Press Release

After a year-long period during which there was no country-wide coordination between the activists for one democratic state, a small meeting was held on Saturday, May 30, 2015, in the city of Ramallah, between some activists from the West Bank and the territories occupied since 1948 to renew the coordination and increase the level of political and public activity for this cause.
Attended the meeting representatives of “The Popular Movement for One Democratic State in Historic Palestine“, “The Jaffa Group for One Democratic State” and “The Committee for a secular democratic state”, as well as key activists from “Abnaa elBalad” and from youth movements (Herakat).
Radi Jarai reported about the latest developments in the “Popular Movement”, which opposed the move by some of its activists who joined the “two states in one space” initiative. The movement’s position is that this program contradicts the ODS principles, because it gives legitimacy to the settlements and does not guarantee the return of all Palestinian refugees. The participants expressed their support for the position of “The Popular Movement” and its efforts to reorganize its ranks.
There was an open discussion with contributions from all the participants. Evaluating the political situation, the participants stressed the need to promote the ODS program as a just solution to the Palestinian cause based on the return of the national rights that were robbed from the Palestinian people, the defeat of the Zionist racist project and construction of a new regime based on the return of Palestinian refugees and ensuring freedom and human rights for all residents of the country on the basis of equal citizenship in a democratic civil state.
At the end of the meeting it was agreed to establish a temporary coordinating committee on behalf of the participants, which will work for:
1. Contact various groups to encourage them to support the ODS program and participate in various activities to this end. At present the focus will be in reaching out to parties, currents and personalities close to this approach.
2. The drafting and publication of political declarations to clarify the positions of one-state advocates in relation to current events at each period and enhance their presence in the media.
3. Organize regional and country-wide meetings of supporters. It was suggested that a general meeting of activists will be held every four months.
The coordinating committee (CC) has already held two meetings and added activists from the Gaza Strip to its membership. In this the CC applies the principle of unity of struggle in all of Palestine. The CC aims to expand its operations through adding activists from other groups that support this program.
The Coordination Committee decided to start preparations for a broader activists’ conference to be held in August 2015. The basis for the planned conference will be agreement on the ODS program as explained in “The Munich Declaration“. In preparation for the conference, the CC will submit working papers detailing the proposed areas and modes of operation. The goal is for all the participants in the conference to join working groups on various subjects and expanding the coordination framework.

The Temporary Coordination Committee for ODS
Palestine

June 28, 2015
(This press release is available in Arabic and Hebrew)