Putting Palestine back on the agenda

But it’s not so simple. Bringing back a re-invigorated PNC as the Palestinian parliament-in-exile and the highest decision-making body on the Palestinian side would require the Palestinian Diaspora to become seriously engaged. The question is – Do enough Diaspora Palestinians care enough to make it happen?

I have previously written, and believe with even more passion today, that if they don’t, they will be charged by future historians with betraying their oppressed brothers and sisters in Palestine that became Israel.

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  1. Rehmat:

    Dismantling Palestinian Authority (PA) is not in the interests of USrael. Both Washington and Tel Aviv know that the gap left by Fatah – will, immediately, filled by Islamic Resistance Hamas – which would be a nightmare especially since Israel is bullying Iran with its nuclear bombs.

    USrael has succeeded in putting a wedge between Hamas and Damascus – but both still maintain closer relations with Lebanese Hizbullah and Iran.

    http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/abbas-returns-to-enact-mother-of-treasons/

  2. David King:

    I am not convinced, that getting Palestine on or off the mainstream and political media makes an iota of difference. We know that both are controlled by zionists. All you might see is a crafted fairytale. You cannot expect any leverage to be developed.

    I have also become more concerned that the voices of (humanitarian) zionist are being portrayed – at the expense of Palestinians – as the most likely source of a solution; as moderate, intelligent, and deserving of applause.

    Alan you bring to the fore, Yossi Beilin, and describe him as: ”
    the Israeli who has worked harder than any other for real peace with the Palestinians.”

    I will ask you this question Alan. Is peace possible without justice?

    Let us now abandon peace and the peace process. The way forward cannot be achieved through peace. Peace is just a holding pattern. Surely we must all agree that the question of Palestine does not need to be locked in a holding pattern any longer? Peace will come but not until peace efforts stop and justice efforts start to bear fruit. It is justice that needs to be emphasised and not peace. Let all of our near and dear (humanitarian) zionist friends busy themselves with the subject of justice and compensation. Now what would be their contribution? We would strip from them the cover that words like; moderate, humanitarian, intellectual, and peace provide. We would expose the inner zionist and reveal someone I think with whom we would clearly see that co-operation was never possible. This is because justice is not something they want. What they want is a share; and to know that their share is safe. The only difference between zionists are to what extent they are will to gamble with the cards they hold.

    Always remember Alan, that a zionist is an extremist. They either believe that a god gave them the land of Palestine or they pretend to believe in it for profit. An extremist is not someone who is willing to negotiate. 64 years has taught us that much. An organised peace process has not played any part in bringing this dispute to an end. It is just a delaying tactic. Let us not spend our time trying to resuscitate peace. The periods of peace we have had in the past have played no part in a solution. Peace should not be the goal. Peace will only ever be stable and become a foundation, when it is a byproduct of justice.

  3. maryam:

    More “peace talks” and screwing around with the PA won’t do a thing. This occupation won’t end until there is military action against Israel forcing them to withdraw. I am convinced of this.

  4. Fakhri:

    Dear Alan,
    I daresay that I concur with what Mr King has said. For any peace
    in the Middle East we have to get down to basics: the crux of the
    problem is the fate of the Palestinian refugees, people dispossessed of their land and homes in 1948 and 1967 by the ugliest colonisation process in modern times and who, after 64 years are still languishing in shanty camps and elsewhere
    in the diaspora.You mention this to Mr Beilin and you may get a not-so-docile an answer. In his socalled Geneva Initiative, which he co-authgored with Abed-Rabbu, he did not give an iota of attention to that matter.
    As for the Oslo Accords, they were negotiated, and I quote
    Edward Said here,’by an amateur group of Palestinians’ who didn’t
    even ‘have maps’ of the West Bank with them.Oslo has been a tragedy for the Palestinians as about 90% of Israeli colonies were erected by virtue of Oslo and its provisions. All the Palestinian Authority has done, from its inception, is police the West Bank- its own people, for the sake of Israel’s security with the hope of the likes of Rabin, or Barak or Netanyahu giving them, and I quote you Alan here,’a crumble’ from Israel’s ‘table’.The people of the P.A.,in short, have been self-serving political quislings who don’t represent even the Palestinians in whose midst they are living, i.e.the West Bankers.Make an independent poll in the West Bank, and the P.A. will know how popular,or otherwise, they are.
    So, I do agree with Mr King.Justice must come before peace.And look where the realism of Arafat in 1988 has taken us.And how Oslo was just a sell-out.Your Suggestion, Alan, is probably the best in the circumstances.The Palestine National Council must be activated as the true representative of the ten million or so Palestinians, and its election must start, after a good census,with diaspora Palestinians. And the latter, must be able to get organized, not on any party lines, and get counted. Thank you for the not so novel suggestion, for I remember you making it a couple oy years back.

  5. Roberto:

    Whatever is done, I hope that Palestine will be put back in agenda and that the suffering of Palestinians will end. I agree with King David that peace will come after, or at the same time with, justice.
    (By the way, Beilin mentions an Israel that could be a Jewish State and democratic. The arguments that show that BOTH things are not possible have been published in quite a few places).

  6. Rehmat:

    In 2010 – two Jewish writers – one American and one Israel-born Brit – came up with a solution to Palestinian occupation. Both are still committed to ‘One State’ solution to Palestine-Israel based on Justice for both native Muslims and Christians – and the foreign Jews. However, both have diffrent ideas to resolve the problem.

    http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/palestine-the-third-option/

  7. rosemerry:

    Thanks Rehmat for the link, and Alan for the article. I do not know if Alan’s suggestion would work, but something needs to be done, and Tucker’s idea and Gilad Atzmon’s need a lot of unlikely changes in Zionist thinking.