A case fraught with risks

The Palestinian question, which seeks a peaceful solution based on the principles of justice, is faced with an uncooperative Israeli side.

The Arab and Palestinian efforts towards ending the decades-long oppression, destruction and hate led to historic, unprecedented concessions: settling for a Palestinian state that is only 22 per cent of historical Palestine (half of the area assigned to the Palestinians in the 1947 Partition Plan), or subjecting the right of return case (a principle based on international law) to the negotiations table.

Israel has rejected such efforts and has opted for rejecting peace in principle. It holds onto unrealistic and unacceptable demands, while continuing settlement expansion and land confiscation in the West Bank. It even claims the whole of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, ultimately denying the right of Palestinians and their historical claim to their land.

Israel’s non-acknowledgement of Palestinian concessions and the rejection of peace in principle rests upon two factors: its military might and superiority, and the unlimited and unconditional political, economic and military support from the Western world.

In light of these two factors, the Zionist movement depends on assets that are transferable and inconstant. Therefore, Israel’s dependence on its military superiority does not guarantee a sustainable future for itself.

And while the Arabs may face defeat in the short-term, their ethnographic, geographic and cultural reach cannot fade.

Unconditional support from the global community is not steadfast, as evident with the case of South Africa or Rhodesia.

In this context, we observe the changing tone and positions in the global community towards Israel and its criminal actions; most notably, the signal is coming from European Parliament’s, most notably Sweden, recognition of the state of Palestine.

There is also a third element that is not discussed sufficiently in Israeli political discourse, and that is the demographic factor.

With nearly 7 million Jewish inhabitants in historical Palestine (a figure just about that of the Palestinian Arabs), the case is naturally leading towards the “two-state” solution.

The global community cannot accept another apartheid regime, especially when the oppressed is not a minority.

The higher fertility rates among Palestinians are also not of Israel’s benefit.

This implies that the Israeli rejection of peace or a two-state solution will bring us back to the past: an Arab majority and a Jewish minority, keeping in mind that many eastern Jewish people are originally Arab.

What is Israel’s interest in rejecting the Arab initiative?

Surely Israel is aware of reality, yet it turns a blind eye to it. 

The blind and unconditional support Israel enjoys from its supporters, particularly in the US, not only breaches international law and human rights, but also hurts Israel and its identity.

An analogy for this is the spoiled child that receives anything he desires from his parents, even if it means infringing on the rights of others. This selfishness will ultimately ruins the child and the parents have to pay the price, because the behaviour is not in line with the terms of social engagement.

It is imperative to comment on the enormous support American NGOs provide to Israeli settlements.

According to a Haaretz report (December 8, 2015) a total of $265 million in donations was collected on behalf of the settlements by such NGOs between 2009-2013.

We should question the role of financial institutions that facilitate such monetary flows, knowing that such donations fund Israeli settler terrorism against Palestinians.

And we must question why those who fund settler terrorism are not prosecuted or charged with terrorism-related charges.

I was approached through Facebook to support a family in Gaza by donating money, and I was afraid to do so because I fear being accused of supporting terrorism and be tried in US courts.

The Arab initiative follows the pathway of the global community towards achieving a just and comprehensive peace. Any delay in reaching agreement between Palestinians and Israelis is fraught with risks and threatens world peace.

The writer is chairman of the Jordanian Science Culture Association. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.