Idea of Palestinian state is making its way, US Republican representative says
The Palestinian people have the right to statehood and have the right to say that they have a homeland, said US Republican representative Tom Campbell on Wednesday in Washington, insisting that the idea of a Palestinian state is making its way among his colleagues despite a negative vote both in the senate and the house of representatives.
In a press conference, the US congressman who was accompanied by a Democrat colleague, John Dingell, chairman of the American-Arab Institute, James Zogby, and a representative of Jewish organization "Americans for Peace Now," said he found it difficult during a recent trip to the Middle East to tell Palestinian children who had spent all their lives in refugee camps that they do not have the right to a state and to a homeland.
The US congressman held the press conference following a vote by the house of representatives for a resolution opposing any unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and urging President Bill Clinton to take the same approach. Opponents of the resolution argued that it was an error to criticize only the Palestinians when the United States was acting as a broker trying to bring both Palestinians and Israelis together to agree on peace.
Campbell recalled that in 1948 the United Nations had created the opportunity for a Palestinian nation and an Israeli nation, insisting that if Palestinians wish to proclaim their state, it is their absolute right. He further argued that the timing of the resolution was clearly linked to Israeli elections next May.
After he regretted the adoption of the resolution "as a step that does not reflect American values of peace and freedom," he voiced the opinion that more and more Americans will speak their mind on this issue.
For the chairman of the American-Arab Institute, the vote on this resolution was a victory for peace lovers as a debate on the issue is now taking place at the congress.
Although only 24 representatives voted against the resolution, Zogby said silence has been broken and brave voices and common sense are now being heard.
Meanwhile, the delegate of the "Americans for Peace Now" welcomed that some voices in the congress are now ready to say that the best approach to the peace process in the Middle East lies in reaching out for the two sides rather than threatening one of the sides. He also regretted that the resolution only referred to Palestinians and excluded the Israelis who are continuing to build settlements in the occupied territories, in clear violation of the Oslo agreements.