OneVoice Palestinian Activists Urge Factional Unity, Back Two-State Solution

NEW YORK, March 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

OneVoice Palestinian activists launched major activities this week across the West Bank to channel the energy on the street into a deafening cry for factional unity and participation in Palestinian state building to achieve a two-state solution.

    
    (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110304/DC59871-a)
    (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110304/DC59871-b)

OneVoice's Palestinian activists spread thousands of bumper stickers on Friday emblazoned with the words, "the people want to end the occupation, the settlements, the [internal] division - help build the state," on the streets of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Ramallah. Cab drivers displayed them prominently in their cars. The Imam of the Omar Mosque in Nablus saluted the volunteers, saying, "You give us hope for something that we have failed to achieve, may God be with you."

"On the streets, I could see the eagerness in people's eyes to end oppression and occupation," said Samer Makhlouf, OneVoice Palestine executive director. "We're giving them hope and ways to participate. We're backing a two-state solution that reverses Israeli settlement policy and leads to a viable, truly independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders."

Dozens of OneVoice Palestinian activists and residents unveiled two massive murals - depicting a future, peaceful Palestinian state built by a united people and free from Israeli occupation - in Hebron and Bethlehem. The latter only 100 meters (328 feet) from the separation wall, cutting off the city's residents from Jerusalem. OneVoice Palestine also launched a new Web site with 500 video visions of citizens imagining what the future Palestinian state will be like.

OneVoice activists will be introducing billboards, radio and television spots, five more massive murals, and several youth-led initiatives in the coming months, hoping their message will spread like wildfire across the West Bank and push the Palestinian public into taking action.

OneVoice activists have been seizing the momentum for change sweeping across the Arab world to inject a new sense of urgency for ending the occupation and achieving a two-state solution.

"The popular revolts across the Arab world, led by a youthful generation demanding to define their future, have shown the unrivaled power of the people to effect real change," said John Lyndon, executive director of OneVoice Europe. "If what is sweeping the region right now can topple dictators, then it can also end occupations, establish states, and spread a culture of peace and security."

OneVoice is an international grassroots movement that aims to amplify the voice of Israeli and Palestinian moderates, empowering them to demand a two-state solution. The movement educates and trains Israeli and Palestinian youth in leadership skills, non-violent activism, and democratic principles. To support and contribute to OneVoice, join us at http://www.onevoicemovement.org.