Dear Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre !

As a lifelong (for half a century) human rights activist, I am horrified by the current trend of unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state by the Government of Norway and some other countries — with the complete, frankly speaking inhuman, indifference to the expected inevitable monstrous violations of the fundamental rights of Palestinians by the rulers of such a state. This is evidenced by the repeated unsuccessful attempts “after Oslo”, of which the most catastrophic one was the almost 20-years rule of Hamas in Gaza in the complete absence of Israel there. I am attaching below my Statement of the end of February this year, dedicated to this topic, which contains more detailed arguments.

The said above does not mean that the problem of Palestinian self-determination and the acquisition of full citizenship by the Palestinians is insoluble, but, probably, this is only possible as a result of some tripartite agreements involving the Palestinians, Arab countries and Israel. This is briefly discussed in the Statement below.

Sincerely yours

Boris Altshuler

Member Russian (earlier Moscow) Helsinki Group

Moscow, Russia

+7-985-477-93-87

baltshuler@yandex.ru

ATTACHMENT:

This Statement was made in the end of February 2024 on the eve of the visit to Moscow of the delegations of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, etc. I sent it to Russian tops (there was no response), to the US Ambassador in Russia and to Head of Delegation of European Union to Russian Federation (from both I got warm positive responses).

Boris Altshuler

Moscow, 31/05/2024

IN SHORT:

Palestinians must be treated as Human Beings, not as a tool or raw material in the anti-Israeli policies of some countries and terrorist groups.

Perhaps the most acceptable option for Palestinian self-determination is a conglomerate of self-governing Palestinian autonomies that have concluded agreements with Israel on the joint fight against radicalism and terrorism.

***

According to the shocking results of recent polls, 11.5% of American Jews (from Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, T’ruah, and similar organizations) support Hamas, believing that Hamas' October 7 slaughter of Jews is due to Israel's policies of "apartheid, occupation and suppression of the Palestinians". Similar accusations of Israel are quite widespread in the United States, in the countries of European Union and of course in United Nations.

This my message is addressed to the numerous and, I believe, sincere defenders of the Palestinians. Its main idea: please consider Palestinians as Human Beings, not as a tool, as a raw material in the anti-Israel policies of some countries and terrorist groups. Please don’t be indifferent, use all your energy and influence to protect their basic human rights.

1. To protect the Palestinians from the totalitarian terrorist way of governance.

Hamas took power soon after Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza Strip in the Fall of 2005. And taking power Hamas immediately killed all its Palestinian opponents, including FATAH members. For 17 years the population of the Gaza Strip has been the victim of the most terrible totalitarian way of governance – without any protests at the UN or anywhere against the brutal human rights violations in the Hamas-run Gaza.

What will be beyond the Gaza war? Who, if not Israel, is capable to protect the Palestinians from the power of terrorists who would like to take the place of Hamas — Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah or any new ruthless fanatics? Perhaps UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could guarantee this protection, or Turkish President Mr. Erdogan? Or perhaps Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, his Administration and police who will be immediately killed by the West Bank extremists if Israel ceases its daily anti-terrorism activities in the West Bank, just like it happened in the Gaza Strip with Hamas opponents after Israel withdrawal 17 years ago.

Please do your best to help Israel liberate the population of the Gaza Strip from the power of terrorists! Yes, there is most serious humanitarian crises now in Gaza. And the best way to help is to multiply humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza.

And please do not trust Hamas “Goebbels-like” propaganda about the killing of thousands of Gaza children by the Israeli military, etc. Let us look back to 1945, to the last battle aimed at the total liquidation of the awful Hitlerism. Who in the anti-Hitler coalition (USSR, USA and UK) thought at that time about millions of German civilians perishing in this battle? Nobody! And Israel thinks about civilians. You will not find in the history an example of a war when the attacking side would have warned in advance about every strike, about every bombing. The Israeli military do just that, saving civilians while neglecting the fact that these warnings also allow terrorists to escape. We must recognize that Israel made a real Humanitarian Miracle stimulating the relocation of almost 1.5 million of civil population of Gaza (most of them are children – about one million, according to Mr. Antonio Guterres) from the deadly dangerous fields of battle at the North of Gaza. And now the Israel Defense Forces postpone the final destroying of Hamas power in southern Gaza because of the huge concentration of civilians there. What to do with this small area of Rafah that remains under Hamas control is now the subject of intense negotiations and the issue is linked to the release of the hostages

2. To protect Palestinian children from poisoning their souls with hatred.

Where did the above-stated conviction that only Israel’s daily anti-terrorism work in the West Bank saves the current PNA Administration from being wiped out by the ruthless terrorists come from? The fact is that totalitarian vulnerability of Palestinian self-government is deeply rooted in decades-long incitement of hatred towards Israel and the Jews. Why 74% (according to recent polls) of the population of the PNA express their sympathy for the Hamas slaughter of October 7 and dream of wiping out Israel “from river to sea”? This is easily understood if we look, for example. at the PNA education system where in school textbooks Jews are referred to as “Satan’s helpers” or as “wolves and snakes”. Interestingly, this poisoning of children's souls is carried out with abundant financial support from UN and European countries.

Thus, from year to year, new and new generations of young terrorists are raised in the PNA, which obviously does not add stability to the relatively moderate rule of Mahmoud Abbas.

I call on all Palestinian defenders to initiate a global movement against hatred, against the poisoning of the souls of Palestinian children in particular.

3. To realize the fundamental right of Palestinians to possessing of the full-scale citizenship.

I call on all Palestinian defenders for joint efforts:

(1) To put an end to the fatal discrimination in some Arab countries against the Palestinians — descendants of the former refugees. They are refused in granting them full citizenship, even though the given country is the birthplace not only of these descendants but in many cases is the birthplace of their parents and grandparents.

(2) To initiate the global initiative of granting citizenship to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank Palestinians. There are many countries in the world that are capable of taking such a legal humanitarian initiative without risking their well-being and security. I note that Israel is not one of these countries since the “One State for Two Nations” option will obviously blow up Israel from the inside.

Finally:

Today, the leaders of many states — from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia to the United States, Russia and European countries, ignoring the tragic negative experience, repeat like a mantra: “The creation of an Independent Palestinian State is the only path to peace in the Middle East”. That resembles a child joke "No problem to build a house! We'll draw it and will live in it". But the Palestinians and Israelis are not laughing at all in the real situation.

With its Lab-Model of the Middle East Holocaust on 7 October 2023 and with its willingness to use Gaza's 2.5 million population as human shield in the fanatical fight against Israel Hamas finally killed the very idea of an Independent Palestinian State, showing that this “good intention” paves the path to Hell, for Israel and for the Palestinians themselves.

Perhaps the most acceptable option for Palestinian self-determination is a conglomerate of self-governing Palestinian autonomies that have concluded agreements with Israel on the joint fight against radicalism and terrorism.

Individual human rights are the highest value that cannot be sacrificed for the sake of abstract “Great Goals”. Having lived most of my life in a totalitarian country (I was born in the USSR in 1939 and now live in Russia), I am well aware of the terrible human sacrifices this fanatical desire for “Great Goals” is fraught with, which, I add, is always accompanied by an inoculation of hatred and fear, the creation of an “enemy image” — let it be “imperialists” in the USSR, “Collective West” in today’s Russia, “Israel and Jews” in the Middle East.

20/02/2024, Moscow, Russia

Boris Altshuler

Member Russian (earlier Moscow) Helsinki Group,

Chair of the “Right of the Child” NGO.

Physicist and human rights defender in USSR and then in Russia.

Author of the book “Sakharov and Power” (World Sc. Publ.. 2022).

2009, Award "Man of the Year – 5769” by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR). Presentation at the Grand Kremlin Palace —

http://right-child.ru/2009_boris_altshuler.html

2014, American Physical Society Andrei Sakharov Prize “For the life-long struggle for democracy in Russia”.

2019 — Award "Parental Thank You!" by the All-Russian Organization of Parents of Disabled Children (VORDI).

Some statements concerning current Russia – Ukraine tragedy: https://www.rightsinrussia.org/?s=Boris+Altshuler

Open Letter to Prime Minister of Norway