Publications /
Opinion

Back
Revolution Leading to Victory
Authors
July 3, 2020

The unshaven man, who did not let go of his Kalashnikoff while we talked, had been wounded in battles with Israeli troops, and was now hiding in the land that those troops had occupied—the Jordan Valley. Yasser Arafat, whom I met for the first time in the spring of 1968 at his secret base, was then still known as Abu Ammar, willing to sacrifice his life for the liberation of his people dispersed by around the world, particularly in neighboring Arab nations. The 1968 interview, Arafat’s first extensive one-to-one with a foreign publication, documented an optimistic leader of El-Fatah, 38 years old and certain of triumph. “I believe in our revolution and victory, and I am certain that we will recover our stolen land”, said Arafat, later honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for his struggles to achieve peace with Israel. “History is on our side”.

The unshaven man, who did not let go of his Kalashnikoff while we talked, had been wounded in battles with Israeli troops, and was now hiding in the land that those troops had occupied—the Jordan Valley. Yasser Arafat, whom I met for the first time in the spring of 1968 at his secret base, was then still known as Abu Ammar, willing to sacrifice his life for the liberation of his people dispersed by around the world, particularly in neighboring Arab nations. The 1968 interview, Arafat’s first extensive one-to-one with a foreign publication, documented an optimistic leader of El-Fatah, 38 years old and certain of triumph. “I believe in our revolution and victory, and I am certain that we will recover our stolen land”, said Arafat, later honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for his struggles to achieve peace with Israel. “History is on our side”.

More than half a century later history is betraying the Palestinians. The dream of a sovereign state of Palestine is fading away, challenged by Washington and the powers in Jerusalem, which have conspired for years to reduce Palestine to an autonomous entity, unarmed, controlled by Israeli military power and, if needed, through economic strangulation. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supported by Donald Trump, is set to annex up to 30% of Palestinian territory, unlawfully occupied by more than 500 000, mostly orthodox, Jewish settlers. But time could be running out to implement the “opportunity of the century”, as the Israeli leader declared in January at the White House, referring to the integration of Palestinian territory forever into Eretz Yisrael Hashlema or Greater Israel, stretching “from the wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates”. If Donald Trump, the struggling U.S. President, is voted out of office, Joe Biden, the democratic challenger, will reject any annexation of Palestinian territory.

‘Largely Fictitious’

If the plan supported by Trump does proceed “the State of Palestine that would be created would be largely fictitious, with no control over its borders, its security and its population with a completely fragmented and shrinking territory”, according to law professor Francois Dubuisson. He continued: “Losing East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, taking the 1967 lines as a reference[.] the West Bank would become landlocked with Israeli territory, losing its border with Jordan, making it particularly dependent on the good will of the State of Israel, both for the movement of people and goods. The logic of the ‘Plan’ is reminiscent of the Bantustan policy implemented by the South African apartheid regime from the end of the 1970s”. What Mr Netanyahu sees as an historic opportunity the United Nations Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov called a “most serious violation of international law”. The amputation of Palestine would be a travesty of justice, as was the unilateral decision by the United States to declare unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the handing of the occupied (Syrian) Golan Heights to Jerusalem, and the 180-page, so-called Peace to Prosperity plan, “a vision to improve the lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People”, without including the Palestinian authorities in any discussion. In this project Palestine, entrusted by Trump to his son-in-law Jared Kushner, it was decided to ignore the about 800 UN-supported resolutions, supporting the demands of Palestine, and the fact that 138 nations (which have recognized the State of Palestine) support the two-nation solution, a peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine, which is now endangered. The imminent annexation, declared Christiane Amanpour, the legendary CNN anchor, is “the final nail in the coffin”, in which the Palestinian dream will be buried. Israel’s former foreign secretary, Tzipi Livni agreed, stating that if Israel annexed Palestinian territory, it would be making “a huge historical mistake”. The Palestinians will not accept the destruction of their dreams, refusing any compromise on their statehood. Ultimately, Israel may decide to opt for one nation with two people: a Palestinian minority, without rights to participate in national elections, reduced to powerless second-class citizens, challenging in a quasi-permanent intifada the oppressive Israeli authorities.

Amputated Palestine

Should the Palestinians ever accept the American/Israeli offer, it is stated in the plan that the State of Israel will maintain overriding security responsibility for the State of Palestine, with the aspiration that the Palestinians will be responsible for as much of their internal security as possible. To implement this prerogative Israel will have the right to use “blimps, drones and similar aerial equipment for security purposes”, according to Kushner’s plan. The use of such equipment is intended to “reduce the Israeli security footprint within the state of Palestine”, which “implies that ground military intervention will also be possible”, according to Dubuisson. The question is what would remain of Palestine, once 30% of its territory has been integrated into Greater Israel? The capital of the diminished Palestine would be moved beyond the walls of Jerusalem into areas now covered by a refugee camp known as Shuafat, and neighborhoods such as Kafr Aqab or Abu Dis. Palestinian settlements, as Professor Dubuisson wrote, would be “linked together by a very complex road system, totally subjected to Israel’s security responsibility. The West Bank itself would also be enclaved in Israeli territory, with no contiguity with the Jordan border and no access to the waters of the Jordan River or the Dead Sea. The Plan thus has the effect of validating all the Israeli settlements, ignoring their illegal character under international law, and would attribute the Jordan Valley to Israel on the grounds that this region is ‘essential or Israel’s security’ without taking into account the status as ‘occupied Palestinian territory’ or the principle of non-acquisition of territory by force. It is therefore in complete disregard of international law that the borders have been drawn in the plan devised by the U.S. administration”.

How many Arab nations recalled their ambassadors from Israel, and canceled discreet business deals established between Israel, Gulf rulers or Saudi Arabia, when the U.S. handed Jerusalem as a gift to Israel? Will Egypt call off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state once the annexation of Palestinian land turns from plans into reality? Will Jordan, a nation with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, dare to rupture its diplomatic relations with Israel, fearing that Trump will cancel billions in funds? Or will Iran, supporter of the violent Hamas movement in Gaza, ultimately be the only loyal supporter of Palestine, launching another intifada? No, the European Union is preparing sanctions against the Jewish state, if its government advances its annexation of occupied land.

The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    October 23, 2023
    Like many countries of the Global South, South Africa espouses an independent, non-aligned approach to foreign policy. This approach has been criticized during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as a superficial excuse to be ‘soft’ on Russia. Deeper reflection and analysis however, points to a finely calibrated multi-alignment strategy, which allows South Africa to secure its national interests while carefully balancing relations with the United States (U.S.), European Union (EU) and ot ...
  • August 04, 2023
    Migration is a natural human phenomenon, yet the current narrative often centres on security and border management, with little attention paid to origin and transit countries of incoming ...
  • April 14, 2023
    Geographical proximity, historical ties, and cultural and social exchanges largely account for Italy’s enduring engagement with the Maghreb. Abdessalam Jaldi, International Relations Spec ...
  • April 10, 2023
    This policy paper examines India’s growing engagement in North Africa, focusing on five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Despite lacking a distinct regional policy for North Africa, India has amplified its bilateral engagement with these countries, underpinned by a steadfast commitment to the principle of South-South cooperation. Through its strategic moves in North Africa, India has established a powerful southern-west axis for its foreign policy that stretch ...
  • Authors
    September 12, 2022
    Les responsables des États du Maghreb aimaient donner en exemple l’expérience de la Corée du Sud : ils semblaient signifier que grâce à ses périodes autoritaires elle a pu accéder au développement économique, voire à la puissance économique et, du coup, à la démocratie. La Corée du Sud a développé sa présence économique mais aussi politique et culturelle dans les pays de la région maghrébine à partir de plusieurs entrées : les relations avec l’ensemble de la re ...
  • Authors
    Said El Hachimi
    July 27, 2022
    Sleepless nights and the tireless search for compromise allowed WTO members to agree on concrete deliverables during the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference held last June. Those results reinforce Multilateralism. And this is a significant gain given the multiplicity of global crises that surround us. The Outcome include 6 Agreements, Declarations and Ministerial Decisions that respond to some of today's challenges, notably on Fisheries and Ocean Sustainability as well as responses to P ...
  • July 19, 2022
    Les missions militaires de l’Union européenne (UE) en Afrique revêtent aujourd’hui, à l’heure de la réinvention du partenariat euro-africain, une importance considérable. Alors que Bruxelles entend plus que jamais s’imposer comme l’un des garants de la sécurité au niveau mondial, tout en se mesurant aux nouveaux rapports de force mondiaux, elle tient parallèlement à devenir un acteur incontournable en matière de paix, de surcroît motivé par la prolifération des risques ...
  • Authors
    Pascal Chaigneau
    Alain Oudot de Dainville
    Rodolphe Monnet
    Florent Parmentier
    Olivier Tramond
    June 16, 2022
    Les Dialogues stratégiques, une collaboration entre le HEC Center for Geopolitics et le Policy Center for the New South représentent une plateforme d’analyse et d’échange biannuelle réunissant des experts, des praticiens, des décideurs politiques ainsi que le monde universitaire et les médias au service d’une réflexion critique et approfondie sur les tendances politiques mondiales et les grandes questions d’importance commune pour l’Europe et l’Afrique. Cette publication est ...