Doing what is right

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sees an “urgent” need for a UN resolution on Israel’s settlement activity ahead of a two-week tour that will take him to several countries and New York, where Palestinians are discussing a UN draft resolution condemning the illegal Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank.

Abbas hopes US President Barack Obama, in his last few months in office, might change the traditional US position that vetoes resolutions condemning Israel and agree with the international consensus that settlements are illegal.

For Abbas, settlement construction in the West Bank “is something that has seriously jeopardised the two-state project”.

At the same time, Abbas remains committed to and supportive of the French peace initiative, relaunched in January.

While Israel criticised the French plan to organise an international peace conference, with its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lashing at “international dictates” and calling for direct negotiations, Abbas declared himself ready to meet the Israelis at any time.

“I have said more than once that I am prepared to meet with Mr Netanyahu and I am ready to receive him.”

Palestinians feel that their case was put on the back burner by major powers faced with the more immediate danger of terrorism.

The many conflicts in our region and the threat of extremist groups, particularly Daesh, to peace and stability both in the Middle East and beyond dwarfed other crises, but there should be little doubt that the Palestinian problem remains the ultimate challenge that feeds most other problems in the region.

Ignoring it is bound to undermine campaigns to defeat extremists who claim to care about it just to advance their agendas.

The world at large is on record as supporting a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but when it comes to action, nothing is being done to make it happen.

“We have expected from the US administration over the past eight years that it would take positive steps forward to achieve what America believes in, which is the two-state vision,” said Abbas, clearly aware that the US is key to a solution to this problem. 

Palestinian patience cannot last forever. The cyclical outbursts of violence and the rebelliousness of the people under occupation are testimony to that.

A UN resolution giving expression to the despair of the Palestinians may be the step that reminds the international community that the Palestinians are suffering and might be ready to explode at any moment unless their right to a country and freedom is granted.