The resolution was quite simple. End Israeli occupation in all Palestinian territories by 2017, make East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, and achieve a long term peace deal in the coming 12 months. To restate, the agreement called for an end to the continued creation of settlements and occupation in the few remaining Palestinian territories, which is already a major violation of UN International Law. Also, it would still give Israel 2 more years to continue building these illegal settlements and occupying the West Bank. The deal also called for an imminent peace agreement, which Israel claims to so desperately want, but is somehow rejected for the sake of "avoiding any damage that may be done in creating any future peaceful agreements." This continued rejection of peaceful agreements further emphasizes the likelihood that there will never be a peaceful resolution to this century old conflict. Although several nations have opened their eyes to the issue and have begun to vote in favor of a Palestinian state, the United States continues side with Israel, no matter the issue. From the continued occupation and establishment of settlements across the West Bank, to the complete destruction( physically, mentally, and economically) of Gaza, the U.S continues to support Israel's irresponsible and inhumane actions.
This failed resolution comes as no surprise to the Palestinian people, after an earlier resolution to name Jerusalem a shared capital between both Israel and Palestine also failed. This comes after Secretary of State John Kerry gave up his peace negotiations between the two nations in April. It is obvious why Palestinians are beginning to feel desperate, after continued refusal to become a full member of the United Nations, ongoing rejection of all peaceful agreements put forth, and little action being taken by the international community to prevent Israeli occupation and destruction. If one thing can be taken away from this, it is that the last thing the United States and Israel wants for Palestine is peace. This deal had monumental possibilities to bring peace to a group of people that so desperately need it, and could have marked the beginning of a new era of peace between the Israeli and Arab people. Don't be fooled by Israel and the U.S's claims of wanting to bring peace, when they are the main factor standing in the way of it.
Blame for this continued rejection of peaceful agreements must also be put on the people who continue to create them, which is the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas. Rather than seeking a South African style movement against apartheid including boycotts, protests, and appeals to the International Criminal Court where Israel's war crimes would be put on trial, they continue the fruitless effort for peace between a country that obviously has no interest in it. The reason for the PA's avoidance of putting Israel on trial and creating a worldwide movement against them is their massive funding by the U.S. In short, the PA is just a pawn in Israel and the U.S's game. In order for there to be any possibility of a Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority must put their foot down, or step down from power. The diplomatic route for peace is clearly not working and therefore must be stopped immediately and changed to a justice movement for the Palestinian cause.
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| Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (right) continues to pursue a diplomatic effort for peace, despite obvious failure. The PA refuses to apply to the ICC(International Criminal Court) and charge Israel against war crimes in order to avoid losing their main source of income, the United States. |
WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT ELLIPSES!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha just for you.
DeleteSo you think that Palestine has a right to the occupied territories? Those territories were gained through a legitimate war in 1967 and are thus a spoil of war. So why should Palestine receive them back? Should the U.S. give back the lands they gained in the various Indian wars? Also you appear to have severe disdain for both the UN and Abbas. So how is Palestine supposed to achieve peace? The only other viable method would be through violent measures which at its current state, Palestine is woefully unprepared for a war against Israel as evidenced by the events in the Summer of 2014. You argue that the U.S.'s belief that this goes against peace is complete crap. Well lets say this proposal were to get passed and Palestine get the land back, do you honestly believe that this would stop Hamas? Although you may say it would, I and "the world" would say no. It would only bolster them and encourage them to fight on which directly goes against peace.
ReplyDeleteOk lets take this piece by piece. First off, the territories marked off after the 1967 war have decreased tremendously, mostly due to illegal occupation and expansion that has nothing to do with any war. I complained about the continuing occupation of land Palestine were given after the 1967 war. After the war, certain borders were agreed upon to belong to the Palestinians, and today those have decreased rapidly. I never mentioned anything about giving back land, only ending the occupation in the land that is already chartered to the Palestinians. That being said, I do believe in order to reach any sort of peaceful solution, the extremely unequal distribution of land must be resolved. It is simply inhumane to force 5 million humans and growing into the extreme small areas that Palestine has today, which continue to shrink due to the ongoing occupation and construction of settlements. As to the possibility of peace, I refer you to my previous post where I discuss how a peaceful solution will not happen unless Israel decides to give up huge portions of land, which they will most definitely not do. I only mention long term peace resolutions to bring up what the PA, U.S., and Israel act like they want but in reality only use it to cover up the negative intentions they have with Palestine. Do you think if the most powerful nation in the world wanted peace between anyone, it would take this long? America has the power to force Israel into a peace agreement, however it is not in their best interests to do so. In short, the main barrier of peace is the conflict of interest between the Arab world and the Israeli and American world. However, there are other ways Palestine could push for their independence and to quote Palestinian scholar Diane Buttu "I think what [Abbas] should be doing is a South African-style accountability push, meaning holding Israel accountable for the apartheid they're holding and push for boycotts, for sanctions, for divestment, push for Israel's isolation," Although violence will definitely play a factor in achieving independence, it does not have to be the only way of getting it. To address your last point, if a proposal was to successfully be implemented, which it wont, Hamas may seek more land, but that depends on how much is given. I would make the argument that if 1967 borders were restored, Hamas would not seek to expand but rather control what they already have. You, along with the rest of "the world" are to quick to assume that Hamas only has bad intentions and wants to kill every Israeli and control all of Israel. However this is exactly a reason Israel wont give back any land, which is preventing any resolution so if Palestine was to be fully independent it would require a major violent revolution.
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