InsIDe: - Palestine Solidarity Campaign

spring2011 editorialpalestine news 3Seize the dayTurmoil in the Middle East andIsrael’s intransigence are creatingopportunities that both the solidaritymovement and the Palestinians mustgrasp with both hands, says BettyHunter.People power in the Middle East is the most importantinternational political development since the fall of the SovietUnion. The outcomes may not yet be clear but the revolutionsand uprisings in so many countries will affect the way that theregion sees itself and the way the people see themselves. The massactions demonstrate a refusal to be under the thumbs of tyrants,monarchs and feudal systems and the people are finding their ownvoices. And those voices will undoubtedly be raised in support ofthe people of Palestine.The end results may not bereplicas of western democracy butthey must meet the aspirations ofthe people for freedom of speech,freedom of choice and economic,social and political development.Palestinian statehood and fullnational, political rights are issueswhich concern all of the populationsin the Middle East, as they see their neighbours’ oppression asa glaring example of the double standards exercised by westerndemocracies. Both established leaders and emerging leaders inthe Middle East will be expected to challenge Israel’s traditionalimpunity.The immediate reaction of the Palestinian Authority totry to suppress Palestinian support for the uprisings seemsincomprehensible, but the exposure through the Palestine Papersand Wikileaks (p6) of the extent of US control cannot be disguised,no matter how many excuses of“context” are raised. The recent USveto in the UN against a resolutionsimply reiterating President Obama’savowed policy of a settlement freezeexposed yet again the intimate,seemingly indissoluble links betweenthe US administration and Israel.We discovered that even aid is usedby the Palestinian marionettes tocreate security for Israel rather thaneconomic and social development forPalestinians.Alastair Crooke in a recent article(p5) describes the success of the IsraeliPSC PATRONS“The impetus for change in theMiddle East must be usedpositively to help change historyfor the Palestinian people”Carlos Latuffstate since the Oslo Accords in creating a situation in which false andmoving parameters have allowed continuous prevarication: not onlyhave facts on the ground been established but divisions among thePalestinian leadership have been intensified.Having been won over to parliamentary democracy, Hamas werepunished for their success in the election with a five-year siege,with devastating humanitarian consequences. And the PA has beenencouraged to turn a blind eye. Siege is a word associated withall-out warfare, yet our governments have allowed the barbarictreatment by Israel of the Palestinians in Gaza to go uncheckeddespite pious resolutions and statements.However, while Israel once expected to enjoy unassailablesupport, the recent UN vote was unanimous — apart from the US.The increasing success of the international campaign to isolateIsrael through boycott, divestment and sanctions has provokedIsrael to pass laws outlawing Israelis and others who are activein boycott campaigns. They are delighted by the recent partialretractions of Judge Goldstone (p21), yet this only demonstrates thelengths to which they will go in hounding critics.A recent BBC international poll showed Israel was rated amongthe least popular countries in the world, with only 21 per centseeing it in a positive light. Thisfigure will no doubt increase asIsraeli intransigence and greed forexpansion continues to be exposedand as the latest killing spree inGaza, callously named OperationScorching Summer, is documentedin horrific detail by the moreindependent TV channels.Since the Israeli governmentrefused to agree to Saeb Erekat’s astonishing concessions, asoutlined in the Palestine Papers, there should be no doubt of theinsincerity of any calls for so-called peace talks from a governmentbent on more settlement building and increasingly violent attackson the besieged people of Gaza. The growing international supportfor Palestine and the impetus for change in the Middle East must beused positively to help change history for the Palestinian people.Richard II from his prison bemoaned: “I have wasted time andnow doth time waste me.” The Palestinian people are all imprisonedby Israel’s occupation and Israel hasbeen allowed to waste the time of thePalestinian people while it builds whatit hopes to be an impregnable Jewishstate.The leaders of all Palestinian partiesand representatives of the grassrootsPalestinian campaigns of resistance mustrecognise that time is running out. Theymust prepare the ground — now — forthe September UN resolution, which willbe calling for recognition of a Palestinianstate, by issuing a broad, united appealto the international community. The worldis ready to hear that call.• Dr. Salman Abu Sitta • John Austin • Tony Benn • Rodney Bickerstaffe • Sir Geoffrey Bindman • VictoriaBrittain • Julie Christie • Caryl Churchill • Jeremy Corbyn MP • Bob Crow • William Dalrymple • PatGaffney • Rev Garth Hewitt • Dr. Ghada Karmi • Bruce Kent • Ken Loach • Lowkey • Kika Markham •Dr. Karma Nabulsi • Prof. Ilan Pappe • Prof. Hilary Rose • Prof. Steven Rose • Alexei Sayle • Keith Sonnet• Ahdaf Soueif • David Thompson • Baroness Tonge of Kew • Dr. Antoine Zahlan • Benjamin Zephaniah