[News] Palestine Unleashed: How to Confront Annexation and ‘Deal of the Century’

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200210-palestine-unleashed-how-to-confront-annexation-and-deal-of-the-century/ 



  Palestine Unleashed: How to Confront Annexation and ‘Deal of the Century’

Ramzy Baroud - February 10, 2020
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Just because the Donald Trump administration has declared 
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51263815> international law 
null and void regarding the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, 
the status of occupied East Jerusalem or the illegality of Jewish 
colonies in the occupied territories, does not mean that Israel has won 
and Palestinians have lost.

To be more specific, those who have indeed lost are those who gave 
Washington and its allies the power to shape the future of Palestine 
and, in fact, the whole of the Middle East, in a way that is consistent 
with the skewed US foreign policy, namely, the Palestinian Authority 
(PA) and other quisling Arab leaderships.

Those of us who have always understood that Washington and Tel Aviv are 
two sides of the same coin, are hardly surprised by the so-called Deal 
of the Century. In fact, Trump’s ‘deal’ is but a continuation of the 
same dismal trajectory of blind US allegiance to Israel. Whether we call 
it the ‘Deal of the Century’, ‘US-sponsored peace process 
<https://ips-dc.org/the_us_role_in_the_breakdown_of_the_israeli-palestinian_peace_process/>’, 
or ‘shuttle diplomacy 
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28532866>’, they are all 
recycled brands of the same old product.

But, fingers of blame cannot only point at Trump and Israeli Prime 
Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinians deserve much of the blame as 
well.

Twenty-seven years ago, a group of Palestinian political elites broke 
away 
<https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/03/world/meast/oslo-accords-fast-facts/index.html> 
from national consensus, signing a unilateral deal with Israel that 
either conceded or relegated most Palestinian rights, including the 
status of Jerusalem, and the rights of Palestinian refugees.

They argued then that Palestinian rights could be achieved through an 
incremental ‘peace process’, through tireless negotiations and ‘painful 
compromises 
<https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/09/13/veiled-danger-dead-oslo-accords>’. 
Those who challenged the subsequent Oslo accords were shunned and 
branded as terrorists and radicals; they were imprisoned and, whenever 
convenient, even assassinated.

Since then, the fate, status and legitimacy of the PA became 
intrinsically linked to the very Israeli military occupation it was 
meant to eradicate. The negotiations led to the enriching of the Israeli 
occupation which is now under the threat of being fully annexed by 
Israel. In the meantime, some Palestinians grew richer, and millions of 
Palestinians became 
<http://www.palestine-australia.com/assets/Uploads/Water-Inequality-under-Oslo-II-21102016.pdf> 
even more desperate, isolated under a growing Israeli Apartheid in the 
West Bank or under a hermetic and deadly siege in Gaza.

Nearly three decades later, the ‘Deal of the Century’ came to completely 
delegitimize the PA, itself set-up with American funds 
<https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22967.pdf> and a political mandate.

Under these new circumstances, there is no logical reason why the PA 
should continue to exist, at least in its current form, as it played a 
major part in subjugating the Palestinian people, allowing Washington 
and Tel Aviv to achieve their political ends in Palestine without the 
slightest resistance.

A few years ago, PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, referred 
<https://nypost.com/2005/01/05/palestinians-vote-abbas-turns-nasty/> to 
armed resistance in Gaza as ‘useless’ and a ‘mistake’. He purported to 
champion a different form of ‘resistance’ that would truly obtain 
Palestinian rights and grant the Palestinian people an independent state 
with Jerusalem as its capital. The ‘Deal of the Century’ proved that it 
was Abbas, his Authority and whatever phony form of ‘resistance’ they 
employed, who was utterly and completely useless.

It is important that we do not protest the ‘Deal of the Century’ 
pretending that the PA is our partner in this process. Assigning any 
importance to the PA would indicate that we have learned nothing after 
decades of betrayal and outright theft 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-corruption-chief-idUSKCN0VW1M9>of 
hundreds of millions of dollars of funds assigned to the Palestinian people.

In some odd and tragic way, the PA and the Israeli occupation are linked 
– the former cannot exist without the latter, and the latter requires 
the services of the former to entrench itself and expand its illegal 
colonies throughout Palestine.

So, any post-‘Deal of the Century’ Palestinian strategy would have to 
happen in complete separation from the PA which, at this point, only 
represents the interests of a class of Palestinians that succeeded in 
accumulating wealth and power under the boots of Israeli soldiers.

Despite the PA’s unmitigated failures, the Palestinian cause is more 
popular than ever. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, 
which is fueled by the sacrifices and the resistance of the Palestinian 
people, has penetrated 
<https://bdsmovement.net/news/18-highlights-bds-impact-2018> numerous 
layers of societies all around the world, forcing millions of people to 
take a moral stance on the ongoing Israeli apartheid and war crimes in 
Palestine.

More and more people around the world are also becoming aware of the 
destructive power of Zionism – the ideology that continues to guide 
Israeli politics to this day. Israel is itself responsible for that 
growing awareness because of its direct interventions 
<https://theintercept.com/2019/02/11/ilhan-omar-israel-lobby-documentary/?comments=1> 
in the political affairs of many countries.

The fact that Israel is meddling in the various laws 
<https://palestinelegal.org/news/2016/6/3/what-to-know-about-anti-bds-legislation> 
and constitutions of well-established democracies around the world to 
prevent any criticism of its misconduct in Palestine, is waking up many 
people who may never have been awakened had the discussion on Palestine 
and Israel persisted in its previous form. From the UK to Italy to the 
US, the tentacles of Zionism is attempting, and, sadly, succeeding, in 
enforcing its priorities, agendas and self-serving definitions 
<https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Italy-adopts-IHRA-definition-of-antisemitism-614655>.

The challenge for Palestinians, at this point, is knowing how to 
navigate beyond the collaborating PA and to create alternative platforms 
that would allow them to coordinate their actions, to widen the scope of 
global solidarity, and, eventually, to harness their achievements in the 
form of a centralized political strategy.

This will not be easy, but is inevitable. And the answer cannot be 
factional either. While some Palestinian factions can proudly say that 
they have rejected, even resisted, the path chosen by the PA, there is 
not a single Palestinian faction today that speaks for all Palestinians 
using a unifying language and embracing a universal vision. The fact 
that Palestinian groups continue to speak of a ‘Two-State solution 
<https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Palestinian-Authority-welcomes-House-resolution-backing-two-state-solution-610172>’ 
is a reflection of its inability to transcend the confines and 
limitations of Oslo and the ‘peace process’.

As Israel and the US have decided to take decisive steps in the 
direction of Apartheid, Palestinians should take equally decisive steps 
in the direction of liberation by severing ties with all failed 
strategies and self-seeking individuals and groups.

Even within Palestine’s opposition, a major rethink is required. While 
the PA has failed miserably, others have failed too, and there is no 
shame in admitting that because, without taking responsibility for one’s 
shortcomings, real change can never occur.

This is far from being a call for the complete abolition of the entire 
Palestinian political structures, but rather for the repair of an aging 
system that refuses to renew itself and which is, at times, completely 
oblivious to changing discourses and political realities.

The fact is that many Palestinian leaders and activists, even within the 
opposition, come from long-gone political eras. While some of them have 
fought an honorable fight, they must understand that allowing for a 
natural transition of new leaderships is the greatest contribution they 
could possibly make at this stage because the nature of the fight is 
also changing.

Here is the truth, Palestine can no longer rely on the support of Arab 
countries 
<https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-how-the-arabs-betrayed-palestine-again-1.8480107> 
to build the needed momentum that could eventually overpower Israel and 
restore the rights of the Palestinian people.

Our cause is now a global cause, extending from Sweden to Chile and from 
South Africa to Russia, and it requires global emissaries who are able 
to transcend the PA, the factionalism and ideological tribalism which is 
destroying the very fabric of our society.

Let’s turn the ‘Deal of the Century’ from a crisis into an opportunity, 
where we reorganize and galvanize the very foundation of our political 
discourse and liberate ourselves from the numerous confines that have 
limited our work and appeal in the past.

As Zionism now constitutes one of the greatest threats, not only to 
Palestine and the Middle East but to world’s democracies as well, let 
the struggle for Palestinian freedom become a global struggle against 
Zionism and all of its benefactors.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not 
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

-- 
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863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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