One huge step backwards for justice in Palestine

This is the headline that just played on my local TV news channel: “Next up, Israeli Prime Minister gives surprising concessions to the Palestinians.”

Now, this won’t be a post on the extreme bias in the American mainstream media which routinely dehumanizes Palestinians and their experience while unabashedly supporting Israeli lobby interests.  Instead, I would like to look at Netanyahu’s conditions for a Palestinian state in his speech today and explain how these conditions do nothing for a possibility of real justice in Palestine.  This is not a step forward, it a huge step backward.  Netanyahu’s conditions:

1.  A Palestinian state must be demilitarized.

This is a massive infringement upon Palestinian sovereignty.  Israel will still have control over Palestinian airspace, border, and in the case of Gaza, the sea.  But this doesn’t even make sense from an Israeli perspective.  One of the key concerns Israel has with regards to Palestine is that of national security.  Disallowing Palestine to have an army, air force,  navy, etc. is essentially giving what Israel classifies as militants even more of a reason to continue their operations, including rocket attacks and suicide bombers.

2. Palestinian refugees must be resettled outside of Israel.

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state and (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. The right of return, or Al Awda, is not only guaranteed by international law but is also one of the cornerstones of Palestinian solidarity movements.  Denying Al Awda to the thousands of Palestinian refugees is, to say the least, a slap in the face.

3. Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of Israel.

Palestinians have as much of an equal claim to Jerusalem as Israel.  Of course, the most hotly contested part of Jerusalem is the Old City, in which the majority population is Arab.  This further undermines Palestinian hopes for a capital in Jerusalem as well as laying claim to national, historic, and religious rights.  Netanyahu also fails to really address the settlement issue, saying “we have no intention of building new settlements or of expropriating additional land for existing settlements”. This fails to address the uprooting of settlements which have already been built illegally.  In addition, it fails to address the more furtive, and perhaps more dangerous, means of expansion: the now routine demolition of Arab homes in East Jerusalem and the Old City being done under the guise of permit violations.

4. Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

What will happen to the Arab population already living within Israel, comprising around 15% of the population?  The current Arab Israeli population already faces numerous inequalities compared to their Jewish counterparts, for example, with regards to education, marriage, and housing.  Being forced to recognize their country as one for primarily for Jews is racist and extreme.  This would be equivalent to forcing all Americans to recognize that while anyone can live in the US, the country is primarily for white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants.  This is ridiculous.  Israel claims to be a free and democratic country.  How can this be so when the very nature of the state delegitimizes 15% of its population?  The potential fate of Arab Israelis is worrying.

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Netanyahu’s speech effectively squashes virtually all Palestinian aspirations for peace and justice.  His plan denies the right of return, the right to legitimate defense, Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, and a freeze on expansion into Arab neighborhoods- which are all of the main points espoused by Palestinian aspirations.  Some have said that this speech, and Netanyahu’s willingness to negotiate a Palestinian state, is an important step forward.  I believe this is a huge step backwards if true peace and justice are the end goal.  Netanyahu’s conditions only further to dehumanize the Palestinian cause and make it a point to push the real issues, such as Al Awda, to the backburner.  This kind of state will merely be a puppet and another way for Israel to control Palestinians.  In other words, it will be merely be “a flag and a currency”.

I’m hoping that international pressure and resistance will reshape the future of the peace process.  But if this speech is any indicator, it’s not looking good.

You can read the full transcript of Netanyahu’s speech here.

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