Statement of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian on the 26th anniversary of the massacre at Sabra and Shatila

Twenty-six years ago, what lied in store for the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps was a engagement with Zionist terrorism, which committed one of the most horrendous massacres of the 20th century; it caused the death of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, children, women and men.

Today, after more than two decades, the main perpetrators of the massacre remain free, never being placed under arrest. Conversely, the silence of the Arab and international community prompted the occupiers to continue committing their massacres, in Khana, Jenin and in hundreds of other places.

The events of Sabra and Shatila are not erased by time, nor do they fade from the memory of our people or those who are lovers of peace. This is why we resume the call to reopen the case of Sabra and Shatila, be it through the International Court or the Security Council, reconsidering the credibility of international law by holding a trial against the criminals and planners of the horrendous act of homicide.

We also renew the call to close ranks in the face of the dangers that threaten Palestinian national rights, to work to eliminate the tense internal climate, to provide an appropriate atmosphere for national dialogue aimed at achieving unity, to reunify the two parts of the homeland, Gaza and the West Bank; to outline a strategy for a negotiated united struggle, to build a single resistance front to face aggression and colonialism, to brake the current negotiations with Israel until it stops its aggression and blockade, to work in support of an official Arab position capable of putting an end to the pressure and conditions imposed by the United States and Israel, and to lift the blockade inflicted against our people.

On the anniversary of the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, we affirm the need to consolidate the sister relationship between the two peoples, the Lebanese and the Palestinians, to help support the common posture of rejecting the naturalization of the Palestinians and to maintain the right to return, by virtue of Resolution 194.

In this sense we call for a renewal of Palestinian-Lebanese dialogue with the aim of resolving outstanding difficulties and approving the humanitarian rights of the Palestinians, firstly the reconstruction of the of Naher Al-Bared camp, and the rights to work and to property.

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
September 16, 2008