Vem är palestinier?

Enligt PLO:s stadga räknas man som palestinier om man är arab och 1947 bodde i Palestina (artikel 5).
Även alla som fötts efter detta och har en palestinsk far räknas som palestinier.
Tidigare var det främst judarna i Palestina som kallades palestinier och araberna kallades helt enkelt för araber.
När judarna i början av 1900-talet återvände till Palestina för att försöka bygga upp landet medförde det ett ekonomiskt uppsving i området. Detta i sin tur ledde till att också många araber flyttade till området.
Många av de palestinska araberna har alltså inga egentliga rötter i området utan är inflyttade på 1900-talet och räknas som palestinier eftersom de bodde i området 1947.
Detta är något som inte passar in i de palestinska ledarnas försök att beskriva palestinierna som landets ursprungsbefolkning med djupa rötter i landet.
Därför är det lite förvånande att höra en Hamas minister från Gaza, Fathi Hammad, förklara att alla palestinier har arabiska rötter. En del har sina rötter i Egypten andra Yemen eller Saudi-Arabien säger han i egyptiska Al- Hekma TV den 23 mars.



MEMRI har översatt Fathi Hammads uttalande:

Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad Slams Egypt over Fuel Shortage in Gaza Strip, and Says: "Half of the Palestinians Are Egyptians and the Other Half Are Saudis"

Following are excerpts from an address by Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad, aired by Al-Hekma TV on March 23, 2012. Fathi Hammad : Is Egypt incapable of supplying fuel for 1.5 to 2 million people in the Gaza Strip? [...] If you do not point your compass toward Palestine, Al-Aqsa, and Jerusalem, in order to uproot the Zionist enemy, the US will trample you underfoot. It will besiege you with its conspiracies and will finish you off. Therefore, you must hoist the banner of Jihad, the banner of "there is no god but Allah." [...] Brothers, there are 1.8 million of us in Gaza. In Egypt, there are about 90 million people. We equal merely two percent of the Egyptian population. [Supplying us with fuel] would not burden you at all. [...] At Al-Aqsa and on the land of Palestine, all the conspiracies, throughout history, have been shattered - the conspiracies of the Crusaders, and the conspiracies of the Tatars. At Al-Aqsa and on the land of Palestine, the Battle of Hattin was waged. The [West] does not want this noble history to repeat itself, because the Jews and their allies would be annihilated - the Zionists, the Americans, and the imperialists. Thus, the conspiracy is very clear. Al-Aqsa and the land of Palestine represent the spearhead for Islam and for the Muslims. Therefore, when we seek the help of our Arab brothers, we are not seeking their help in order to eat, to live, to drink, to dress, or to live a life of luxury. No. When we seek their help, it is in order to continue to wage Jihad. [...] Allah be praised, we all have Arab roots, and every Palestinian, in Gaza and throughout Palestine, can prove his Arab roots - whether from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, or anywhere. We have blood ties. So where is your affection and mercy? [...] Personally, half my family is Egyptian. We are all like that. More than 30 families in the Gaza Strip are called Al-Masri ["Egyptian"]. Brothers, half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis. Who are the Palestinians? We have many families called Al-Masri, whose roots are Egyptian. Egyptian! They may be from Alexandria, from Cairo, from Dumietta, from the North, from Aswan, from Upper Egypt. We are Egyptians. We are Arabs. We are Muslims. We are a part of you. Allah Akbar. All praise to Allah. Allah Akbar. How can you keep silent, oh Muslims, when the people of Gaza are dying? You watch from the sidelines without providing them with the simplest thing, which you give to the West for the most meager price.