Palestine Bid for Statehood: US-Israel Hegemony

Palestine Bid for Statehood: US-Israel Hegemony

        September 27 2011                                                                                      

The Palestine bid for statehood in United Nations General Assembly has been closely watched by the world. The Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has requested the United Nations to recognize the Palestine an independent state and for its permanent membership in United Nations. The final decision of it will be taken by the Security Council where USA is likely to veto any such resolution which asks independent state of Palestine.  

This move of Palestinian Liberation Authority has been criticized by the Israel and its Allies particularly by the United States. USA has been saying to resolve the issue with mutual consensus between Israel and Palestine without pressing its alley Israel to stop the demolition and confiscation of Palestinian homeland. The Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian land since Britain issued the ‘Balfour Declaration’ in 1917, which stated ‘Britain’s support for the establishment of national homeland for Jewish people in Palestine’. Since 1948, when Israel declared its independence there have been many wars between Arab world and Israel viz. 1948 war, six day war of 1967, the October war of 1973, 1982 in Lebanon and recently in 2006.

The bigger concerns to the Palestinian are the settlement of illegal constructions in West Bank by Israel, demolition of Palestinian’s homeland and their confiscation, issue of millions of refugees who have been forced to leave their homelands, ethnic cleansing, blockade of goods and services to the people of Palestine, and acute human rights violation.

Though, there have been many resolutions, conferences, agreements, negotiations and plans for the settlement of Israel-Palestinian conflict, but all the times Israel has never moved, even an inch, from its longstanding approach and stand. Israel consider any move that will recognize Palestine as a sovereign state as ‘existential threat’ and ‘de-legitimization’ to the state of Israel. It has also apprehension about the nexus of Hamas, which controls the Gaza, with Iran and Hezbollah of Lebanon. But the question still is not what Israel thinks about the security and survival of its state, the bigger questions is its illegitimate occupation and untenable violation of the rights of Palestinian people.

Palestinian people have always compromised with Israel vis-à-vis the resolution of the conflict is concerned. It is Israel which always creates hurdles in the final settlement of the issue. Palestinian’s are ready for the ‘Two-State Solution’ along the borders of the 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. But this concession even is not acceptable to the state of Israel. Ironically, the policy of Israel and USA is riddled with paradoxes. George Bush, Former US President, was perhaps the first American leader to call publicly for a Palestinian state and endorsed Israel’s illegitimate policy of settlement and its violation of international law. Though Obama promised change and reconciliation in his Cairo speech after he took White House, but nothing radical happened. The status quo is unabatedly persistent vis-à-vis US policy on Palestine is concerned.

    The Arab uprising has given new dimension to the Arab-Israel conflict. The democratization and freedom have been the epicenter of the Arab uprising in recent times. This has also impacted the policy of Israel and US in Arab World. Moreover, the Palestinian bid for statehood in United Nations General Assembly has weakened the Israel and US in diplomatic world. It is unlikely that Palestine will achieve any big thing out of it, but it is sure that the Israel-Palestine conflict will receive a new dimension in its history.