WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE WAR ENDED?:

Palestinian officials call on militants to lay down arms (Ha'aretz, 3/26/04)

Over 60 prominent Palestinian officials and intellectuals Thursday urged the public to refrain from retaliation for Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, saying it would ignite a new round of bloodshed that would only hurt Palestinian aspirations for independence.

A half-page advertisement in the PLO's Al-Ayyam newspaper called on Palestinians to lay down their arms and turn to peaceful means of protest to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The ad reflected apparently growing sentiment among many Palestinian leaders and intellectuals that military struggle is not helping the Palestinian cause. [...]

The intellectuals who signed Thursday's ad - including lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi, Nablus Governor Mahmoud Aloul, Geneva Accord co-author and PLO Executive Committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo and Abbas Zaki, a leading member of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement - said such revenge attacks would lead to a strong Israeli retaliation and further hurt the Palestinian cause.

The group called on the public to "rise again in a peaceful, wise intifada." While saying the 37-year occupation must be brought down, they asked the public to reconsider the benefits of a violent struggle.

The conflict is over. They have their state. The Israelis are leaving. Time to stop dehumanizing themselves.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 26, 2004 7:45 PM