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The Palestinian issue is the core issue

Dec 14,2017 - Last updated at Dec 14,2017

Thanks to US President Donald Trump’s provocative position on Jerusalem, recognising the city as Israel's capital, the Palestine question is alive again.

After a few years of dormancy, caused by Israel’s deliberate subversion of all peace efforts as well by the conflicts and divisions that have plagued the Arab world since the advent of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, the root cause of all tensions and conflicts in our region — Israel’s occupation of Palestine — has come to the forefront.

The outrage felt and expressed by Arabs, Muslims and peace advocates throughout the globe, as a result of the unfortunate American position, shows that the Palestinian issue remains as the core issue and that, no matter what happens in this region, this core issue cannot be eclipsed.

Justice in Palestine is of prime importance to all peoples of our region and of the world, and Israel cannot simply continue to hide its head in the sand, pretending all is OK. Its occupation of the Palestinian territories is condemned by all governments, including the American administration itself which has adopted this misguided position on Jerusalem, and it must come to an end.

This is one fundamental point that needs to be made crystal clear.

Another is the following: Just as the coloniser Balfour did not have the right to promise what was not his, as Palestine never belonged to him or to the "British Empire"; so the American president (Trump or any other) does not have the right to alter the status of Jerusalem, no matter what he says or does, as Jerusalem does not belong to him or to America. The Balfour Declaration is void, and the American Congress' ruling on Jerusalem is void. The fate of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestine will be determined only by its people and the advocates of peace and justice everywhere. The British coloniser vanished; the Zionist occupation is failing, and will ultimately vanish; and the Palestinians will have their viable state created and their rights restored.

A third point that needs to be stressed is that any peace initiative or "deal" that excludes or surpasses Jordan and the Palestinians will not work. Those who are most directly involved in the Palestine question, in addition to Israel, are the Palestinians and the Jordanians — and not any others. No one can speak on behalf of the Palestinians and the Jordanians but the Palestinians and the Jordanians. And if there is movement towards any solution to the Palestinian issue it has to be done, first and foremost, through the Palestinians and the Jordanians themselves.

Exclude them, or bypass them, and there is no deal.

The fourth point is that any new peace initiative seeking a fair solution to the question of Palestine — if there is to be one acceptable to Palestinians and Jordanians — must be built on an entirely new approach.

Any initiative that has in mind either to cheat or pressure the Palestinians and the Jordanians will be doomed to fail. If anyone is to be pressured, it is Israel, as it is the usurper and the occupier. 

The fifth is that true peace is peace that is acceptable to the people. Until now, no peace agreement between Israel and any Arab state has lived up to expectations, primarily because of the following two reasons: Israel's violation of the agreements in both letter and spirit, and the Arab people's conviction that none of these agreements has been fair, as long as full Palestinian rights are not restored and safeguarded.

 

The Palestinian issue is the core issue, and those intending to address it and find a solution must be honest brokers, not political swindlers or opportunists.

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