Unauthorized translation of excerpts from speech by Mahmoud Abbas at the opening of the Palestine National Council April 30th in Ramallah

starting minute 53 on this YouTube link

transcribed text on the Wafa official site in Arabic

Before I speak about history, Abu Adeeb [PNC speaker Zanoun] mentioned names of some of the children prisoners and martyrs because we need to give honor them (names many names including Durra, Dawabshe, abu Khder Ahed Tamimi) says 2027 Palestinian child have been killed by Israelis in the last 17 years.

Minute 53:22

In the meeting of the Central Council some of you attended and others didn’t, I spoke about the historic Israeli and Palestinian narratives. Some of you might say why bring in history and geography. We need to know the history so we can understand the present and the future.

The Israeli narrative that tries to tell the world that we in yearning for Zion and in longing for the promised land and yearning for this or that, we have returned to these lands. This is not true. When I said it was not true the last time, all hell broke loose against me, all the Israeli media attacked me, except for one guy names Shimon Levy (commotion) oh yes Gideon Levy. (drinks water and continues) he said that what Abu Mazen said is correct.

I want to stop at a few historic spots, I read a lot of books and all of them are Jewish authors and in fact all of them are Zionist authors. In other words, it not sourced to us. these people mentioned the narrative that I want to talk about now.

1. One of the authors and his name is Arthur Koestler, he is an American Jewish Zionist author. He wrote a book about the 13th tribe. In other words, there were 12 tribes but these are the 13th tribe. We all know that our father Jacob had 12 tribes, where did you bring the 13th? They created them. Where in the Kingdom of Khazar. When in the ninth century. This was a state that had no religion then it became Jewish and then it was broken up and its people left for Europe and these are what is today called the Jewish Ashkenazim. In other words, these are not Semitic or anti-Semitic and have no connection to our father Abraham or his son our Father Jacob. It was a Tatary country, a Turkish country a country without a religion and then it became Jewish and they started talking about the Promised Land and they said we are Semitic people. I am not saying this, this is what Arthur Koestler said. Arthur Koestler a Jewish, Zionist American author.

Then these Jews that moved to both east and west Europe would face a massacre every 10–15 year from one country or another. This began in the 11 century and continued till the Holocaust which happened in Germany. OK. So why were these massacres taking place. They say because we are Jews. Now I want to bring three Jews writing in three books. One of them is Joseph Stalin. I think we all know Stalin or not. He was Jewish. [inaudible] Ibrahim… Ishaq Dotesheld they all conclude that the hatred for Jews is not because of their religion. (commotion) ah yes you are right it is Karl Marx. They argue that the hatred of Jews is not because of their religion but because of their social standing which has to do with their working in money and banking and the issue of money lending. This is much different story then. The best proof of this is the fact that there are Jews in Arab countries and there has not been a single case against Jews. You will say I am exaggerating. Ok I challenge a case against Jews in the last 1400 years because they are Jews in any Arab country. It happened in Europe yes for this reason.

2. The Jewish Homeland. They say we long for Zion and we are going to. This is not true. It is not me saying this it is history which says it. The first person to call for a Jewish homeland is Cromwell the British leader in 1653. He said we want to establish a Jewish home land in Palestine. Of course, no one listened to him. Next came Napoleon Bonaparte. Then came Churchill Senior in 1840. Then came a US consul (our friends) in Jerusalem 1850. He called for a Jewish homeland. His name was Walter Kreisler. Those of you who still visit the US consulate in Jerusalem look him up, his name is in their archives. All these people were calling for a Jewish homeland and they were not Jews. So why?

3. This brings us to Balfour. But before his famous declaration in 1917, he was prime minister in 1903 and he issued a ruling preventing Jews from entering into Britain because he hated Jews for those reasons. Therefore, the idea of a Jewish state didn’t come from Jews but from colonial countries. Then came the Balfour declaration and again there is a lot of missing information. The declaration came with support from the American, French and Italian presidents. He consulted four countries and here we come to the case of the Prime Minister of Britain in 1905 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Prime Ministers as well as foreign and defense ministers of European countries met for two years in Britain and the headline was that the European civilization of falling apart and that it is feared that it will be replaced by people from east and south of the Mediterranean because of its strategic location. And in order to prevent that we need to ensure that this region stays split up and fighting each other and backward. Here we are today. And as a quick solution we need to plant east of the Suez Canal a people who are strange to the region they are the Jews. And therefore, the Balfour Declaration was made and Britain adopted it and continued to implement it until 1947 when the partition plan was made. And what happens happened. Many issues prove that this was an investment project.

I want to surprise you. In 1933 after Hitler took power with one month an agreement was reached between the German Finance Ministry and the Anglo Palestine Bank in Jerusalem and that any German Jew who emigrate to Palestine will have their assets and money moved to Palestine. And if they are not interested they are given a ticket to travel to Belgium. During this period 60,000 emigrated over a six-year period. Balfour hated the Jewish and wanted to help create a state for them. The Russian Foreign Minister also is known to hate Jews and he wanted to create a state for them in Palestine. The reality is that this colonial project was aimed at planting a strange body in our country.

We are not for uprooting them. We are for living with them on the basis of two states and based on that we accept the situation. I wanted to give this narrative because the Israeli narrative is not true and most of those books [I quoted] are Zionists.

We Palestinians what did we do to Jews? During the British mandate Palestinians had a number of revolts. In 1921, and in 1929 it was called the Buraq revolution. Jews call it the Walling wall we call it Buraq wall. The British created a committee I think there was a Swedish member in it from the League of Nations and they came with a decision saying it is called the Buraq wall and it is for Jews although it is fine if Jews want to pray across from it. But they want the burqa wall and the dome [of the rock] and al Aqsa [mosque] saying that it is for them. This is not me saying this is the UN or specifically the League of nations.

In 1936 another revolt happened and in 1937 they brought the Peel Commission they tried to divide but it failed. And then came the call of the Kings and presidents. Should we go into details or not? The Partition plan and with that we were given 44% and Israel has occupied 78%. In the UN Covenant articles 41 and 42 it says that any member state attacking another, military force should be used to stop them and push them away. When they [Israel] applied for membership they told them you must accept UNGA 181 and 194. Moshe Sharett [Israeli FM then] committed to accept those two resolutions. Until now there are 708 resolutions in the general assembly and 86 resolutions in the Security Council and not a single one of them have been carried out. Where are we supposed to go? We are committed to the Palestine national Council resolution of 1988. We didn’t concede anything from the principles agreed to in 1988. We didn’t make concessions and the decisions were approved unanimously. Ok maybe 10 or 15 opposed them but the vast majority support it.