If not now, when? The ‘fiction’ of the two-state solution
Aug 2, 2023
If Palestinian leaders can’t sort out their differences and unite now, when Palestine is at the precipice of disaster, then when?
The title of this article is borrowed from an inspiring and hopeful peace movement amongst young Jews in the United States of America who, after witnessing the brutality of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the continued expansion of that occupation, find themselves bewildered and at a loss to comprehend what they have been supporting. Much of what they have been fed since childhood is not what it seems. They have been mislead; their religion has been highjacked and misused and they now have no alternative but to question the pretence of peace by Israel and the Zionist lobby in America.
They are not alone. This pretence of peace negotiations with the Palestinians was recently magnified by none other than the highly acclaimed New York Times columnist, Tom Friedman. Mr Friedman, a staunch supporter of Israel for decades once famously wrote, “Israel had me at Hello’’. Today that same Friedman is questioning the intentions to forge peace with the Palestinians by both Israel and the United States of America when he wrote in his recent column that the whole peace process and the creation of an independent Palestinian state has been nothing by a ‘shared fiction’ between the United States of America and Israel.
There you have it. This quest for peace and a two-state solution is nothing but a ‘shared fiction’.
At this very moment, Palestinian factions are gathering in Cairo, Egypt to discuss the end of division that has ruled Palestine since 2007, and to put an end to the in-fighting between the various factions for power. The call for this meeting in Cairo was initiated by the so-called President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Mahmoud Abbas after the recent deadly assault on the Jenin Refugee Camp, along with other camps, villages, towns and cities in the West Bank. Mr Abbas visited the camp, promised help, and then did what he usually does which is insist on security coordination with the Israeli occupiers while assisting in the the arrest and detention of resistance fighters, mainly from Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
This continued arrest of freedom fighters for political reasons made Islamic Jihad boycott this forthcoming gathering. They said they would not come unless Mr Mahmoud Abbas honours his promise to release political prisoners. Various Palestinian Authority officials, on the other hand, are saying these detainees are not political prisoners but criminals. So what is the point of this gathering if one of the main factions is missing?
We have seen such attempts at reconciliation many times before and at many Arab capitals around the region. The total sum of these gatherings is zero. Furthermore, Mr Erdogan, the President of Türkiya called for a meeting between Mr Mahmoud Abbas and Mr Netanyahu in Ankara last week. Mr Abbas attended. Mr Netanyahu did not, citing health issues as his excuse. Nothing new here. Mr Netanyahu is at it again. His far-right coalition is openly calling, not only for the annexation of the entire land mass of the West Bank but also the expulsion of all Palestinians. He himself has recently said ,”we must extricate the thought of any Palestinian State from the minds of the Palestinians.” So the ‘fiction’ of the two-state solution has proved to be what it is. A fiction.
We all know how seductive power can be, but fact is fact and fiction is fiction.
If you can’t sort out your differences and unite now, when Palestine is at the precipice of disaster, then when?
Jafar Ramini
Jafar M Ramini is a Palestinian writer and political analyst. He was born in Jenin in 1943 and was five years old when he and his family had to flee the terror of the Haganah Militia. He lived in London for 53 years before coming to Perth two years ago. Justice for the people of Palestine is a life-long commitment.
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