But on Tuesday, we saw another nail hammered into the already pretty tightly nailed down coffin of the two-state solution. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had pushed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that would’ve required the Israeli government to withdraw its forces from the West Bank by 2017. It also would’ve mandated that a comprehensive peace deal be concluded within a year.
This initiative had the support of all 22 members of the Arab League, which in and of itself is remarkable. However, the resolution only received the support of eight of the 15 members of the Security Council, one less than needed for passage. The United States, only one of two nations to vote no (along with Australia), explained via UN Ambassador Samantha Power that while our government doesn’t support the status quo, “peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the negotiating table.”
But the question is, negotiate peace with whom? There are three parties to this conflict: the Palestinian Authority led by Abbas, Hamas led by Khaled Mashal, and the Israeli government led by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The problem is that two of these parties, Netanyahu and Hamas, publicly oppose the idea of Palestinian and Israeli states side by side.
Categories: Asia, Behaviour, Double Standard, Israel, Palestine
The most courageous thing that Mahmud Abbas could do is to dissolve the Palestinian Authority and declare a One State Solution – and of course start fighting for equal rights within that One State. (just my personal view, it is of course up to the Palestinians to decide their own future).
Rafiq,
It would have served a more useful purpose if you had advised Yasser Arafat, as Prince Banda of Saudi Arabia did, that the offer made by Ehud Barrak was the best that the Palestinians could ever get. Rather than be on the side of reason, Arafat set his eyes on the destruction of Israel and orchestrating the collapse of the peace talks, he unleashed the ‘intifada’ which was in the walks as attested to by his own Information Minister.
A two state solution will come at the end of negotiations by the parties. It cannot be imposed by one side.
The reason why Yasser Arafat could not accept the proposal was because he did not know how to convince all Palestinian refugees to forget their right of return. Yes, a difficult situation indeed …