Palestine Statehood Vote — Will they Seize this moment?

NOVANEWS 

The UN vote is Today, Friday. News here is that Palestinians will not get enough votes to force US to use veto. UK and France will probably abstain, which is shameful.

by Debbie Menon

Once again politicians are about to jettison principle. Citizens-of-good-conscience have to act where governments-of-no-conscience turn their backs on such international injustice.

N Y TIMES J STREET AD — Will they ‘Seize this moment’ ?

With the United Nations vote on the question of Palestine statehood looming we asked some activists and frequent contributors to our site –  Stuart Littlewood, Jack JC,  Sami Jadallah, Tim King, and Anthony Lawson  — for the answers to four important questions.

 Stuart Littlewood

1.What are your thoughts on US/Israel’s spiteful reaction to Palestinians’ scoring even the smallest diplomatic victory (UNESCO)?

I hear UNESCO membership now gives Palestine the right to join the International Criminal Court simply by acceding to the Statute of Rome, in which case the ICC will have jurisdiction over Israelis committing war crimes on Palestinian soil. Furthermore – and I love this bit – all states party to the Rome Statute would be required to hand over indicted Israeli war criminals to the court at the Hague.

This means the UK government will have to stop sheltering its nasty Israeli friends. It scares the hell out of the strutting international gangsters and they are throwing a temper tantrum.

The UNESCO move was an important stepping stone on the road to justice in the Middle East and, hopefully, towards an end to crimes against humanity.

2.What should be other nations’ response to pressure to veto Palestinian full membership in the UN?

The international community should take the line that Israel has no superior entitlement. Palestine has equal right to membership and equal right to security. And Israel’s security can no longer be maintained at the Palestinians’ expense.

It is unacceptable that Israel, which continually treats the UN Charter with contempt and rides roughshod over international and humanitarian law, is still allowed to sit among the community of nations, benefiting from its co-operative programmes and remaining cocooned in a magic bubble of everlasting impunity.

The US Government’s subservience to Zionist interests is an insult to global intelligence and to the American people.  How can America command respect or ever become great again if it allows itself to be jerked around like this?

3.What must be done to guarantee that people are not denied their freedom in future?

The tentacles of Zionist influence must be purged from Western parliaments and other public bodies. Why underpin our democratic institutions with high-minded codes of conduct like the Seven Principles of Public Life (see http://www.public-standards.gov.uk/About/The_7_Principles.html ) if we allow the Israel lobby to trample those fundamental rules into the dust?

There must be severe consequences for those who abuse the public’s trust. It is up to civil society to set higher standards for conduct in public life and show zero tolerance. In Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority carry on “managing” the illegal occupation on behalf of Israel and the US, as if that’s a proper and honourable thing to do. The Palestinians’ “spring” will start only when they are kicked out.

And I agree, the UN needs a thorough overhaul – the present set-up is dysfunctional and ludicrous and an obstacle to justice and good sense. It has a long way to go if it is to convince anybody that its founding principles are still alive and kicking, and being implemented without fear or favour.

4. Palestinian Disunity

This problem remains as long as the physical separation of Gaza from the West Bank remains. Perpetual Palestinian disunity suits Israel just fine, which is why statehood must proceed. When the focus switches to the challenge of building their economy and competing in world trade we should see a coming-together.

Jack JC

1.What are your thoughts on US/Israel’s spiteful reaction to Palestinians’ scoring even the smallest diplomatic victory (UNESCO)?

Justice is not a universal concept, there are however some common threads in Human society.  One of the common threads is the perception that using superior muscle against a weaker opponent is dishonorable and unjust.

After working so hard so hard to keep the vote from happening at the UNSC level, then voting against and losing at UNESCO and cutting funding, the Israeli and US position exposes their ideological roots as unjust – not just at the superficial level but at one of the deep rooted concepts that is almost universally accepted across Human society.

2.What should be other nations’ response to pressure to veto Palestinian full membership in the UN?

Pressure comes in various guises, it could be ‘we’re going to bomb you back to the stone age’ or ‘here’s a trunk full of dollars and the keys to a retirement villa’, so this question is rather hard to answer.

I would suggest that the duty of a politician is to undertake actions that bring the greater good to the greater population.  In this case, by stopping Israeli expansion both the Israeli people and Palestinian people win, or in the case of the Palestinian lose less I suppose.  Politicians who fail to resist the pressure are failing in their duty.

3.What must be done to guarantee people are not denied their freedom in future?

A return to the rule of law at the UN must be undertaken and the UNSC should be disbanded in its’ current form – the UNSC membership should be elected.  Our planet is facing far more pressing problems than the profit margins of the permament members.

4. Palestinian disunity

This can only be addressed by giving Palestinian society time to adjust and find its’ roots.  The problem is that all the social and cultural fabric has been ripped apart for 70 years or more and only by giving time and opportunity will this heal.

So my advice would be to stand back, provide the opportunity, let their culture solve their problems in their manner – regardless of how messy it might look.  Remember that the ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ doesn’t even have a constitution defining it as a ‘democracy’ yet.

Sami Jadallah

1.What are your thoughts on US/Israel’s spiteful reaction to Palestinians’ scoring even the smallest diplomatic victory (UNESCO)?

It is persistent mistake for the Palestinians, for the Arabs, for the Muslim for the world community to believe the US is an honest third party broker… this is the problem and key issue.

In the United States, the Arab-Israeli conflict is not considered an “international conflict” it is a domestic issue governed by domestic politics and is hostage to the American Jewish leadership and community… here there is no distinction between Zionist and non-Zionist as such.

So, as long as the US is involved directly or indirectly there is NO hope of ever solving this conflict. The only possible way is to take it out of the US sphere and place the territory under an international mandate, a trusteeship… with the US having nothing to do with it… ( that is my next posting). The US policy is hostage to domestic mainly Congressional politics.

2.What should be other nations’ response to pressure to veto Palestinian full membership in the UN?

Again, here I think there should be a push by the international community to take the US out of the game. No country dares to stand up to the US power, however, they can work indirectly. Again, the issue for the Palestinians should be no membership, but ending the Jewish Occupation.

That is first priority…and the only way I see it is as a UN Trusteeship. Mahmoud Abbas can commit himself to negotiations till he is blue in the face and he and Saeb Erakat and the rest can pass this conflict to their third or even fourth generation and they will never be able to negotiate an end to the conflict with Israel.

No one seems to understand or pay attention to the Talmudic ideology and practice of Israel. They negotiated with G-d and won.

3.What must be done to guarantee people are not denied their freedom in future?

Of course again, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a domestic issue and no sitting US president dare to stand up to the American Jewish leadership and community. As such, the US will always exercise its veto power to protect Israel and of course to save the “ass” of the person sitting in the Oval Office. whether Democrat or Republican.

4. Palestinian Disunity

Of course disunity is troublesome. But both Fatah and Hamas are responsible here. Both are self serving and frankly do not represent the majority of Palestinians under Occupation or in the Diaspora. Perhaps the total support both have does not exceed 10% of the population.

The Palestinian people are hostage not only to the Jewish Occupation but to both Hamas and Fatah, which is a tragedy, and that is why I advocate an international trusteeship for an interim period of 5 years, to get rid of the choaking influence and power of both Fatah and Hamas.

Keep in mind, all activists on both sides are on the payroll and it is a question of who is paying. Too bad independents like Moustafa Bargouthi and Hanan Ashrawi are part of the system, in addition to most if not all heads of civil societies having a vested interest in the continued Jewish Occupation. They receive a ton of money from international donors to be active but to a limit.

Once they call for specific actions to defy the occupation such as civil disobedience, burning all Israeli issued ID cards, burning all Israeli issued VIP passes, setting up barricades at Israeli checkpoints, challenging Abbas and the PLO leadership, then all funding will stop and with that they too will lose a substantial income and influence.

As I said before, the continued Jewish Occupation is a bonanza for so many of these so called heads of civil societies in Occupied Palestine.

The Palestinian people are afflicted with a failed leadership for the last 100 years from the time of Hajj Amin Hussaini and his rival the Nashashibi family, there has been no clean smart dedicated leadership, dedicated to the cause and not to clans or self serving leaders,  in contrast to the Zionist leadership.

You never saw David BenGurion sending millions of dollars to his wife to live in Paris or Rabin having a billion dollar business like Abbas and his family. No Israeli leader became multi-millionaire while in government… like the Palestinian leadership. All of them without exception are multi millionaires and they made their money by being part of this leadership. Too bad for us.

Perhaps you should look up one of my posting on www.jeffersoncorner.com titled: what is wrong with the Palestinians. It is imperative to remember we are against a very tough take no prisoner ideology, that has the world as hostage… so the situation demands the bests and the brightest… we have had nothing but mediocre leadership at best to date.

Tim King

What are your thoughts on US/Israel’s spiteful reaction to Palestinians’ scoring even the smallest diplomatic victory (UNESCO)?

We all know that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine requires a certain type of conditioning of mind.  My fear is that Israel’s hasbara has taken the influential aspects of the population past the point of no return and no process exists to bring its leaders around in an amiable fashion.

As a human being I find Israel’s reaction embarrassing.  I can only sense an unwavering determination on Israel’s part, to keep demonizing this battered and divided population.  My thought is that we are seeing the actions of a shameless government void of ethics and morals without ability to regulate or manage its illegal tendencies.

What should be other nations’ response to the pressure to veto Palestinian full membership in the UN?

Of course nations should resist pressure from the United States and its corporate interests, and I believe responsible world governments should consider the collective action of removing the United States from positions of decision making; it is the U.S. that leads the influence over other western nations.

What must be done to guarantee that people are not denied their freedom in future?

The veto power granted to the United States must disappear as should all unrealistic rules and deals that clearly only benefit the U.S. under conditions that rarely benefit anyone else.  All war crime charges against the United States should be handled in war crime courts that traditionally exist, rather than special tribunals set up again, to benefit American interests.

Anthony Lawson

My Thoughts as requested

The only way to look at this issue is with hindsight.  Looking at the long list of failed “peace” negotiations; the continual and ongoing theft of Palestinian land; the blockade of Gaza and a hundred-thousand-and-one lesser but just as significant incidents, it is quite clear that Israel is not interested in peace with the Palestinians, nor with the Palestinians having anything to do with a future Israel or even having a separate Palestinian state.

Israel wants it all; its sights are set on hegemony From the Nile to the Euphrates and Beyond.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a fool or totally delusional.

If the United Nations does not do something positive for the Palestinians, and then uphold it with the same vigour that sanctions against Iran are upheld, there will follow a conflict that will end, one way or another, with the total demise of Israel, and the Israelis who survive will be left to work out how to put the blame on everyone else, but themselves.

End