Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Palestinian problem, over 65 years old, is still not solved, but gets more complicated by the day.

Its ramifications impede the well-being of the entire Middle East and threaten world peace and security.

None of the mediation efforts aimed at resolving or managing the problem reached a working outcome; none helped improve the Palestinian-Israeli relations or, on a larger scale, the ties between Israelis, and Arabs and Muslims.

This intractable conflict is fuelled by the different ways each party looks at things.

The Israelis see theirs as a state for Jews only, a religion-based country, and an extension of Europe and the West in a Middle Eastern neighbourhood, which suffered for decades from European colonialism.

Israel wishes to maintain military and technological superiority over its neighbours in order to safeguard its status.

It keeps reminding, especially the West, that it is indispensable to the latter’s interests, despite the fact that the West’s interests, are, most of the time, compatible with the interests of many countries in the region.

In doing so, Israel maintains its leverage in the Middle East.

Moreover, the many powerful pro-Israel groups in the West ensure the unquestionable Western support to Israel, support that oftentimes runs counter to the West’s interests, and even Israeli interests, in the long run.

The Israeli vision of a state reflects its ghettos mentality: only Jews should live together and should have a space that is fortified to protect them and allay their fears.

As such, the easy choice for the Israeli policy makers was to build the separation wall, to handle potential security threats, and to confiscate Palestinian land in order to build settlements, instead of trying to sincerely negotiate security procedures with the other party and hold talks aimed at establishing a durable peace.

This religion-based state means the eventual evacuation of all non-Jewish population, a process that started in 1948 and has continued since.

The Palestinians wish for a state on the land of Palestine in accordance with UN resolutions 242 and 338, comprising populations of different religions and ethnicities.

They want the Muslim and Christian holy places to be safeguarded, and want to address the issue of Jerusalem and settlements in a way compatible with UN resolutions and international law.

They want a state that is homogeneous with its surroundings and an extension of the history and reality of the region.

The Palestinians aspire at a nation state that is tolerant, and culturally and religiously diversified.

Such country, however, would impede the Israelis’ vision of a religion-based state. Consequently, the Israeli government keeps on confiscating more land to build more illegal settlements, especially in Jerusalem, to enforce the Jewish identity of the city, thus attempting to preclude the internationalisation of the city, which would really help coexistence and be an appropriate working solution to the conflict.

The solution lies in a deal that is fair to the two populations, providing both with human rights, allaying their fears and understanding each other’s concerns.

Depriving the Palestinians of their right to a homeland will not serve the Israelis’ or the region’s security.

The writer is head of international cooperation at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy. She contributed this article to The Jordan Times.