PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi marks the 35th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre
“Today we somberly mark the thirty-fifth anniversary of the massacre of innocent Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in West Beirut that took place between September 15-18, 1982. With the collusion and support of the Israeli army under Ariel Sharon who left a legacy of bloodshed and destruction, this massacre claimed the lives of 3,000 Palestinian refugees.
This remains a tragic chapter in Palestinian history, and thirty-five years later, the Sabra and Shatila massacre still represents Israel’s cruelty and inhumanity towards the Palestinian people as a whole. This massacre, as well as other massacres against the Palestinian people, goes unpunished.
It also should remind the entire international community that the plight of the more than six million Palestinian refugees has not been resolved. Instead of targeting UNRWA, Israel and the U.S. must do justice to the Palestinian refugees and implement international law and UN resolutions, particularly United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948), the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).”