UN General Assembly
2011

adopted that programme, we were taking a painful and very difficult step for all of us, especially those of us, including myself, who during the 1948 Al-Nakba were forced to leave their homes and their towns and villages, carrying only some of our belongings — along with our grief and our memories and the keys to our homes — to camps of exile and diaspora. That catastrophic exodus was one of the worst operations of uprooting, destruction and removal of a vibrant and cohesive society that had been contributing in a pioneering and leading way to the cultural, educational and economic renaissance of the Arab Middle East. Still, because we believe in peace, because of our commitment to international legitimacy and because we had the courage to make difficult decisions for our people, and in the absence of absolute justice, we decided to adopt the path of relative justice, justice that is possible and could correct part of the grave historical injustice committed against our people. Thus, we agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22 per