Lecture Tells Story of Palestinian Independence from PLO Conception

Birzeit University’s Deanship of Student Affairs organized on November 12, 2014 a lecture on the declaration of independence and the Palestinian state delivered by Political Science department chair Abdul Rahman Haj Ibrahim.

Haj Ibrahim gave an overview of the political events that preceded the Declaration of Independence, starting with the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), internal divisions, civil wars, the PLO’s relations with Arab countries and other major issues that impacted the Palestinian cause.

He then talked about the changes that occurred after 1988, most importantly the growing religious and Islamic perspective on the Palestinian issue that emerged alongside the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the changes that took place with the signing of the Oslo agreements, leading into the second Intifada and finally the recent Palestinian resort to the United Nations General Assembly to request statehood.

The lecture was part of the series entitled "Memory of Future Generations." The dean of student affairs said that Birzeit University is eager to organize lectures that address issues of national culture and will polish students thinking and enrich their political awareness.