Palestine And the Peace Settlement?
By
Dr Abd El-Moneim Saeed, Tr. New Age Islam
Translated
from Arabic by Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
The
article discusses the Gaza crisis, a contentious issue in the ongoing conflict
between Israel and Palestinians. It highlights the need for a strong Arab
stance to resolve the issue, ensuring only one Palestinian national authority
can legitimately represent the Palestinian people. The article suggests reforms
for the Israeli government, including removing radical right-wing parties,
promoting international aid, a two-state solution, maintaining institutional
resilience, and maintaining a demographic balance between Israelis and
Palestinians.
Main
Points
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· Israel is launching its largest-ever
siege operation against Gaza, aiming to eliminate the Hamas movement, causing
tension in the current situation.
· The Nakba scenes were repeated in Gaza
and the West Bank, prompting questions about improving conditions and
preventing war from escalating into a regional conflict.
· The Palestinian crisis requires a
strong Arab stance to ensure only one Palestinian national authority can
legitimately represent the Palestinians and "privatize" the national
decision-making process regarding war and peace.
· The United States and Western powers
are key in resolving the crisis.
-----------
I am
writing this article from Riyadh, where I arrived before the emergency Arab
summit at the gracious invitation of the Saudi Ministry of Information and the
Al-Arabiya News Channel. I was brought in to discuss the Gaza crisis and how it
affects the Palestinian cause. There have never been more turbulent times than
these we are living in, as Israel is carrying out its largest-ever siege
operation against the entire Gaza population, with the primary objective being
the elimination of the Hamas movement, which has dealt Israel, its soldiers,
and civilians the greatest blows in the recent history of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, resulting in 1,400 casualties and 240 prisoners.
The
issue that has dominated discussions of the Fifth Gaza War originated with the
Israeli ground invasion of the Strip, which followed an air invasion that drove
over a million people from northern Gaza to its southern region, killing over
10,000 and injuring many more, as well as damaging thousands of buildings and
other infrastructure, including medical facilities. Nevertheless, settlers in
the West Bank seized the chance to kill close to 500 Palestinians and drive
them out of thirteen West Bank villages.
The
scenes of the Nakba were practically repeated in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Secondly, whether it is possible to improve conditions by allowing moments of
calm to carry out relief and humanitarian support work. Equally crucial is
preventing the war from evolving into a comprehensive regional war involving
armed groups that are sufficiently hostile to wage a protracted war. Thirdly,
consider the much-discussed “next day” that follows the ceasefire and the
release of the prisoners. Additionally, consider how the Gaza Strip can be
administered under the presumption that “Hamas” will become unfit to exercise
authority over the Strip.
The
three dimensions of the Palestinian issue emerged starting with the Arab Summit
session, which assembled foreign ministers, ministers dealing with information
and warfare, and others for consultation between Arab parties—each based on
their disagreements with the perennial Palestinian issue among Arabs—as well as
between these parties, the United States, and the various Western powers in
Europe. Nevertheless, it is clear that Washington was the flagbearer of the
West in this crisis, which US President Joe Biden addressed, as well as the
pillars of his administration, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Defence, National Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The Arab
summit process began amid the cacophony of diplomatic and political demands and
was followed by an Arab-Islamic summit. There is little question that the
Palestinian cause will garner substantial backing, both material and moral, at
the level of these two summits. More challenging is figuring out a way to end
the conflict and crisis in a way that stops additional conflicts and crises
from starting.
Here,
a number of factors must be met in order for the problem to be resolved;
otherwise, the harmful liquidity scenario that currently exists will persist
and become more combustible. The first requirement is that there must be an
immediate and strong Arab stance that, so long as the Arabs are obliged to
support their brothers in Palestine, only one Palestinian national authority can
legitimately represent the Palestinian people, and that authority alone can
"privatise" the national decision-making process regarding matters of
war and peace.
However,
in order to establish a condition of demographic balance between Palestinians
and Israelis, the Israeli government must be changed to remove the right-wing
parties, some of which have grown so extreme as to openly declare their
intention to bring about another Nakba [a great tragedy] for the Palestinian
people.
Although
it may appear unfeasible, the Israeli and Palestinian parties will view it as
meddling in their domestic matters. However, this is the fundamental purpose of
political and diplomatic efforts, as agreements can be made to move the matter
in the direction of resolving the conflict and eventually arrive at a two-state
solution that is supported by all significant international actors. Summit
decisions might reflect a rejection of extremism on all sides, as the
declaration of the nine countries following the peace conference in Cairo
earlier stated. A complete settlement can also be accepted by highlighting the
readiness to cope with institutional forces. Confirming that the world is no
longer prepared to tolerate any forms of extremism that endanger both regional
and global security can also be accomplished through working with international
parties.
The
second prerequisite is that, regardless of what happens during the impending
time of political and diplomatic disagreements, the significance of advancing
the reform initiatives already underway in various Arab countries must be
highlighted. The opportunity to witness the depth of the reform process that
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing was provided by the attendance in the
Kingdom. This was demonstrated not only by the enormous projects that are being
carried out but also by the calibre of individuals and youth, particularly men
and women. Before then, I had left Cairo, and not a single national project had
been shelved in spite of the economic crisis.
Attending
the event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided an opportunity to witness the
depth of the reform process that is currently underway in the Kingdom. This was
demonstrated not only by the enormous projects that are being carried out but
also by the calibre of individuals and youth, particularly men and women.
This
is the situation in several Arab nations that ratified the Cairo Declaration,
which forbade the slaughter of civilians and called for a two-state
solution-based peaceful resolution. Presumably, it serves as the primary
safeguard against radical elements, be they Israeli or Palestinian, and has the
ability to establish elevated degrees of regional collaboration that offer
substitutes for tacit collaboration among extremist factions inside the region.
It is
important to remember that the catastrophe that the Arab summits are dealing
with was caused by a coalition of regional powers that started a war to block
the way for development and rehabilitation. If previous Arab generations fell
for the lofty words and ideas of extremist movements, losing decades of
advancement and wealth in the process, then history will hold the current
generations responsible if they miss this chance.
…
Arabic
Article: فلسطين والتسوية السلمية؟
…
Dr
Abd El-Moneim Saeed is a prominent Egyptian academic, journalist, and author.
He serves as a member of the Egyptian Senate, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Al-Masry Al-Youm Journalism Foundation, and a member of the Egyptian
Shura Council. Saeed has written for various Arab newspapers and has been an
academic at Egyptian universities and institutes. He has also served as a
visiting fellow at Brandeis University in the United States.
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URL:
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