This is NOT Recognition
As the recognition by European countries of a so called “State of Palestine” continues, it is becoming obvious that this is nothing but an old colonial trick dusted and reused. The fact that liberal Zionist hypocrites the likes of the Israeli writers Amoz Oz and David Grossman are all over it says it all. In the triangular relations between the Europeans, the colonial regime in Palestine – Israel, and the Palestinians, all remains the same.
As usual, the Europeans profit, Israel is permitted to continue its brutal colonial regime over Palestine, and the Palestinians remain alone. The recognition of the “State of Palestine” is nothing more than what Franz Fanon calls “the farce of national independence” (Franz Fanon, “The Wretched of the Earth”). It provides for a select group of Palestinians the illusion of power with titles like “President” “Minister” “Ambassador,” the all time favorite “Head of Security” and it absolves Europeans of their complicity with Israel.
There is now, according to some European countries, a Palestinian state. Look, there must be one for even Britain and Sweden and a few others have recognized it, and they even have a “President!” Never mind the fact that nothing has changed. Gaza is still under siege with no end in sight, Palestinian prisoners are wasting away in the colonizers jails, armed Israeli mobs and the terrorist organization known as the IDF are terrorizing Palestinians, in the Israeli Knesset racist laws are being passed and not one refugee is allowed to return. We would all be wise to remember that the recognition of a “State” that does not exist in order to numb the resistance to a racist, colonialist regime is not new, it has been used by Europeans in Africa and former colonies in other parts of the world and it is always welcomed by liberals among the colonialists.
Israelis who are free and enjoy the privileges of the racist regime in Palestine like to remember people like my father, the retired General Matti Peled, and others like him who while remaining Zionists called for the right of Palestinians to self determination, but only within a small area, defined by Israel of course, so that we can maintain our racist regime and still feel enlightened all at the same time.
It works well for those who do condemn Israel and its policies but still want to see the state of Israel as part of the solution. We hear that the “Two States” are the first step to a single, unified democracy, a statement that only demonstrates the ignorance of those who express it.
In Palestine, speaking out against injustice is no longer enough. In fact it was never enough. As people of conscience we must act for the removal of the injustice and its replacement with a free, democratic system. But many forget that in order to achieve this there must be a struggle. A real struggle, and not some intellectualized version of a struggle as is often suggested by some Israeli liberals, is the only way to defeat racist, colonialist regimes.
Liberal Zionists, and even some who are progressive seek to continue to talk and to debate, which is why they like organizations like the Palestinian Authority, and the various NGOs that have sprouted in Palestine. They reduce the struggle to a philosophical – political debate on the issues of human rights and self-determination. They allow people to live in the illusion that colonialism can be resolved around the negotiating table. They promote the deception that if only young Palestinian boys and girls could meet and play with young Israeli boys and girls at a summer camp, then one day all will be well. But the young Israelis return and serve in the brutal armed forces of the colonial regime and the young Palestinians return to the refugee camps, the various concentration camps and open air prisons that Israel has created for them, and to being unwanted residents in their own land.
But, as Franz Fanon writes in “The Wretched of the Earth,” “Colonialism is not a machine capable of thinking, a body endowed with reason. It is naked violence and only gives in when confronted by greater violence.” My father and the other liberal Zionists were wrong then and their successors are wrong now. For there is no way to stop the colonial machine once it has started. You cannot contain its insatiable hunger, its lust for power and its brutal force. That is why a “Zionist peace camp” is a sham, that is why there is no possibility of peace with the apartheid regime known as Israel.
European governments never liked people who were not white and Christian like them. They have a history of brutal colonialism, of theft of land and resources and one wonders if Africa and parts of the Middle East would not have been prospering democracies by now had it not been for the murderous, greedy policies of past colonizers. Those of us who care and indeed struggle for justice in Palestine would do well not to fall for the old colonial tricks. Rather we should demand recognition that Israel is occupied Palestine, that all Israeli towns and cities are illegal settlements, and that it is time to free Palestine and its people from the illegitimate colonialist regime known as Israel.
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As the recognition by European countries of a so called “State of Palestine” continues, it is becoming obvious that this is nothing but an old colonial trick dusted and reused. The fact that liberal Zionist hypocrites the likes of the Israeli writers Amoz Oz and David Grossman are all over it says it all. In the triangular relations between the Europeans, the colonial regime in Palestine – Israel, and the Palestinians, all remains the same.
As usual, the Europeans profit, Israel is permitted to continue its brutal colonial regime over Palestine, and the Palestinians remain alone. The recognition of the “State of Palestine” is nothing more than what Franz Fanon calls “the farce of national independence” (Franz Fanon, “The Wretched of the Earth”). It provides for a select group of Palestinians the illusion of power with titles like “President” “Minister” “Ambassador,” the all time favorite “Head of Security” and it absolves Europeans of their complicity with Israel.
There is now, according to some European countries, a Palestinian state. Look, there must be one for even Britain and Sweden and a few others have recognized it, and they even have a “President!” Never mind the fact that nothing has changed. Gaza is still under siege with no end in sight, Palestinian prisoners are wasting away in the colonizers jails, armed Israeli mobs and the terrorist organization known as the IDF are terrorizing Palestinians, in the Israeli Knesset racist laws are being passed and not one refugee is allowed to return. We would all be wise to remember that the recognition of a “State” that does not exist in order to numb the resistance to a racist, colonialist regime is not new, it has been used by Europeans in Africa and former colonies in other parts of the world and it is always welcomed by liberals among the colonialists.
Israelis who are free and enjoy the privileges of the racist regime in Palestine like to remember people like my father, the retired General Matti Peled, and others like him who while remaining Zionists called for the right of Palestinians to self determination, but only within a small area, defined by Israel of course, so that we can maintain our racist regime and still feel enlightened all at the same time.
It works well for those who do condemn Israel and its policies but still want to see the state of Israel as part of the solution. We hear that the “Two States” are the first step to a single, unified democracy, a statement that only demonstrates the ignorance of those who express it.
In Palestine, speaking out against injustice is no longer enough. In fact it was never enough. As people of conscience we must act for the removal of the injustice and its replacement with a free, democratic system. But many forget that in order to achieve this there must be a struggle. A real struggle, and not some intellectualized version of a struggle as is often suggested by some Israeli liberals, is the only way to defeat racist, colonialist regimes.
Liberal Zionists, and even some who are progressive seek to continue to talk and to debate, which is why they like organizations like the Palestinian Authority, and the various NGOs that have sprouted in Palestine. They reduce the struggle to a philosophical – political debate on the issues of human rights and self-determination. They allow people to live in the illusion that colonialism can be resolved around the negotiating table. They promote the deception that if only young Palestinian boys and girls could meet and play with young Israeli boys and girls at a summer camp, then one day all will be well. But the young Israelis return and serve in the brutal armed forces of the colonial regime and the young Palestinians return to the refugee camps, the various concentration camps and open air prisons that Israel has created for them, and to being unwanted residents in their own land.But, as Franz Fanon writes in “The Wretched of the Earth,” “Colonialism is not a machine capable of thinking, a body endowed with reason. It is naked violence and only gives in when confronted by greater violence.” My father and the other liberal Zionists were wrong then and their successors are wrong now. For there is no way to stop the colonial machine once it has started. You cannot contain its insatiable hunger, its lust for power and its brutal force. That is why a “Zionist peace camp” is a sham, that is why there is no possibility of peace with the apartheid regime known as Israel.
European governments never liked people who were not white and Christian like them. They have a history of brutal colonialism, of theft of land and resources and one wonders if Africa and parts of the Middle East would not have been prospering democracies by now had it not been for the murderous, greedy policies of past colonizers. Those of us who care and indeed struggle for justice in Palestine would do well not to fall for the old colonial tricks. Rather we should demand recognition that Israel is occupied Palestine, that all Israeli towns and cities are illegal settlements, and that it is time to free Palestine and its people from the illegitimate colonialist regime known as Israel.
-----
Statement by the Palestinian Leadership – Sunday December 14th 2014
Ramallah, Occupied Palestine
(Unofficial Translation)
The Palestinian leadership held a meeting on Sunday 14.12.2014, chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas, in the city of Ramallah to discuss the issues and challenges confronting the Palestinian people during this critical and exceptional period.
The leadership affirms that Israel is fully responsible for the assassination of the great martyr Ziad Abu Ein. We extend our gratitude to calls made by various countries and international bodies, including the UN Security Council, for meeting their responsibilities by insisting that the perpetrators be held accountable and forming an international independent commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances of Abu Ein’s death, as well as the rejection of all Israeli excuses and misleading attempts to evade responsibility for the crime.
The Palestinian leadership calls for this commission of inquiry to be formed quickly and international accountability for the assassination of Minister Ziad Abu Ein to be realized through a competent international tribunal. The leadership also emphasizes the need to develop all forms of non-violent popular resistance against the occupation across Palestine in the face of settlement activity and to defend the land as well as national and human rights. The leadership also stresses the importance of strengthening Palestinian unity and cohesion in this critical period, mobilizing all national and popular efforts to protect Jerusalem and the soil of our homeland, and deterring the Israeli policy of Apartheid by steadfastness.
Therefore, the Palestinian leadership calls for accelerating the formation of all the organizations that would ensure the provision of all the elements of popular unity in order to defend our national destiny, our land and our holy Islamic and Christian sites, and to strengthen nonviolent popular resistance.
The Palestinian leadership decided to submit the Palestinian – Arab draft resolution for a vote in the Security Council on Wednesday following the upcoming meeting between Arab foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and European Ministers on Tuesday. The resolution demands an end of the Israeli occupation of all territories occupied in 1967 and sets a timeframe to complete the withdrawal of the occupation. The Palestinian – Arab draft resolution should contain all the elements enclosed in the Arab Peace Initiative and our national fixed principles, including the identification of East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and an integral part of our land as well as guaranteeing the right of refugees based on UN General Assembly resolution 194.
The Palestinian leadership applauds the resolutions passed by European and Latin American parliaments urging their respective governments to officially recognize the State of Palestine.
In this regard, we applaud the Socialist International resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional recognition of the State of Palestine by all governments led by the socialist parties. These resolutions attest to the overwhelming popular support around the world for the rights of our people and rejection of the colonialist and racist approach and the system of apartheid imposed by the Israeli government in our homeland, which denies our people of their right to freedom and independence.
The Palestinian leadership also appreciates the initiative in the European Parliament for European recognition of the State of Palestine, and calls on all parliamentary political groups that will vote next Wednesday to finalize a collective decision to support this recognition.
The leadership expresses its appreciation for Switzerland’s decision to host a meeting on December 17 of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to examine the application of the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This conference will draw attention to Israel’s violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. This conference is also part of growing international efforts to confront Israel’s racial discrimination, including seizure of land, settlement construction and expansion, house demolitions, destruction of infrastructure, looting of natural resources, and violations of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
The Palestinian leadership asserts that all of these developments prove that the world shares our core goal of ending the occupation and our use of non-violent resistance to accomplish this goal. Therefore, the Palestinian leadership will work to develop the popular struggle and will use all political and diplomatic means to end the occupation of the State of Palestine that is a Non-member State of the United Nations and of all regional and international bodies.
In this framework, the Palestinian leadership directed the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Government institutions to take all necessary steps to consolidate the status of the State of Palestine on the ground and to re-examine all links with the Occupying Power that are inconsistent with the State of Palestine’s sovereignty over its territory, including all forms of coordination which Israel is exploiting to impede the exercise of sovereignty over our land and deny the rights of our people.
The Palestinian leadership emphasizes that it will continue to work on the rapid and continuous implementation of Gaza reconstruction program through the national consensus government and its specialized institutions, and calls on all parties to remove obstacles and barriers that could prevent the completion of this program, since the occupation state is seeking to take advantage ofall internal differences to disrupt the reconstruction process.
The leadership also calls on all factions and parties, without exception, to mobilize their efforts to strengthen the cohesion and unity among them across the country and to move seriously towards fulfilling the requirements of achieving national reconciliation without any delay.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
Ramallah, Occupied Palestine
(Unofficial Translation)
The Palestinian leadership held a meeting on Sunday 14.12.2014, chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas, in the city of Ramallah to discuss the issues and challenges confronting the Palestinian people during this critical and exceptional period.
The leadership affirms that Israel is fully responsible for the assassination of the great martyr Ziad Abu Ein. We extend our gratitude to calls made by various countries and international bodies, including the UN Security Council, for meeting their responsibilities by insisting that the perpetrators be held accountable and forming an international independent commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances of Abu Ein’s death, as well as the rejection of all Israeli excuses and misleading attempts to evade responsibility for the crime.
The Palestinian leadership calls for this commission of inquiry to be formed quickly and international accountability for the assassination of Minister Ziad Abu Ein to be realized through a competent international tribunal. The leadership also emphasizes the need to develop all forms of non-violent popular resistance against the occupation across Palestine in the face of settlement activity and to defend the land as well as national and human rights. The leadership also stresses the importance of strengthening Palestinian unity and cohesion in this critical period, mobilizing all national and popular efforts to protect Jerusalem and the soil of our homeland, and deterring the Israeli policy of Apartheid by steadfastness.
Therefore, the Palestinian leadership calls for accelerating the formation of all the organizations that would ensure the provision of all the elements of popular unity in order to defend our national destiny, our land and our holy Islamic and Christian sites, and to strengthen nonviolent popular resistance.
The Palestinian leadership decided to submit the Palestinian – Arab draft resolution for a vote in the Security Council on Wednesday following the upcoming meeting between Arab foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and European Ministers on Tuesday. The resolution demands an end of the Israeli occupation of all territories occupied in 1967 and sets a timeframe to complete the withdrawal of the occupation. The Palestinian – Arab draft resolution should contain all the elements enclosed in the Arab Peace Initiative and our national fixed principles, including the identification of East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and an integral part of our land as well as guaranteeing the right of refugees based on UN General Assembly resolution 194.
The Palestinian leadership applauds the resolutions passed by European and Latin American parliaments urging their respective governments to officially recognize the State of Palestine.
In this regard, we applaud the Socialist International resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional recognition of the State of Palestine by all governments led by the socialist parties. These resolutions attest to the overwhelming popular support around the world for the rights of our people and rejection of the colonialist and racist approach and the system of apartheid imposed by the Israeli government in our homeland, which denies our people of their right to freedom and independence.
The Palestinian leadership also appreciates the initiative in the European Parliament for European recognition of the State of Palestine, and calls on all parliamentary political groups that will vote next Wednesday to finalize a collective decision to support this recognition.
The leadership expresses its appreciation for Switzerland’s decision to host a meeting on December 17 of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to examine the application of the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This conference will draw attention to Israel’s violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. This conference is also part of growing international efforts to confront Israel’s racial discrimination, including seizure of land, settlement construction and expansion, house demolitions, destruction of infrastructure, looting of natural resources, and violations of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
The Palestinian leadership asserts that all of these developments prove that the world shares our core goal of ending the occupation and our use of non-violent resistance to accomplish this goal. Therefore, the Palestinian leadership will work to develop the popular struggle and will use all political and diplomatic means to end the occupation of the State of Palestine that is a Non-member State of the United Nations and of all regional and international bodies.
In this framework, the Palestinian leadership directed the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Government institutions to take all necessary steps to consolidate the status of the State of Palestine on the ground and to re-examine all links with the Occupying Power that are inconsistent with the State of Palestine’s sovereignty over its territory, including all forms of coordination which Israel is exploiting to impede the exercise of sovereignty over our land and deny the rights of our people.
The Palestinian leadership emphasizes that it will continue to work on the rapid and continuous implementation of Gaza reconstruction program through the national consensus government and its specialized institutions, and calls on all parties to remove obstacles and barriers that could prevent the completion of this program, since the occupation state is seeking to take advantage ofall internal differences to disrupt the reconstruction process.
The leadership also calls on all factions and parties, without exception, to mobilize their efforts to strengthen the cohesion and unity among them across the country and to move seriously towards fulfilling the requirements of achieving national reconciliation without any delay.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
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