Iran Review

Mohammad Khajouei
M.A. in Middle East Studies 

The multivariable equation involving Palestinians and Israelis is becoming more complicated. In the latest development, after officials of the Palestinian Authority concluded that peace talks were at a deadlock, they owned up to failure of 18 years of negotiations with Israel and called for unilateral establishment of an independent Palestinian state by the United Nations.

It would be probably the bitterest experiences for those who maintained that negotiation was the only way to establish an independent Palestinian state and snubbed at armed struggle to confess that many years of negotiations have born no fruit.

But what is the main reason behind the recent behavior and remarks made by officials of the Palestinian Authority?

It is quite natural for Palestinian authorities, who have witnessed that the United States has failed to make Israel give up its unilateral policies like building new settlements and sit on the negotiating table and who have been seeing a more compromising Washington in the face of Israel, to try to regain their position in an equation which has become quite complicated through obstinacy of Israeli officials.
They know that they are losers and intend to turn the state of affairs in their own favor in order to make the opposite site show more lenience.

Of course, new conduct of Palestinian authorities does not seem to be much different from their past behavior.

Despite owning up to failure of negotiations, they are still trying to resume talks in another way through demanding the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

But can such policies be a trump card for Palestinians and help them gain control of the situation or should they opt for other policies?

Although all Palestinians aspire to see an independent Palestinian state, its realization calls for practical conditions. Otherwise, establishment of such a government would remain on paper, even if recognized by influential powers in the United Nations and will never turn into a reality on the ground.

This issue has been brought up at a time that Israel is still swaying control over lands which have been occupied after 1967 and they are building new Jewish settlements on those lands in clear defiance of regional and international protests. On the other hand, millions of Palestinians are living in asylum in other countries and Israel is not ready to let them back into their homeland. The Israelis are constantly intimidating Palestinian areas and attack them on various grounds killing their people.

Therefore, without a solution to the above problem, establishment of an independent Palestinian state would be nonsense.

It seems now that negotiations have been proven futile, the Israeli side is going on with its occupationist policies with total disregard of international laws, and the United States has not been able to prove its impartiality, the Palestinian side should naturally opt for policies which will put an end to their passivity and enable them to come up with an initiative for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Although negotiations and political process has been always a good means for pursuing legitimate rights, it would be only fruitful when the opposite party respects negotiations and, secondly, both sides have practical supports and trump cards to play with.

At present, Israel has no interest in negotiations and does not respect its rules and uses any opportunity to strengthen its hold on the occupied lands heedless of all international laws and agreements.

On the other hand, the Palestinian side has been true loser of the process. It seems that the Palestinian Authority should team up with other Palestinian groups and avail themselves of their capacities in order to enter the political process with more clout and expect more tangible results. The best policy for them, therefore, is nothing but simultaneous negotiations and resistance. This policy was used by the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, in past years and was quite useful for the Palestinians.