The
declaration of a Palestinian state now looms large on the horizon. The direct
talks between Israel and the
Palestinians that started in early September are aimed at resolving all final
status issues, ending the occupation that began in 1967 and establishing an independent,
democratic and viable Palestinian state that would live side by side in peace
and security with Israel.
The Middle East Quartet of the U.S.,
the EU, the UN and Russia
declared that these negotiations could be completed within a year. Back in August
of last year, the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad published a
government programme titled "Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State"
which sets out to achieve Palestinian statehood within two years. In autumn
2011, therefore, the Palestinians might well proclaim their independent state.
Europeans along with the other Quartet members have been full of praise for
Fayyad's approach to building the institutions, infrastructure and economy of a
Palestinian state. Last December, the European Union expressed its explicit
support for the Fayyad Plan, the Quartet having endorsed it in September 2009
and reiterating its support in March of this year.
But neither
the EU nor the Quartet have detailed what their endorsements imply for the
international community. Will the Europeans and their Quartet partners be ready
to push for recognition of the state by the UN Security Council and the General
Assembly, thereby making Palestine
a fully-fledged member of the family of nations? Or will they once more - as
they did when the original interim period provided for by the Oslo Accords was
about to run out in May 1999 - convince the Palestinian leadership that it is
too early to proclaim their State? In the end, European support for Palestinian
state-building that does not include eventual European recognition of a
Palestinian state does not make sense. And it would be contradictory to the
European understanding that the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel would be the best guarantee for Israel's
security and for its recognition as a respected partner in the region.
Palestine already possesses many features of
a state. The State of Palestine declared in Algiers
in 1988 is recognised by some 100 countries, while even more than that
entertain diplomatic relations with Palestine
or with the PLO. Palestine
holds observer status at the United Nations as well as such additional rights
and privileges as the right to participate in general debate. The Palestinian
Authority (PA) is a complete administration. It issues passports as well as
stamps. Yet the PA lacks effective control over Palestine's territory and its borders, and
its decisionmaking powers are all but reduced to self-administration. Palestinian
police need Israeli permission each time they want to move from one Palestinian
city to the other, and every single building project outside these cities (the
West Bank's so-called "A areas"), be it a street or a well, requires a permit
from Israel.
Continue reading the full article at Europe's
World, atlantic-community.org's new partner.
Muriel Asseburg is Head of the Middle East and Africa Division at the
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International
and Security Affairs) in Berlin.
Jan Busse is a Research Assistant of the Middle East and Africa Division
at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for
International and Security Affairs) in Berlin.
Read related material from atlantic-community.org members:
- Ulf Gartzke: Germany Pushing For Religious Freedom in Muslim World
- Editorial Team: Priorities For the Transatlantic Agenda in 2011
- 2
February 2, 2011
Niklas Anzinger, Student of Philosophy & Economics, Platinum Contributor (708)
If Europe and the US would only insist on the Israelis to stop building settlements, it would all be settled in the end. If it only was that easy.
Regardless of the fact that the Israelis performed this advice in the Gaza strip, which is know under rigid theocratical law of Hamas and appears as a platform for massive armament against the Israeli occupation - one has to understand that this does not entail just the Palestinian territories, but the whole state of Israel which is seen as a "illegal settlement".
The progress that has been made recently speaking in terms of tremendous economic growth in the West Bank going hand in hand with constant withdrawal of checkpoints and street blockades by the Israelis, has to be considered instead.
After all this conflict is a problem of the Palestinian narrative, including historical lies and unresolvable demands.