Renewing its charter for the first time in two decades, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement on August 9 reiterated the Palestinian right to resist the Israeli occupation. “Fatah stresses its commitment to the pursuit of a comprehensive peace but reiterates the Palestinian people’s right to resistance to occupation in all its forms in line with international law,” reads the new charter. “… we will not drop any options and we believe resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right of occupied peoples in confronting their occupiers.” The charter reaffirms commitment to end the decades-old Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) as its capital. It also renews commitment to the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. “Fatah remains faithful to its martyrs and detainees, and expresses commitment to the abiding demands of the Palestinian people – the liberation of their land, including Al-Quds, the dismantlement of Jewish settlements and the return of the refugees.”
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, defines as refugees the descendants of Palestinian who fled or were forced out of their homes in 1948. The number of registered refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to some 4.5 million in 2005, and continues to rise. One-third of the refugees live in 58 recognised camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. UN resolutions guarantee the right of return of Palestinian refugees, many still holding the keys and titles of their homes in what is now Israel.