Today, the
United Nations approved a resolution to lift the Palestinian Authority’s U.N.
observer status from “entity” to “non-member state”. 138 nations voted in favor of the resolution
and 9 voted against it: including the United States and Israel. This resolution will not change
the Israel-Palestine conflict, but it does allow Palestine to join the
International Criminal Court and other UN organizations. The Israeli government stated they would not
treat this as a hostile move as long as the Palestinians do not try to join the
ICC. This was more of a symbolic victory
for the PA and I do not believe they will try to further enrage Israel.
While
raising Palestinian U.N. status does not create a sovereign independent state,
it does recognize the universal right of a Palestinian state to exist. With peace talks non-existent and last weeks
conflict between Israel and Hamas, this is a very important wake up call to
Israelis and Palestinians. By elevating
Palestine from an “entity” to a “state” the international community shows both
of these nations that a two-state solution and peace process must happen.
The status
quo of constant conflict will not be accepted.
As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “Israelis and Palestinians
must break out of a zero-sum mentality, and embrace a peaceful path
forward.” Both sides need to understand
that they will NOT receive 100% of their desired territory / demands to achieve
peace. In the end the prize of peace
will be great than any concessions by either side.
I believe
the United States was on the wrong side of this symbolic victory. Think of the message the US would send to
Israel if it stated that the Palestinian Authority is not just an “entity”, but
also a “state”. As Israeli’s closest friend
and largest supporter, we would say that the peace process MUST begin
again. It is exactly the kind of wake up
call the Netanyahu administration needs.
Unfortunately,
in America’s highly venomous partisan atmosphere any criticism of Israel is branded
as anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli. The
United States supports Israel 100% and only wants to bring peace to the nation
/ region. As Israel’s “best friend” the
US should be in the position to provide constructive criticism. Instead, officials like President Obama have
to constantly claim their support for Israel, because others complain that he
does not stand behind EVERY action Israel makes.
So what
about Hamas? Today Hamas reiterated that
Israel does not have a right to exist.
How can Israel negotiate with an organization that think it should be
wiped off the map? I argued that Israel
should not negotiate with Hamas. Israel
should create a viable peace plan with President Abbas and the Palestinian
Authority. If Israel and the West Bank
can reach a two-state solution, without Gaza, it has many beneficial
consequences. First, it will show Hamas
that NOTHING will be achieved with violence and constant wars. Second, it will bring relevance back to the
PA, Abbas, and the West Bank. Many
pundits claim the big lose in the recent Israel-Gaza conflict is the
Palestinian Authority because the conflict showed how irrelevant the PA
is. It is time to MAKE the PA relevant
again and begin to negotiate a two state peace.
Now as for
the two state solution, who says there has to be TWO states? Imagine one federal state encompassing the
lands of Israel and Palestine, compromised of two states, a Jewish state of
Israel and an Arab state of Palestine.
Israel and Palestine would have their own parliaments as well as a
federal government. The federal
government would force both nations to work together on issues they can agree
on.
Now I know
this is completely hypothetical and will never happen, but the point of this
exercise is to get back to the peace process.
True peace will require concessions, compromise, and innovative ideas
from both sides. All I know is the
status quo is completely unacceptable and if the international community,
United States, Israel, and Palestine do not take this opportunity to forge a
lasting peace, then more generations will grow up believing peace will never
happen.
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