Palestine gained nothing from Oslo Agreement: Dr Frassini

BRUSSELS: Exiled Palestinian journalist, filmmaker, and intellectual Dr Ahmed Frassini said that the Palestinians have no choice but to fight for independence.

“We knew that negotiations with Israel would never get us our land,” he said.

He expressed these views while discussing the recent situation in Palestine with Geo.tv in Brussels on the occasion of Al-Quds Day.

He said that he was 13 years old when Israeli soldiers “picked him up” from his bed at night and took him to prison. Today, at the age of 45, he continues to fight for the freedom of his people.

Commenting on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's announcement of the termination of all agreements with Israel and the United States, he said that he belonged to the part of Al-Fatah that knew from “day one” that the Palestinians had something to do with the agreement.

“We saw that this agreement was temporary. It will not give us back our land, nor will it allow more than seven million Palestinians in exile to return to their homes. Israel benefited from the agreement,” he said.

“The Palestinian Authority has gained nothing from the agreement other than recognition of Palestinian Authority on paper. Israel has not complied with any of the points in the agreement that grant freedom or move towards independence and two state solution,” he noted.

Frassini said that in contrast, the Palestinian Authority took over Israel's responsibilities and began arresting its own fighters.

He emphasised that the Oslo Accords had done nothing but restore Israeli “status quo”. "It resulted in internal strife and increased divisions among the Palestinians as we have seen bloodshed between Hamas and PLO."

"My ancestral home is in Haifa, which is already occupied by Israel," he said.

“I can live a free life but I am still fighting for my right to my land and right to return for Palestinian refugees. I don't want to fight or attack anyone. My only demand for countless Palestinians like me is that we be returned to our land,” he said.

On the European Union's recent condemnation of the West Bank settlement by the Israelis, he welcomed the EU policy but stressed that Palestinian land can only be free through struggle on the ground.

Talking about his work, he said that he fights for the Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails by organising conferences, seminars, and other awareness events.

“I inform the world that Palestinian prisoners are not terrorists. They are fighting for their legitimate right under international law which is the right to have their land back. Time and again it has been proven that we Palestinians have no choice but to continue the struggle for independence,” Frassini added.

Dr Frassini reminds his children through his paintings, caricatures, and cartoons about his home in Palestine and tells them that one day they will go back home.