RAMALLAH – Nowhere are the grievances that perpetuate
violence and war more evident than they are in Palestine
today. But the world’s politicians continue to dance around the problem, rather
than confront it. The recent deadly violence in Gaza
is only the latest proof that people living under occupation and siege need a
political horizon, and not simply a cease-fire: the case for an independent
state of Palestine has never been
so compelling as it is today.
The UN vote (which coincides with the International
Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People) would not grant Palestine
full membership. Rather, it would upgrade Palestine’s
status to a level comparable to that of the Vatican,
allowing its political leaders to bring war-crimes charges against Israelis to
the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Zionists in Palestine
rejoiced in 1947, following the UN General Assembly vote for partition into a Jewish
and an Arab state. It is ironic that, as rockets from Gaza
reach the outskirts of Tel Aviv, those Israelis who celebrated the partition,
and their descendants, do not see the importance of fulfilling the other half
of the partition plan.
It is true that Palestinians, who
comprised the vast majority of the population and owned an overwhelming share
of the land, were unhappy with the partition plan, which awarded them 46% of
mandatory Palestine. Today,
Palestinians are seeking statehood on a mere 22% of the territory that had been
part of mandatory Palestine until Israel was unilaterally established on areas
much larger than those awarded by UN
General Assembly Resolution 181 in 1947.
Palestine’s
quest for statehood within the borders of June 4, 1967, falls squarely within international law. The
UN Security Council resolved in November of that year that “acquisition of
territory by war” is unacceptable. Subsequent Security Council resolutions and
international treaties have upheld this principle.
In fact, a Palestinian state based on
the 1967 borders is exactly what US
President Barack Obama has called for. Similarly, the European Union has long
advocated a two-state solution, with Palestine
being established on areas occupied by Israel
in 1967.
As Abbas has said, the upcoming
General Assembly vote is not aimed at delegitimizing Israel.
It follows the Palestinian National Council’s declaration in 1988 of a
Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.
It also follows the Arab Peace Initiative, adopted by the Arab League at its
Beirut Summit in 2002 (and to which Israel
has yet to respond).
The Arab League initiative, which was
also approved by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, embraces a
two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, but goes one step further,
calling for a “just” and “agreed upon” solution to the thorny Palestinian
refugee issue. By accepting the words “agreed upon,” Palestinians, Arabs, and
other Muslim-majority countries have conceded that Israel
will not recognize Palestinian refugees’ inalienable right to return to their
homes. This should allay Israeli fears that the right of return would end Israel’s
existence as a Jewish state.
Abbas will go to New
York holding an even more important card. Israel’s
recent brutal violence in Gaza has
united Palestinians who were split along partisan lines. Leaders of Abbas’s
Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, and of
Gaza-based Hamas have been meeting regularly to implement the Egyptian-Qatari
reconciliation plan. Political prisoners from both sides have been released,
and a senior Fatah delegation just visited Gaza.
Hamas officials, including Mahmoud
Ramahi, the leader of a bloc in the Palestinian National Council, have publicly
supported the UN recognition bid. According to Mousa Abu Marzook, Hamas’s
deputy leader, his movement is not opposed to Abbas’s diplomatic initiative.
An independent and free Palestine
alongside a safe and secure Israel
is a plan upon which the entire world agrees. Palestinians have shown that they
are willing to accept minor and agreed-upon land swaps, and will be open to
creative ideas for solving the problem of Jerusalem,
possibly following the parameters set out by US President Bill Clinton at the
end of his second term.
What is needed now more than ever is
political will to give the peace process a serious boost. Obama, now free of
electoral shackles, and the international community should give Palestinians’
peaceful effort a chance at life. The case for Palestine
has never been so clear. A vote for recognition of Palestinian statehood is a
vote for peace.
Daoud Kuttab, former Professor of Journalism at Princeton University,
is General Manager of the Community Media Network in Amman.