With the awareness of the increasing danger facing the Palestinian national cause; for the
sake of victory for our people in achieving liberation, national independence, the return
of the refugees to their homes, and the establishment of an independent state with
Jerusalem as its capital; and with the acknowledgement of the necessity for unifying the
efforts of the national democratic elements and galvanizing our people, both at home and
in the Diaspora, in the struggle to found a genuine, unitary democracy in order to
confront the Occupation and its racist policies of colonization:
We announce the establishment of the Progressive National Democratic Movement
[Tayyar], which reflects our commitment to the right of return, self-determination, the
achievement of the aims of the national struggle, and the unification of every person in
Palestine and the Diaspora in order to strengthen their role in the national and social
struggle, establish their presence in the political system, and influence national decisionmaking.
The Progressive National Democratic Movement was initiated as a necessary, objective
response for the sake of uniting all efforts in order to confront the racist, colonial policies
of the Occupation, which 60 years ago uprooted our people from their homes and lands in
the most hideous act of ethnic cleansing in modern history. The Occupation has
continued implementing its aggressive policies through the confiscation and Judaization
of Palestinian land, killings, arrests, home demolitions, the Judaization of Jerusalem and
the displacement of its Palestinian residents, confiscation of land for the construction of
the Apartheid Wall, siege, and the establishment of military checkpoints, thus
fragmenting Palestinian lands into isolated ghettos and cantons in order to impose a fait
accompli on the ground and undermine the Palestinian national cause while using
frivolous negotiations and Palestinian divisions to cover its repressive practices. The
Occupation is benefiting from international silence, the collusion of the American
administration, normalization with some Arab countries, and the absence of a unified
national strategy for solving the Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The current intensification of the divisions in the Palestinian political arena has caused
the greatest damage to the Palestinian national issue and the Palestinian national
liberation movement. This has led into a dangerous quagmire, as what occurred in Gaza
when internal differences were resolved through arms in June 2007. Along with this
division, the progressive left has been in a state of fragmentation and disintegration that
has negatively affected the reality of Palestinian society.
The way out of this situation requires the initiation of a comprehensive national dialogue
to put an end to the current state of division and to restore national unity, the formation of
a transitional authority to return the government to the people through presidential and
legislative elections as well as activating and developing the PLO as the sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people. Work is to accommodate the participation of all
forces and actors present in the Palestinian national arena and build national and social
institutions and popular unions on a democratic basis according to full proportional
representation while at the same time rejecting any attempts to retreat to the use of force,
violence and arms in solving internal differences.
The Progressive National Democratic Movement was initiated as a positive response to
the need for reforming the Palestinian political system so it can continue the battle of
national liberation and independence for the sake of defending the dignity of Palestinian
citizens and their legitimate rights to a free, decent life based on equal opportunities and
honest competition in the framework of democratic institutions which believe in
multilateralism and respect for reason, freedom of speech and action, and the rules and
regulations of law.
The signatories of this statement are activists working on community and national levels,
and represent a wide spectrum of diverse backgrounds, gathered by their belief in
upholding national principles and values of social democracy embodied in the Palestinian
Declaration of Independence, carrying a national progressive democratic project based on
pluralism, tolerance, and openness in a society which believes in social justice, equality
between men and women as well as respect for human rights and personal and collective
democratic freedoms. The Progressive National Democratic Movement sides with the
issues of the workers, the peasants and the poor, with sons and daughters of our people’s
middle class and with anyone who fights corruption, which affects the interests of the
overwhelming majority of our people. We confirm the following core issues:
1. Resistance to oppressive Zionist policies of occupation, including the denial of the
Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes, the Zionist refusal to implement UN
Resolution 194, the ongoing confiscation of land, expansions of settlements, Judaization
of Jerusalem, the building of the Apartheid Wall, and the imprisonment of thousands of
Palestinians. These policies will not stop the Palestinian people from continuing the
struggle and pursuing our national rights by all means granted to us by international
charter and laws. We will pursue the struggle through popular resistance, mass
mobilization, and the involvement of the masses in decision-making as well as the
development of a national strategy of resisting the Occupation and isolating it on the
international stage while building alliances and fronts at home and abroad to enhance the
steadfastness and rehabilitate the social elements of the Palestinian people.
2. Rejection of the use of arms in resolving internal disputes in the Palestinian arena,
which has led to a situation of political and geographical divisions between the West
Bank and Gaza Strip and served to complicate the situation of the Palestinian struggle.
We stress that we are still in the stage of national liberation that requires dialogue and
unity instead of conflict over power and influence and continuation of self-serving party
policies and widely spread corruption that has heavily damaged Palestinian society and
destroyed its moral values. The lack of political will to combat corruption and hold the
perpetrators responsible threatens our national project
3. The Progressive National Democratic Movement is part of the Arab and international
anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist movement for a new global order, based on respect for
the rights of peoples to self-determination and the establishment of balanced international
relations to ensure equitable and sustainable human development policies that lay the
foundation for joint cooperation between peoples in order to serve collective interests
based on concepts of justice and respect for human rights.
4. The Progressive National Democratic Movement is committed to strengthening
democratic choice, power sharing, and national unity, and in so doing creating a base in
order to defy the Occupation and build up Palestinian society; involving people in
decision-making, communicating with them, and spreading values of solidarity, respect
for transparency and the authorities; fighting against corruption, exclusion, domination;
and developing mechanisms for transforming the program into actual practice on the
ground.
We call on all those who believe in the ideas of the Progressive National Democratic
Movement to unify their ranks and engage in daily battles against Zionist colonial
policies and projects represented by the Judiazation of Jerusalem, the ongoing daily
killings and arrests, the imposition of siege and starvation upon the masses of our people,
and the Apartheid Wall. We call on those who believe in the struggle for dignity, a better
livelihood and the respect of law to unite the forces of our people, represented in strong
national personalities, federations, trade and vocational unions, civil society organizations
and networks, to focus their exertions and efforts on the protection of the national cause
and the labour of building a democracy through a rigid adherence to principles, national
rights and social development.
The Progressive National Democratic Movement emphasizes commitment to its
members, national and social rights, and the application of political pluralism in order to
prevent the liquidation of the Palestinian national project and achieve freedom, justice
and independence for the sake of our people.
July 2008
