Ten reasons Palestine is right to bring its case to the UN
There's a certain implied danger in the idea of playing darts in the dark. Particularly when there are numerous players in a crowded room, and not one has a well-defined target.
By Bradley BurstonThere's a certain implied danger in the idea of playing darts in the dark. Particularly when there are numerous players in a crowded room, and not one has a well-defined target.
For Mahmoud Abbas' Palestine, for Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel, and no less, for the Obama administration, the effort to bring Palestinian statehood to the United Nations for endorsement has raised profound fears, prompting internal debates fully as bitter as they have been largely fruitless, with no dependably favorable outcome in sight – for anyone.
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Palestinians hold flags and posters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a protest against Washington's veto of a UN resolution in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 20, 2011 |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Committed supporters of the Palestinian cause have warned that the UN move could spur a devastating backlash of retaliation, whether by an irate, isolated Israeli government or by an election-minded, Republican dominated U.S. Congress.
Palestinian moderates fear that the statehood move, if mishandled or misapprehended, could set into motion a chain of violent events ultimately spelling the demise of the Palestinian Authority, and dealing a telling blow to any timetable for an independent Palestine.
Abbas has pressed ahead nonetheless, in what may be the last great wager of his career. In the past, as in his 2004 go-it-alone public statements condemning armed Palestinian attacks on Israelis, Abbas has shown himself both a man unafraid to gamble, and, against all odds, one who knows how to turn a crapshoot to advantage. Here are ten reasons that Abu Mazen's
Hail Mary route at the UN may succeed after all:
1. It restores the issue of Palestine from the back-burner to the world's biggest stage, without resort to violence.
The UN move has already compelled all relevant parties to the conflict to re-examine long-accustomed and long-stymied tactics and mindsets. From Netanyahu to Khaled Meshal, from the Quartet (the U.S., Russia, the UN and the European Union) to the Palestinian rank and file, from the settlements to Peace Now and J Street,
alternatives to paralysis and permanent conflict are newly under study.
2. It conveys the concept of Palestine as a nation, living alongside Israel as a member of the community of nations, acknowledging the primacy of the UN as a forum for state-to-state airing of disputes.
This stands in stark contrast to the loose-cannon guerrilla band image cultivated by Yasser Arafat in his 1974 address to the General Assembly ("Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom-fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat …"), which gave no quarter to the existence of an independent Israel.
3. The timing underscores and leverages Israel's perfect storm of diplomatic isolation.
Analysts note that this is the first time since the 1948 founding of Israel, that the state has none of the three regional powers, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, as an ally. Further, the severity of the diplomatic crisis is such that nearly any Israeli effort at retaliation against the Palestinians, is likely to deepen Israel's isolation.
Meanwhile, the UN move turns the Netanyahu government's digging in of heels to Palestinian advantage, casting the Palestinian Authority as the side taking diplomatic initiative.
In ruling out a Yes vote from the get-go, Israel conceded immediate defeat in the world body, in the process forgoing a range of tactical advantages it could have gained by signaling qualified support for a resolution and then negotiating to help shape its wording to a text Israel could have profited by backing.
Finally, if peace talks do eventually resume, the PA's position could be strengthened by a state-to-state position vis-a-vis Israel.
4. The UN drive may confer international imprimatur to and raise the profile of Palestinian state-building efforts.
As Mideast scholar Hussein Ibish has noted, "Palestinians had hoped that a convergence of bottom-up state-building and top-down diplomacy, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, would be the key to independence. Left on its own, the state-building plan has been little more than a development project under occupation. This has given the leadership a sense of urgency that has impelled its turn towards possible statehood initiatives at the UN."
5. If successful, it can lend Abbas and the PA much-needed strength in its withering rivalry with Hamas.
Hamas, betting on Abu Mazen to lose, has disassociated itself from the UN push. If the Palestinian public perceives the UN vote as a success, criticism over repression in Hamas rule in Gaza would be likely to mount.
6. It may prompt and encourage non-violent Palestinian protest in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The prospect of non-violent protest is one that Israeli officials have acknowledged that they are ill-prepared to confront. As a recently released wikileaks cable revealed, "Less violent demonstrations are likely to stymie the IDF. As MOD [Ministry of Defense] Pol-Mil [Political-Military] chief Amos Gilad told USG [U.S. Government] interlocutors recently, "we don't do Gandhi very well."
This, coupled with rising Israeli tensions with Egypt, Turkey, and the U.S., could at some point force Netanyahu to consider dropping Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu in favor of Kadima itself under electoral pressure from a newly rising Labor - in order to resume peace talks.
7. The PA could also regain a measure of popular support in Gaza, if as a consequence of the UN move, Israel's military latitude for enforcing the siege and pursuing attacks in the Strip were limited.
Even if the Palestinians refrain from executing the threat, the shadows of the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and other world bodies will at once loom large over Israeli military decisions.
8. The Palestinians' secret weapon I: Avigdor Lieberman.
Thus far, the foreign minister is the only senior official scheduled to represent Israel in New York during the deliberations next week. A year ago, in his last appearance before the United Nations, Lieberman effectively contradicted the Israeli line that Israel was ready for peace and that the process had been impeded solely by the Palestinians. Neither side was ready for peace, he told the General Assembly, declaring that an agreement was something that could take "a few decades."
9. The Palestinians' secret weapon II: The Settlers.
If any single element is likely to win sympathy for the Palestinian cause, it will be radical settlers, who have vowed to mark the UN resolution with widespread violence. A recent arson attack against a West Bank mosque has sharpened the concerns of both Israeli and PA security authorities.
Any such action may, in turn, restrict the Israeli government's freedom of action in retaliating against a UN move.
10. The Palestinians' secret weapon III: Benjamin Netanyahu.
As the UN deliberations near, the prime minister's statements have grown more defiant. His protestations that Israel's worsening relations with Egypt and Turkey have nothing to do with the Palestinian issue, have ensured that tensions with all three have become increasingly interrelated, both at home and abroad.
"There are those who think that everything would have been different, if we had only given in to the Palestinians," Netanyahu told the cabinet this week.
"Enough with the self-flagellation," he continued. Inverting the liturgy of confession on the imminent Jewish High Holidays, he declared "We have not become guilty, neither have we transgressed."
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Bradley is correct: these are good reasons for Palestine. But they are awful for Israel, putting an irredentist, terrorist state on its doorstep.
The fresh but no new threats of our Foreign Affairs Ministry against the Palestinian Authority, because unilateral decision to appeal to the UN for endorsement of statehood side by side Israel , could frighten us more than them. When you hire an elephant to clean a glass store, the results are easy to foresee. How much time Israel citizens still have to bear the rank of prisoners of wars from time to time, because some of our dominant politicians have thought that only the use of brute force is a reasonable solution for conflicts? Not few deplorable military actions are inscribed in Israel’s short history of Independence. In the name of survival we can bring our own disaster with our own hands and our own feet.
Dude, re-read all your great reasons in 2-3 months time. I then challenge you to find one that was correct. At that point, maybe consider a different career.
That's what we need to ask ourselves.
That's why it is a winning strategy. The Palestinians have lost decades in their violent, terrorist struggle against Israel. Abbas should go to the U.N. The alternative is endless games and procrastination by smirker-in-chief Netanyahu.
it violates an international peace treaty, the Oslo Accords, and terminates the cease-fire and cooperation agreements. The UN is going to violate a peace treaty? One to which it is party as a part of the Quartet, and one who is bound by that treaty? Why would Israel trust any future treaty or the UN?
The Oslo Accords haven't prevented Israel from knocking down Palestinian homes and building settlements.
The Israeli establishment does not believe in peace. In their philosophy, Peace is a deterrent to their goals. They could have achieved peace decades ago. Israeli history is a witness that when ever its leader took an initiative towards recognition of Palestinian State, he had to meet a terrible end. The establishment by their policy has also curtailed the of movement of the Jewish population of Israel. They can not go to Syria, Jordan or Egypt or Iraq. So their movement is only limited to the borders of Israel. The youth of today needs freedom to move around and mix with others particularly starting from his neighborhood. Unfortunately for Israeli youth they are deprived of this opportunity. The Jewish people used to live all over the world. But today the establishment has herded them within the boundaries of Israel. You barely see them in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and many other countries. They lived comfortably in those societies but after 1948, they were pushed out of those areas by the Israeli establishment in order to populate Israel. It is a sad saga.
From the contents of your baseless comments, I think it's you Khan who had a deprived childhood and youth. And didn't attend history lessons at school, judging by your remark about Jews living in Arab countries up to 1948.
If he hasn't realized what a lead zeppelin Lieberman is, he won't ever realize it. Kadima, on the other hand, the last thing it needs is to associate itself with this failed government.
So, I am assuming the UN will also recognize an independent Tibet, Basque Region, Kurdistan, Chechneya, Tamil State etc etc if not two faced hypocrites
Then you would assume wrong. And so what? No institution is 100% consistent, no person is 100% consistent, no government is 100% consistent - so what?
Hey Bradley...why don't you be the first person on the haaretz staff to live in the new independent country of Falasteen? I'll also attend your funeral.
and you have no idea what means, do you?
And what happened to the #1 reason? Because it is the right thing, because it is their land and because it is their inherent right?
and ther arer 10 reason to kik your ass out of sate of israel and send you to special place in hell which is reserved for you and akiva eldar
Equality and justice.
They chose war instead. And lost. You must have missed that one watching al Jazeera.
Abbas certainly has reason to be unhappy with the US which, being captive of AIPAC, cannot pressure Israel to move towards peace. Indeed, the US even torpedos European attempts to initiate peace moves that might work, such as the French initiative. But Abbas has a winning solution of his own: pursue an independent Palestine Resolution in the UN. Hopefully, the stigma of Apartheid and the developing international isolation will bring Israelis to their senses and have them replace the right-wing by more moderate leaders who will negotiate peace with the PA. This consequence is something Obama does not understand but is also powerless to stop, and it is the only way some positive progress will be made for the Palestinians. It is in Abbas' hands and he should keep moving on this road.
I thought that the world would eventually tire of the antics of the Zionists and put an end to Israel, either through 1. BDS, or alternately 2. a massive volley of nukes. Now it appears that your leaders will do the dirty work for them. Good job, and thanks for the savings.
Israel should not be rewarded for deliberate violations of International law and non-compliance with UN Resolutions that were designed to being peace. Israels solutions have never ever worked.
Go ahead with supporting Lieberman and Netenyahu. This is the shortest way to get rid of Zionism.
Palestinian move in the UN is just that - a hostile move to achieve their first goal instead of an agreed upon settlement. Lieberman is absolutely right - there will be no peace even if Paleostinians succeed in the UN ....
Whether u like it or not, the state is going to be created oppression and apartheid will not last forever
Which arab newspaper did this article appear inoriginally. Burston is living in the wrong country
The PLO and the peace process is synonymous with terrorism and murder of innocent Jews. This is what we have to look forward to.
The Israeli lunatic left and Islamic Jihad may have different goals, but their attitude towards Israel is the same
It is Israel's repeated and failed attempts to crush them once and for all that is causing Zionism to fade into history. When they come for you this time, it will not be with intifada. This time, it will be through diplomatic action through the UN. No secret ambushes in dark alleys, no arrests in the middle of the night, no planned fatal accidents over which you may shed your crocodile tears. This time, it will be in the plain sight of day with all the world as witness to your response. Militant Zionism will be your undoing; and there will be peace - next year in Jerusalem!
Israel did not negotiate to proclaim its independent, so why do you expect the Palestinians to do so? Independence and freedom are not negotiable, they are basic human rights
The Palestinians can proclaim a state ('independence' and 'freedom'), but they will have to negotiate or fight for whatever borders they claim. Otherwise, they get areas A+B and Israel gets everything else. :)
but no peace without them
Very well said !
Guess who wins in the long term? :) The Palestinians get a 'state' in area A. The Jews get everything else.
stop day dreaming dude
You asked who will win in the long term? There are 1.5 billion Moslems in the world and around (depending on whose estimate you accept) around 13 million Jews. We (I'm an Isreali) have just lost two of our closest friends (Egypt and Turkey), leaving us only with the United States. When that goes, then what? Answer your question?
But your facts are screwy. The only way Israel can win "in the long term", as things are, is in somebody's imagination. ISRAELIS ARE PRETENDING THEIR WAY INTO A CATASTROPHE. Look at reality ffs.
The Palestinians, because they will end up with those nice new apartments even though it is the Israeli govt that has paid for them ;)
And what do non-Jewish Israelis get?
The biggest reason for the UN to recognize the right for the Palestinian people to elect ALL of their own leaders that rule over their land, is that it is a human right recognized by the majority of UN member states. Israel needs to finally understand that they are on the wrong side of history. Either allow FULL right to vote in Israeli gov't elections (Single State Solution) or allow FULL sovereignty for the State of Palestine on their own land (Two State Solution). That status quo of ignoring these people's human rights is not sustainable, and will not be allowed to continue.
Israel doesn't dispute that either.
But they are so they do not
Netanyahu refused to negotiate honestly for the establishment of a Palestinian State. The Stall and Build strategy ran out of credibility a year ago.
I agree w/everything you say, Bradley, I'm just afraid that Netanyahu's intransigence, which is what necessitated the UN move in the first place, will embolden Palestinian protesters, which will embolden settlers, which will make it hard for IDF to handle, which will make Palestinian deaths more likely, which will bring the region that much closer to an explosion. Ultimately, it's our fault, but that's no comfort at all.
and attempts to compromise, all you've accomplished is getting yourself surrounded by those who want to kill you. Compromise, a tenet in Western Civilization is not understood with Arabs in the Middle East. To them it's a sign of weakness. The once proud Israel is now seen by nearly all as a weak, frail state that's been backpedaling itself into oblivion. Now, the Arabs are about to go for the coup de grâce, and you have no one to blame but yourselves. When they come for you, and they will, you must crush them once and for all, or the State for the Jewish people will fade into history.
Ten good reasons for the Palestinians to move ahead at the UN. That's not just win-win, it's win^10 for them. Abandoning the plan, on the other hand, would only serve the US' and Israel's interest. Why should the Pals care about this, really? Thx, Mr. Burston, for creating this list!
Then he may retire to Berkeley,mission accomplished
not to berkeley, he will be retired and send to hell and his mission along with akiva eldar will never acomplished
Israel needs no enemies with friends like you swede. Keep up the good work.
Haaretz is nearly as bad as The Guardian!
NEVER will in 'good faith'! QED
the only reason is settlements . Israel lust for land
#3 Sarah is correct. And Berlin, you miss thepoint. Israel's former govt , Olmert, gave away the country and Abbas wouldn't agree to it. He gave up ALL of Jerusalem, and right of return; then he gave them most of the West BAnk. Previously, Arafat was given almost everything and he chose Intifada. If their only goal is the destruction of a Jewish state (because they won't recognize it as such) and their only goal is EVERYTHING, (or nothing) then what Berlin, is there to negotiate?
This is high praise indeed, for the Guardian is one of the best newspapers on the planet. Remember Murdoch-gate?
My greatest fear is that the idiots now running the Israeli government will by their intransigence bring about a near total isolation of Israel. The consequences of this are unforeseeable but the destruction of Israel is one possibility. I fear for the country. I really do.
this is just fear-mongering to force everyone to accept Israeli silliness.
He is a shoo in for Palestinian "man of the year".