In the early hours of Friday, April 9th, 1948, a total of 120 children, women, and men were brutally and savagely murdered at the hands of Jewish "terrorists."

Members of the Irgun (headed by the would-be Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin) and the Stern Gang attacked the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin and systematically murdered and drove out its inhabitants

Deir Yassin, which lay along the outskirts of Jerusalem, was located outside the area designated by the United Nations to the future Jewish State. It had a reputation for being "peaceful."

Today, as we painfully mark the 52nd anniversary of this horrific chapter in our history, we are reminded of the inhuman atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, and, at the same time, of the urgency in achieving a comprehensive "end to the conflict."

Yet most importantly, we are reminded of the unquestionable obligation of the State of Israel to come to terms with its own history and acknowledge the suffering it has inflicted upon the Palestinian people.

Any attempt by Israel to undermine this obligation will not be acceptable; "historical reconciliation" cannot be achieved without "historical confession."

Deir Yassin constitutes the initial episode of the "untold holocaust" of the Palestinian people by Israel; the massacres of Tantura, Sabra and Shatila, Qana, Hebron, and many others, have left thousands of Palestinians victims to brutality and injustice.