. “Had the Palestinians said yes to a Jewish state in 1947,” he countered, “there would have been no war, no refugees, and no conflict.”

Addressing Abbas directly, Netanyahu said, “You have a choice to make. You can continue to stoke hatred, as you did today, or you can confront hatred and work with me today.”

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 23 September 2016)

Prayer Focus
Proclaim the Lord’s covenant to give Israel the Land as an inheritance forever. Thank Him for His eternal plan and wisdom for Israel’s leaders. Bring PM Netanyahu before the Lord, who stands firm on God’s promises and for his excellence in dealing with the peace process.

Scripture

“I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.  - Amos 9:15

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