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Former Palestinian Authority leader Salman Fayad, who served as PA prime minister from 2007 until 2013. has been nominated for a high position in the office of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Fayed nomination was greeted with enthusiasm in many quarters, because Fayad has often been described as a moderating influence in the Palestinian Arab community.
However, the question remains: Does Fayad deserve such a reputation?
A case in point: In August 2009, a delegation of the US Congress met with Salman Fayad, the newly appointed prime minister of the PA.
Several members of that delegation from Congress had been briefed by the journalist scholar Dr. Arnon Groiss, who had translated the new PA school books. Dr. Groiss updated Congress with the content of the new PA texts (which can be found at www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com) These texts…
- Deny the historical or religious presence of Jews in Palestine.
- Fail to recognize the State of Israel.
- Demonize Jews and Israel.
- Assign blame for war only on Israel, absolving Arabs of any responsibility.
- Indoctrinate all students to engage in the armed struggle to liberate all of Palestine.
- Negate a peaceful settlement.
The Congressional delegation then raised the issue of the Palestinian Authority schoolbooks with Fayad, who assured them that PA texts would be changed for the new school year, just about to begin.
That same week, Palestinian Authority Education Minister Lamis Al Alami was asked by reporters about changes in the PA curriculum for the new semester. Al Alami answered that she was under strict orders from Salman Fayad not to change anything in the curriculum.
Yet you would not be surprised by this Fayad policy if you read Fayad’s personal political platform for a future Palestinian state, available on web , entitled “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State: Program of the Thirteenth Government” which can be found, even in English, on the Geneva Accord web site.
In his position paper, Fayad delineated out his platform, in clear terms and in clear English. Every embassy, consulate, and news outlet in Jerusalem and Ramallah received Fayad’s platform. Hear some of the nuggets of Fayad’s platform,
- “Jerusalem” will be the Palestinian capital of the Palestinian state – with no mention of “East Jerusalem”. In case anyone was wondering ifFayad had made a typographical error by not mentioning “east” Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, Fayad repeated – ten times – that he meant Jerusalem – all of Jerusalem. Fayad left nothing to the imagination, and wrote that the Palestinian state will “Protect Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Palestinian state,” because Fayad asserted that “Jerusalem is our people’s religious, cultural, economic and political center. It is the Flower of Cities and Capital of Capitals. It cannot be anything but the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state. Jerusalem”
- Fayad went on to make the specious claim that Jerusalem “is under threat” and that “ the occupying authority is implementing a systematic plan to alter the city’s landmarks and its geographical and demographic character in order to forcibly create facts on the ground, ultimately separating it from its Palestinian surroundings and eradicating its Arab Palestinian heritage”.
- Fayad further claimed that “Palestinian life in Jerusalem is under daily attack through systematic violations perpetrated by the occupation regime” and that “It is the right and the duty of all Palestinians to protect their land, reject the occupation and defy its measures”, adding that the Palestinian state “bears special responsibility for nurturing our people’s ability to persevere and protect their homeland”.
- Fayad added that the Palestinian government will maintain its “unreserved commitment to defending the Arab character and status of Jerusalem…. The Government will continue to do all that is possible to achieve this goal. The Government will work with all organizations to preserve the landmarks of Jerusalem and its Arab Palestinian heritage, develop the city, and secure its contiguity with its Palestinian surroundings”.
- Fayad characterized Jerusalem as an illegal settlement, postulating that “the occupying authority is pursuing its intensive settlement policy in and around Jerusalem…The occupation regime has shut down our national institutions, neglected the development of Palestinian life, continued to demolish and evacuate Palestinian homes, and restricted access to sacred Christian and Islamic sites”
- Fayad went on to present a practical plan to Arabize Jerusalem, by “Maintaining Jerusalem as a top priority on the Government’s agenda and“ highlighting “its predicament in the media”
- Fayad announced new programs to promote the “steadfastness of Jerusalem” focusing only on Strengthening Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, and providing financial support to help them deliver services to citizens”.
- Fayad reassured his readers that a future Palestinian state would not be satisfied with Jerusalem, the west bank and Gaza as the national home for Palestinians.
- Fayad further asserted that the Palestinian government will continue to advocate for “Palestinian refugees in accordance with relevant international resolutions, and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 in particular”, which mandates that Palestinian refugees and their descendants have a right to return to the homes and villages that Palestinians left during the 1948 war and its aftermath.
- Fayad reminded Palestinians that “the refugee issue will remain under the jurisdiction of the PLO, through its Department of Refugees’ Affairs…in a manner that does not exempt the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from its responsibilities” In the view of Fayad, UNRWA will therefore continue to confine Palestinian refugees their descendants to the indignity of refugee camps, under the premise and promise of the “right of return.”
- Fayad expressed full support for Palestinians who have been convicted of murder and attempted murder, saying that “the state also has an enduring obligation to care and provide for the martyrs, prisoners, orphans and all those harmed in the Palestinian struggle for independence”
- Fayad proclaimed that “the continued detention of thousands of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention camps in violation of international law and basic human rights, is of great concern to all Palestinians” and declares that “Securing the freedom of all these heroic prisoners is an utmost Palestinian priority and it is a fundamental duty all Palestinians feel to honor their great sacrifices and end their suffering” and demands the “freedom of all Palestinian detainees and prisoners and will continue to strive to secure their liberty”.
- Fayad also asserted that the PLO had signed “all provisions of agreements signed with Israel”, yet forgot to mention that the PLO never ratified the signed agreements with Israel. On October 6, 1993, the now defunct left wing Mapam newspaper Al HaMishmar’s correspondent in Tunis revealed that the late PLO chairman Arafat could not get a quorum for the PLO executive to ratify the Oslo accords that Arafat had signed with Rabin on the White House lawn.
- Fayad also proclaimed that that a future Palestinian State will be an Islamic state and “Promote awareness and understanding of the Islamic religion and culture and disseminate the concept of tolerance in the religion through developing and implementing programs of Shari’a education as derived from the science of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet’s heritage.”
- Fayad concluded with a demand for a Palestinian state in an Islamic Sharia state that will campaign for all convicts to be freed, all refugees to return to the villages that they left in 1948.
Fayad’s platform is his resume, as he is considered for a position at the UN.
The slogan of the UN has always been: Peace Starts Here.
A slogan for Fayad might better be phrased that WAR STARTS WITH FAYAD.
