Palestinian responsibility

First, it is necessary to understand that there is no symmetry in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between Israel and Palestine. Israel is the occupier. Palestine is occupied. Israel is strong and Palestine is weak. Israel acts unilaterally and does whatever it wants in complete disregard of international law. Palestine is unable to do anything against Israel because Israel enjoys almost complete immunity in the international community. In the victim struggle between the two sides, the winner is Palestine. I am writing this column by accepting the adage that we should not blame the victim. I don't blame the victim, but I also don't absolve the victim of their responsibility to change their situation.

Let's start with the easy part. elections. The vast majority of Palestinians want elections for a new leadership. The last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (Parliament) were held in 2006. The last elections for a Palestinian president were held in 2005. President Abbas can be the best president in the world, but no president should be in office for long. He certainly should not remain in office for a long time without a clear mandate from the people. As most Palestinians explain to me, the path to the reunification of Palestine, between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, passes through elections. There is an understanding, perhaps even a commitment, that whoever wins those elections is the winner. The Palestinians want an end to the internal division and they want new elected leaders. So, take to the streets and let your voices be heard throughout Palestine. Peace and awe inspire the masses who took to the streets with one slogan: elections!

The second call from me is more complicated and difficult. In the decades that have brought thousands of Israelis and Palestinians together for serious and in-depth discussions and negotiations, it is clear that the two sides relay their messages on different waves. Israelis talk about peace and recognition. They also talk about ending the conflict. Palestinians talk about ending the occupation, freedom, justice and independence. In the recent past, many Palestinian youth also spoke about equality. Many Israelis believe that negotiation and reaching agreements is the best way to reach their goal of peace. Many Palestinians simply want Israel out of their lives and end the occupation. The reality on the ground is that the occupation is becoming more entrenched, new settlements are being built, and old settlements are constantly expanding. The road infrastructure in the West Bank is changing dramatically and rapidly in a way that prevents the survival of a Palestinian state. This has always been the goal of the settlement movement. They may have already achieved this goal, and if not, it will happen soon.

Achieving their goals of achieving justice, independence and equality. They depended for many years on the Arab world. This did not happen. Our message is their hope that the international community will force Israel to end the Israeli occupation. Then the Soviet Union disappeared and the non-aligned countries had nothing but strength to pass empty declarations in the UN General Assembly. Then came the peace process, Madrid, the multilateral talks, Oslo, the bilateral negotiations, the agreements signed - but the house of cards collapsed. The Palestinians received huge sums of money from the United States and the European Union, and many countries provided donor aid, but in retrospect, it enabled Israel to continue a more comfortable occupation and gave the international community the sense that it was in fact helping to end the war. occupation and lead Palestine to freedom. But there was no real pressure on Israel to withdraw or even to stop building settlements. In addition, the Palestinian government has become increasingly corrupt - this is what the Palestinians themselves say.

A month after Sadat's historic visit, the vast majority of Israelis were ready to give up every grain of sand from the Sinai for the sake of peace. Many sandstorms have blown across the Sinai since then, and the Israeli-Egyptian peace is a far cry from the vision of peace that existed in the 1980s, but no Israeli even thinks of taking back the Sinai and giving up peace. The most important lesson from that past experience for the Palestinians must be that the address to speak to is in the neighborhood, in Israel, for the Israeli people. The international community will not come to the rescue - neither the United States, nor the European Union, nor Russia, nor China, nor the United Nations, nor the Arab countries. Yes, it is very likely that Israel will face new pressures as a result of its criminal behavior against the Palestinian people. But this pressure may take many years before it leads to a change in politics and public views in Israel. Yes, Israel has become an apartheid-like state, but before the international community develops an effective political current against Israel, it will be a very long time and the suffering of the Palestinians will certainly increase beyond anything that can be tolerated.

I will not tell the Palestinian people and their leaders what to do and what to say. I know what those Israelis who are genuinely interested in peace and an end to the occupation want and what they would like to hear from them. From time to time I have heard some Palestinians say without fear that, yes, we understand that the Jewish people are "bound to this land." I have heard some Palestinians make clear statements without any if, what, or but - the Holocaust was the greatest crime against humanity ever committed, and we understand the suffering of the Jewish people and their need for real security. I even heard some Palestinians criticizing the Palestinian curricula for teaching hatred against Israel and the Jews, and they called for textbooks to be reformed! This does not mean changing the Palestinian narrative, which is largely based on their suffering at the hands of Israel. But, they say, the curricula should also teach the Palestinian people's desire to live in peace as neighbors of Israel. If the vast majority of Palestinians believe and express these things, I think the Israeli response to them will be very strong and meaningful for our common future here.

Perhaps the next generation of Palestinian leaders, those we know and those we don't, can take some dramatic steps that will have a "Sadat effect" on the Israeli psyche and public opinion. Faisal al-Husayni believed that when he visited the Museum of Ghetto Fighters in Kibbutz Lohamai HaGetaut, there would be a moment of the "Sadat effect". It didn't happen. Rabin and Arafat's handshake was very strong for the Israeli public, but the majority of Israelis still had major reservations about Arafat's true intent - many of his messages were covered in double talk. Clarity of intentions and consequent actions is what is required. I know it is very difficult for occupiers to stand up and find the moral courage and fortitude to take such measures, but I am really afraid that without something along these lines our situation will be much worse than it already is.