Muhammad Faraz

Palestinian statehood was due for a long time. Now is the time to take decisive action. According to reports Abbas, the President of Palestine Authority is planning to handover the statehood demand to the UN Security Council on Friday 23 September, 2011. Israel, USA and other players are doing their last minute grapple as usual to avoid it. USA has threatened to veto the move. After vetoing the move, USA will lose even the little credibility it has in the Middle East. It will not be able to salvage Israel in future peace deals. All US backed peace deals and road maps have been hoodwinking exercises to justify IsraelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s expansionist agenda and to keep Palestinians divided and stateless. Enough of this rubbish is enough. Palestine must advance its statehood agenda. If Israel can be a state, there is no reason why Palestine shouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t.

If you turn on world news, not a month would pass without violence in Palestine. Israel and Palestine were two equal nations at the time of Independence. Palestine was weak and Israel was strong, militarily. Loads of sympathy that was flowing after the alleged holocaust during WW2 fooled world powers to give into Israeli demands. The truth is holocaust is happening only today committed by Israel on Palestinians! There never was any other holocaust. Millions of outsiders landed in Israel and they started expanding. By 1967 Israel was not enough for them and they expanded in to Palestine. Since then more and more expansions into Palestine were made with new settlements coming up to house outsiders at the expense of Palestinians. When those who are living in the land have no land how can Israel import Eastern Europeans and others to create new settlements? In 1967 Israel forcibly grabbed Jerusalem the capital of Palestine. So far the international community has not done any justice to Palestinians over this war crime. Palestinians ran out of options and took to weapons to safeguard their women and children. Had they not armed themselves, by now there would not be Palestinians. West was harping on democracy to disregard legitimate Palestinian concerns. But when Hamas contested and won elections legally and democratically, the west started playing another tune! USA in particular has been following an inhuman approach to the problem. All US brokered peace deals in the past were about supporting Israeli expansionism and the genocide of Palestinians. USA cannot be trusted anymore. All ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-peaceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ initiatives of the US in future must be thrown to the dustbin without any regard. A few months ago President Obama promised to support the 1967 borders as recognized by the UN as well. But a few days thereafter he changed course. He ate his own words and said it was the opposite he meant! Americans cannot be trusted.

Now the US/Israel axis has started to play a preposterous tone. They argue that Palestinians should come to negotiations and not pursue statehood. What right they have to block another nationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s aspirations? What has negotiations achieved for Palestinians apart from further alienation? What is the meaning of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-two state solutionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Clinton and other jokers are harping about if they cannot support statehood when it matters? Palestinians must flatly refuse to entertain any peace negotiation until statehood is granted. US agents are making threats against the quest for statehood and trying to further disintegrate Palestinians. Israel has pleaded for an immediate round of further worthless peace negotiations.

Palestine has more than enough numbers at the UN General Assembly. Even at the UN Security Council, four out of five permanent members have no objection to Palestinian statehood. The only obstacle is USA. Relatively newer states have gained independence including Bosnia and Kosovo. Why deny it to the Palestinians who have been at the receiving end for the past 63 years for no fault of theirs. Lacking a state of their own meant their interests were totally disregarded by others. No legal action could be taken against international violators of rights of people living in these ever shrinking territories. It is inhuman to deny statehood to Palestine at this late hour.

Middle East is not the same as it was a year ago. Pro-western dictators have fallen from Egypt to Libya and Iraq to Afghanistan. US backed dictators are holding the fort with difficulty in Bahrain and Yemen. They have been replaced by more radical elements. Already the west is finding it difficult to work with them. West will lose face and trust even further if US vetoes Palestine at this juncture. Thereafter it will not be possible for the US to play the policeman in the Middle East. Frustrated freedom fighters in the region may target US interests. In the context of $1.1 trillion debt cuts targeting defence, this will have a ripple effect. Western countries should stop their shameless act now and support the rightful statehood of a people suppressed for centuries by western hegemony. The last three decades saw continued and ever dangerous conflicts fuelled by westerners in Islamic countries. In the 1980s it was Afghanistan War that lasted till the end of the 1980s. The next decade started with the invasion of Iraq. Then sporadic attacks on Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan continued. In the first decade of the 21^st century it was Afghanistan and Iraq. Second decade of the century is dominated by Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and possibly Iran too. Intensity of warfare increased since the 1980s and more and more countries were dragged in to war. At this rate the 2011-2020 decade will be even more dangerous than previous three decades. Give peace a chance in the Middle East. That will make wars needless and the world a safer place. By denying peace and statehood to innocent Palestinians, USA is denying world peace.