I - Introduction and rationale for a memorial:
The following concept paper is a preliminary proposal for the establishment of a memorial and museum dedicated completely in memory of the Palestinian villages, destroyed/ and or depopulated by the Jewish State in 1948 and thereafter.

The complete eradication of the Palestinian communities in the historical land of Palestinians is one of the major crimes of the twentieth Century. This crime committed by the Jewish State after its declaration in 1948 should not pass away without acknowledgment and recognition by the nations of the World and should always be remembered.

The Jews continue to refuse admittance and repentance for this atrocious act that wiped out the continuous presence of the Palestinian people in the land of Palestine for over 5000 years in order to replace them with Jews as their final act in their conquest of Palestine.

This is despite that all historical evidence points to their guilt of this crime by their own admittance. A report in the Jerusalem Post dated March 7, 1997, identified Raánan Weitz, the Director of the Jewish Agency's Settlement Department in 1948 as the Jew "who plowed Palestine into the earth by ordering the demolition of 300 abandoned (absentee) Palestinian villages from the Negev to the Galilee". He further acknowledges in the article that "he leveled them Joyfully" to make way for 500 Jewish Moshavim and Kibbutzim to be established on the ruins and property of the destroyed villages.

The extent of the destruction and dispossession of the Palestinian nation was
Stated in an address by Moshe Dayan, quoted in Haáretz, April 4, 1969. Dayan states that "Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population". In brief, Israel is built over destroyed Palestine.

From the Palestinian perspective, it is the historical and national duty of our generation to preserve the memory of the destroyed parts of our country “Palestine” for future generations. This task gains further urgency as the vast majority of the younger Palestinian generations are unaware of the systematic destruction and eradication of the Palestinian communities by a deliberate policy to erase the continued uninterrupted Palestinian presence for centuries and centuries in the land of Palestine.

The destruction of the Palestinian villages is also a major crime against the cultural heritage of the Palestinian nation. The physical bulldozing of entire communities erased with them the historical remnants of many civilizations that lived and flourished in those communities for many centuries. From the Jebusites, and the Can’anites the ancestors of the Palestinian People, to the subsequent rule of  Palestine by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantine, and finally by the Moslems.

For all the above reasons, it is the duty of all the current generation of the Palestinian people to support and urge all concerned to make the realization of this memorial a reality.                 
                               
II -  Project Description and Memorial components

The memorial is proposed to be established in a big hall where the names of all villages in the various districts of Palestine are displayed in ceramic tiles.
The memorial is divided into three main categories:
1) Palestine 1947 pre-partitioning with three maps:
1-    Map of districts and district capitals 
2-    Map of Population statistics in all districts of  Palestine
3-    Map of land ownership statistics in all districts of Palestine.

2) Statesmen by Israeli officials who ordered the destruction of the villages in 1948/49 and a statement by Moshe Dayan in 1968

3) Maps for all districts of Palestine stating the names of the villages destroyed, and their location in each district. Altogether some 15 maps which will be located mainly in the center of the Hall, in addition to one large map showing the location of all the villages and towns destroyed.

4) Ethnic cleansing of major towns in Palestine from the towns in the Eastern borders to cities on the Mediterranean sea, to the center of Palestine, and finally to the south. A Map will be added to show where the expelled civilians found refuge in the surrounding countries.

5) Display a statement made by Israeli historian Adam Raz published recently in a book under the title “Theft of Arab properties in the war of independence in 1948.

6) Destruction of three more villages Yalu, Imwas, and Beit Nuba in the Latrun Salient in the West Bank in June 1967 and the Moroccan Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem on June 10/11 of 1967 to make way for the Plaza next to the Wailing Wall.

7) A plaque to display the names of all the families who were ethnically cleansed from neighborhoods in West  Jerusalem in April 1948

8) A plague to display the names of migrants mainly from Ukraine and Poland who came to Palestine to liquidate the Palestinian indigenous population, destroy their communities and build on their ruins a Jewish State. The two biggest villains are Ben Gruen (Gurion)  from Poland and Zeev Jabotinsky from Ukraine.

9) Finally a plague on what the Jews of Israel and all over the world should do for the atonement of the crimes committed against the Palestinian civilian population in 1948 and 1967 to the present for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine on the ruins of a destroyed country.

After consideration of different sites for this purpose, it is recommended that the Bethlehem area would be the ideal location.

Bethlehem is accessible to all Palestinians living in the West Bank and also reachable to all tourists visiting the Holy Land. It is well known that in all itineraries of pilgrims, Bethlehem is the town to be visited after Jerusalem.

In addition, Bethlehem, Beit-Sahour, and Beit-Jala fall under area A, i.e. under total security and administrative control of the Palestinian National Authority. As such, there are no impediments to the implementation of this project in matters related to renting of a suitable hall for the establishment of a memorial/museum for destroyed and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

To be erected at the entrance Hall to ideally occupy 150-200 square meters shall be a “Memorial symbol” an artist model expressing the theme of the memorial. The “symbol” is to be relatively sizeable and well exhibited for a clear view of all the visitors.

III Photographic Exhibition

Spread along the inner corridors and at a special Hall following the entrance, successive photographic exhibitions are to be placed. Initially, an introductory section of real original photos of the social and economic fabric of the life of the Palestinians in their villages and communities pre-destruction, followed by photos of the forced eviction and ethnic cleansing by the Jewish forces of the inhabitants of these villages and finally of collections of pictures post destruction and what has replaced and built upon the ruins of these villages.

   Another exhibition of photographs shall be devoted to those villages and 
   cities that were not physically destroyed but whose inhabitants were 
   forcefully evicted and replaced by Jews.

IV- Model of a typical Palestinian destroyed village:

An artist’s creation of a typical Palestinian village model expressing its character in terms of architectural and geographic features in addition to symbols of the traditional way of life of the local population shall be the centerpiece of this section. Smaller models may be included for specific features

V) Video showroom:

Not more than 80 sq. meters are needed for 30 seat video chamber showing informative films about the subject. Multilingual optional narration is required.

VI- Slide showroom:

Similar to the above video showroom with a slide show instead

VII) Exit Hall:

Departing visitors will be able to see a number of symbolic Palestinian refugees' belongings such as old house keys, land deeds, etc.. representing the emotional dimension of our people's tragedy. Books will be displayed that focus on the destruction of Palestine such as Ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israeli historian Ilan Pape, the depopulation of Palestine and destruction of villages by Israel in 1948 edited by Walid Elkhalidi, Theft of Palestinian properties in West Jerusalem in 1948 and East Jerusalem in 1967 by Ibrahim Matar and the destruction of Palestine by European migrants to create a Jewish State by Ibrahim Matar

Complimentary Sections:

As shown in the above-suggested site plans, support function sections are to be included namely:

•    Shops for selling Palestinian videos, pictures, maps, and historical artifacts of the destroyed communities.
•     Library of books dealing with the topic of the memorial and the   
     Palestinian catastrophe.
•    Archives
•    Conference Hall for workshops and cultural heritage meetings.
•    Staff services

VIII – Estimated costs:
Estimated costs: US $30,000 for the production of ceramic tiles to display the information of the memorial as stated above and an additional US $20,000 to prepare the hall for exhibiting all the information on ceramic tiles.

Annual operating costs for the Memorial are estimated at an average of US $50,000 (An average of 2 staff including the salary of the Director of the Center, and the cost of utilities).

For sustainability of the operation costs of the memorial, it is proposed to charge token entrance fees for visitors and especially foreign pilgrims. A break-even study is required to determine the fees to be charged in order to recover the operating expenses of the Center.

IX- Future Action Plan

In order to proceed to the next phase of this concept note, the following is a recommended list of terms to be considered for a comprehensive plan of action:

Select a committee to follow up on the implementation of the memorial.

Select a suitable hall to display the information about the memorial

Order the ceramic tiles and begin the arrangement of all the tiles in the selected hall

X- Conclusion

The implementation of this Memorial represents a national duty for all Palestinians whether living in the historical land of Palestine or in the Diaspora. The urgent need to bring it into reality bears no less significance than other Palestinian National Authority projects aimed at preserving our national identity and cultural heritage.

This memorial is to be dedicated to the millions of Palestinians who have endured eviction, dispossession, and dispersal from their country. The establishment of this memorial is the ultimate act of preserving the memory of the lost homes, property, and villages of the Palestinian People.