Mondoweiss
A bi-national, democratic state is the only option Israel and Kerry has left us
with
Middle East
Jeff Halper on December 29, 2016
A Palestinian woman holds a sign at a demonstration in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood of East Jerusalem to protest the takeover of Palestinian homes by
Jewish Israeli settlers, December 10, 2010.
“Bad Faith and Futile Conflict Management” — that’s the headline I would give
to the extraordinary events of the past couple days: the vote in the UN
Security Council condemning Israeli settlement; Kerry’s speech tonight on the
necessity of saving the two-state solution; and Netanyahu’s reaction to both.
The fact that neither Kerry nor the international community can get beyond the
defunct two-state solution demonstrates two things. First, the only reason the
two-state solution CANNOT be obtained is because of the lack of will of the
international community – with the US at the head – to force Israel out of the
22% of historic Palestine which is occupied. Neither the US nor any other
government nor the UN has ever threatened Israel with meaningful sanctions if
it remained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Why? The US and Europe
imposed severe sanctions on Russia when it took (back) the Crimea. Why is
Israel allowed to keep the OPT? Kerry in his speech even opposed BDS, the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) of civil society. As long as
the will to force Israel out of the OPT is lacking and sanctions ruled out,
Israel wins.
Matrix of control map
Second, governments do not resolve conflicts; they merely manage them or, by
taking sides, make them worse. Just look at Syria. If the two-state solution is
dead, its because the US and all other governments did nothing to stop land
expropriation, settlement building, the imprisonment of the Palestinians in
tiny enclaves of Areas A, B and Gaza, the destruction of Palestinian
agriculture and economy, home demolitions, Israeli highway and infrastructure
construction that has irrevocably incorporated the OPT into Israel proper and
all the rest. Just look at the map I made of Israel’s Matrix of Control and
you’ll see there is nothing left of what would have been a Palestinian state
(Don’t even bother trying to decipher the map, its point is clear.)
Not only did Israel eliminate the two-state solution, but we have what Kerry
warned us about: one apartheid state. Israel has expanded onto 85% of historic
Palestine. The Palestinians, half the population of the country today even
without the return of the refugees, are locked into enclaves on only 10% of the
land – Kerry’s “Swiss cheese” analogy. They lack all civil, national and human
rights.
All this represents bad faith on the part of governments. Like Kerry, they all
talk about “both sides.” It is a false symmetry, and they know it. Palestinian
resistance is labelled “violence” and “terrorism,” while the terrorism of
Israeli settlers towards Palestinians, backed by the official, pro-active state
terrorism of the Israeli army and policies of displacement and home
demolitions, are framed by Kerry & Co. as “legitimate security measures” and
“Israel’s right to defend itself.” That is bad faith. Trying to present a
symmetry between the oppressed and the oppressor, especially when the latter is
a state with one of the most powerful militaries in the world (and a nuclear
power), is not only disingenuous; it is knowingly dishonest.
The policies of every Israel government are also examples of bad faith – though
that of Itzhak Shamir and his clone Netanyahu take the cake. Netanyahu’s
response to both the UN vote and Kerry’s speech was worthy of his other clone’s
(Trump’s) post-truth. The “true” reason the conflict cannot be resolved is not
settlements or occupation, says Netanyahu, but the Palestinian’s refusal to
accept Israel as a Jewish state. (Kerry also echoes this when he says that
Israel can be “Jewish and democratic,” an obvious oxymoron.)
In fact – and its worth focusing on this, because it “pro-Israeli” apologists
will raise it ad naseum – the Palestinians recognized the state of Israel 30
years ago. That was the basis of the Oslo peace process. Netanyahu then raised
the bar: the Palestinians had to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Not only
was no other country asked to do that (not Egypt or Jordan), but such a
recognition would have prejudiced the civil rights of Palestinian citizens of
Israel who are fighting for equal rights in a normal democracy. And what the
character of Israel is should be an internal matter, not one Palestinian
non-citizens should determine. Whether the US will become officially a White
Christian ethnocracy or struggle to retain its multiculturalism is of concern
to everyone. But it is a matter for Americans to decide, not others. Demanding
that the Palestinian recognize Israel as “Jewish” is simply another trick of
Netanyahu’s to blame the Palestinians for the stalemate. The Obama
Administration bought it. Interestingly, when Netanyahu first suggested this to
Bush and Condoleeza Rice, he was laughed out of their offices.
Suffice it to say that a just peace will not come from Israel (bad faith) or
governments (conflict management mixed with bad faith), or from the
collaborationist Palestinian Authority. (It is truly sad but telling that
rather than lending his voice to the discussion Abbas simply sent a one-liner
saying he would resume negotiations if Israel stopped settlement construction.
The PA is not even in the game.) A just resolution will only come when
Palestinians and their Israeli allies come together pro-actively, in good faith
and with a determination to resolve the situation justly. And it will take the
form of a one-state solution – a bi-national, democratic state – because that
is the only option Israel and Kerry have left us with.
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A bi-national, democratic state is the only option Israel and Kerry has left us
with
Middle East
Jeff Halper on December 29, 2016 13 Comments
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A Palestinian woman holds a sign at a demonstration in the Sheikh Jarrah
neighborhood of East Jerusalem to protest the takeover of Palestinian homes by
Jewish Israeli settlers, December 10, 2010.
“Bad Faith and Futile Conflict Management” — that’s the headline I would give
to the extraordinary events of the past couple days: the vote in the UN
Security Council condemning Israeli settlement; Kerry’s speech tonight on the
necessity of saving the two-state solution; and Netanyahu’s reaction to both.
The fact that neither Kerry nor the international community can get beyond the
defunct two-state solution demonstrates two things. First, the only reason the
two-state solution CANNOT be obtained is because of the lack of will of the
international community – with the US at the head – to force Israel out of the
22% of historic Palestine which is occupied. Neither the US nor any other
government nor the UN has ever threatened Israel with meaningful sanctions if
it remained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Why? The US and Europe
imposed severe sanctions on Russia when it took (back) the Crimea. Why is
Israel allowed to keep the OPT? Kerry in his speech even opposed BDS, the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) of civil society. As long as
the will to force Israel out of the OPT is lacking and sanctions ruled out,
Israel wins.
Matrix of control map
Second, governments do not resolve conflicts; they merely manage them or, by
taking sides, make them worse. Just look at Syria. If the two-state solution is
dead, its because the US and all other governments did nothing to stop land
expropriation, settlement building, the imprisonment of the Palestinians in
tiny enclaves of Areas A, B and Gaza, the destruction of Palestinian
agriculture and economy, home demolitions, Israeli highway and infrastructure
construction that has irrevocably incorporated the OPT into Israel proper and
all the rest. Just look at the map I made of Israel’s Matrix of Control and
you’ll see there is nothing left of what would have been a Palestinian state
(Don’t even bother trying to decipher the map, its point is clear.)
Not only did Israel eliminate the two-state solution, but we have what Kerry
warned us about: one apartheid state. Israel has expanded onto 85% of historic
Palestine. The Palestinians, half the population of the country today even
without the return of the refugees, are locked into enclaves on only 10% of the
land – Kerry’s “Swiss cheese” analogy. They lack all civil, national and human
rights.
All this represents bad faith on the part of governments. Like Kerry, they all
talk about “both sides.” It is a false symmetry, and they know it. Palestinian
resistance is labelled “violence” and “terrorism,” while the terrorism of
Israeli settlers towards Palestinians, backed by the official, pro-active state
terrorism of the Israeli army and policies of displacement and home
demolitions, are framed by Kerry & Co. as “legitimate security measures” and
“Israel’s right to defend itself.” That is bad faith. Trying to present a
symmetry between the oppressed and the oppressor, especially when the latter is
a state with one of the most powerful militaries in the world (and a nuclear
power), is not only disingenuous; it is knowingly dishonest.
The policies of every Israel government are also examples of bad faith – though
that of Itzhak Shamir and his clone Netanyahu take the cake. Netanyahu’s
response to both the UN vote and Kerry’s speech was worthy of his other clone’s
(Trump’s) post-truth. The “true” reason the conflict cannot be resolved is not
settlements or occupation, says Netanyahu, but the Palestinian’s refusal to
accept Israel as a Jewish state. (Kerry also echoes this when he says that
Israel can be “Jewish and democratic,” an obvious oxymoron.)
In fact – and its worth focusing on this, because it “pro-Israeli” apologists
will raise it ad naseum – the Palestinians recognized the state of Israel 30
years ago. That was the basis of the Oslo peace process. Netanyahu then raised
the bar: the Palestinians had to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Not only
was no other country asked to do that (not Egypt or Jordan), but such a
recognition would have prejudiced the civil rights of Palestinian citizens of
Israel who are fighting for equal rights in a normal democracy. And what the
character of Israel is should be an internal matter, not one Palestinian
non-citizens should determine. Whether the US will become officially a White
Christian ethnocracy or struggle to retain its multiculturalism is of concern
to everyone. But it is a matter for Americans to decide, not others. Demanding
that the Palestinian recognize Israel as “Jewish” is simply another trick of
Netanyahu’s to blame the Palestinians for the stalemate. The Obama
Administration bought it. Interestingly, when Netanyahu first suggested this to
Bush and Condoleeza Rice, he was laughed out of their offices.
Suffice it to say that a just peace will not come from Israel (bad faith) or
governments (conflict management mixed with bad faith), or from the
collaborationist Palestinian Authority. (It is truly sad but telling that
rather than lending his voice to the discussion Abbas simply sent a one-liner
saying he would resume negotiations if Israel stopped settlement construction.
The PA is not even in the game.) A just resolution will only come when
Palestinians and their Israeli allies come together pro-actively, in good faith
and with a determination to resolve the situation justly. And it will take the
form of a one-state solution – a bi-national, democratic state – because that
is the only option Israel and Kerry have left us with.
