Israel and Palestine… While the first one is an acclaimed State, the second one is yet to get a Statehood. It had tried hard to become a State, but failed. It is difficult to predict whether Palestine would emerge as a State in the coming years.

Way back in 1978, Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (popularly known as Yasser Arafat; August 4/24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) from 1969 to 2004 and the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004, met the then President of Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu (February 5, 1918 – December 25, 1989), in Bucharest. During their meeting, Arafat reportedly said that it might never be possible for Palestine to become a State, literally. Even if it becomes possible, Palestine will be considered as a Failed State from day one, he reportedly mentioned.

Arafat used to believe that Palestine had no traditional orientation, unity or discipline necessary for Statehood. Therefore, he, as a leader, never guided the Palestinian Freedom Struggle on the basis of any particular principle. Addressing the UN General Assembly in 1974, Arafat had stated: “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: Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.” Incidentally, the olive branch did fall from his hand. The Palestinian Freedom Movement, under the leadership of Arafat, had been quite violent for a certain period of time.

Later, Arafat took a surprising U-turn in recognition of which he was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1994). Still, Palestine did not become a State. Instead, the lack of unity among the Palestinians (as mentioned by Arafat) became apparent.

The creation of Israel was an attempt to relieve the subconscious of guilt, as entire Europe was indirectly responsible for the horrific holocaust that had taken place in Nazi Germany. Western imperialism got the desired relief after the creation of Israel. However, the West disorganised millions of Arab populations by creating a separate State for the Jews, making the Arabs homeless. The Jewish resettlement project was built on their soil. A year after creating Pakistan by dividing the Indian Subcontinent, the British imperialists initiated the birth of Israel. With this, they sowed the seeds of a conflict, and the world is still witnessing its bloody consequences.

The West considers the Palestinian Hamas Movement as a terrorist organisation. It is a fact that the civilised world cannot support the activities of this outfit. However, it is necessary to find the root cause of the Israel-Palestine conflict. What is happening now is not an armed conflict to increase dominance of one warring party over the other, but the implosion of frustration generated by seven decades of Israeli colonial rule over Palestine. The Palestinians have been oppressed enough for the last seven decades. Hence, they have no other option, but to use weapons against the Israeli Forces.

In 1992, Edward Wadie Said (b. November 1, 1935), a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, political activist and a Professor of Literature at Columbia University, had said: “The task for the Palestinian people is still to assure its presence on the land, and, by a variety of means, to persuade the Israelis that only a political settlement can relieve the mutual siege, the anguish and insecurity of both peoples. There is no other acceptable secular – that is, real – alternative.” The word “still” is still relevant as far as the Israel-Palestine issue is concerned.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das