BUTTU: The Dangers of Disaggregating Sovereignty

Via A4P

 - April 12, 2010

Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Diana Buttu discusses Palestinian attempts to achieve sovereignty through piecemeal negotiations with Israel since the 1990s.

Editor’s note: Al-Shabaka is the first independent strategy and policy related think tank for Palestinians and by Palestinians  -  a network of policy advisors, who are established scholars and writers.  Please visit the Al-Shabaka website, review policy briefs and share them with others.

 
by Diana Buttu  -  Al-Shabaka – The Palestinian Policy Network -  12 April 2010

Introduction

Israel’s position towards Palestinian sovereignty has remained relatively consistent since its first policy formulation in the 1970s: no sovereignty over the land but limited control over the population. Despite an occasional statement by an outgoing prime minister that Israel did not wish to “control” the Palestinians indefinitely, it espoused the notion of Palestinian “autonomous” but not independent areas on some, but not all, of the lands occupied in 1967.

As noted by Camille Mansour in his Policy Brief, “How Sovereign a State?,” the elements of sovereignty entail control over land, territorial waters, borders, natural resources, and population. Facing external pressure to negotiate with the Palestinians, Israel’s strategy was designed to ensure that these elements of sovereignty remained unaddressed and that it retained control over the Palestinians and their lands. From the limited jurisdiction accorded to the Palestinian Authority (PA), on to the PA’s inability to enter into trade or other international agreements, and down to the minutiae of referring to the PA head as “Ra’is” rather than president, Israel’s strategy has been to focus on and develop the option of limited Palestinian self-rule. Read More…
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