Israeli Arabs stick to principles opposed by Israel, says Shaikh Raed Salah

The leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel stressed on Monday that the Palestinians in the lands occupied in 1948 — so-called Israeli Arabs — are sticking to the principles that Israel has been fighting against, Safa news agency has reported. Shaikh Raed Salah stressed that the Zionists “have no legitimacy” in Palestine.

The veteran activist made his comments during a workshop organised by Mada Al-Karmel Centre in Nazareth on Saturday. The title of the programme was “Palestinians in Israel: the new political reality and development of protest tools”.

“One of the main characteristics of the Palestinians in 1948 Palestine [Israel] is sticking to the Palestinian principles,” the shaikh explained. “Our existence inside ‘48 is the incubator of the right of return and is the indisputable principle.”

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The Palestinians within what is now Israel, he continued, maintain Palestinian memory, including that of the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe). “Our existence bears the name of historical Palestine. Our existence bears these names at least in the memory.”

Furthermore, said Shaikh Raed, the existence of the Palestinians in their land occupied in 1948 is parallel to the Palestinian resistance track. “We carry out the resistance that the Palestinians in other places cannot. For example, we support Jerusalem and its holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Concluding his speech, he said: “In the light of the expansion of the Zionist project, the Palestinians (inside Israel) are the only side with legitimacy… This is important for us and maintaining our existence is maintaining our rights in this land.”