In the presence of the Palestinian Ambassador to India, Dr. Khalid
El-Sheikh, nine supporting organisations of the solidarity meeting wanted
the Centre to give up the ``harmful recent policy of security cooperation
with Israel\'\'.

A resolution passed at the end of the meeting, organised by Harmony India,
called on the people of the country to ``demonstrate in various ways\'\' that
the Palestinian cause was their cause.

Speakers at the meeting faulted not only Israel for the aggression in
Palestine, but also the United States for allowing its West Asia policy to
be dictated by the Jewish lobby.

The Ambassador declared that the Palestinians would not be able to accept
the United States as an ``honest broker\'\' for bringing peace in the region.
Pointing to the failure of the Camp David accord and the ``bias\'\' of the
United States toward Israel, he suggested that organisations and countries
such as the UN, NAM, Russia and China be part of the peace process.

Peace, he said, should be justice for the Palestinian people. ``Peace
should not be dictated, it should not mean capitulation,\'\' he said.
Instead, peace should result in ``equal opportunities for all people in the
region\'\'.

Asking the international community to ensure that the aggression in
Palestine was halted, he said Israel must be forced to accept rule of law
and to respect United Nations charter and resolutions and the Convention of
Human Rights. Although Israel owed its legitimacy as a State to the United
Nations, it continued to flout UN resolutions, he said.

The Palestinians, he said, were determined to continue their struggle
against Israeli occupation and to defend their land and holy places.
``Israeli tanks will not defeat Palestinian will and spirit,\'\' he said.

Making it clear that Palestinians were not against Jews or Judaism, he said
they were fighting the colonisation by Israel. The struggle was against
Zionism as a colonial movement.

The Palestinian cause, he said, should not be reduced to the fight for
Jerusalem. While there could be no Palestine without Jerusalem, which was
at the heart of the country, there could also be no Palestine without equal
rights for everyone. In a free Palestine, with Jerusalem as the capital,
there would be room for every believer, he said.

The CPI(M) politburo member, Mr. Sitaram Yechury, said Indian people,
irrespective of which force was in power at the Centre, were supportive of
the Palestinian cause.

Israel wanted to annexe Palestine and create Jewish settlements there, he
said. The attacks on youth and children in Palestine were not accidental.
Israel wanted to ``wipe out\'\' the future of Palestine.

If American imperialism and Israel were allowed to succeed, the future of
independent States would be at stake. The independent status of India could
come under pressure from US imperialism, he warned.

The joint secretary of the Islamic Foundation Trust, Dr. Habeeb Muhammad,
said the Organisation of Islamic Countries was a ``toothless tiger\'\'.
Palestinians had become permanent refugees in temporary camps. There was no
greater terrorist State than Israel, he said.

The Frontline Editor, Mr. N. Ram, said the change in the Indian
Government\'s policy on Palestine was a cause for concern. Secret dealings
with Israel in the name of security would not be in the interests of India,
he said. A free Palestine would be a secular, democratic State.

The solidarity meeting was only a beginning and more organisations would be
brought in to support the Palestinian cause, he added.

The Prince of Arcot, Mr. Mohammed Abdul Ali, blamed the United States for
refusing to condemn Israel for its atrocities on Palestine.

The Imam of Periamet mosque, Moulana Qari Hafiz Mohammed Qasim Ansari, said
there was an emotional bonding between Indian and Palestinian Muslims.

Former under-secretary general, United Nations, Mr. C.V. Narasimhan, said
Israel was the root cause of Palestinian problem as it had acted in
violation of United Nations charter and resolutions.

The State working president of the All India Democratic Women\'s
Association, Ms. Mythili Sivaraman, senior advocate, Mr. Habibullah
Badshah, and representatives of Democratic Youth Federation of India,
Evangelical Church of India, Sisters of Islamic Society, Indian School of
Social Sciences, Students Federation of India, All India Lawyers Union and
All India Insurance Employees Association participated in the meet.