What Do the Palestinians Want?

Abstract

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 43, No.3, Spring 2020 What Do the Palestinians Want? Sam Bahour* Palestinians’ Strategic Choice Palestinians today, as represented by their political agency ever since the 16th session of the Palestinian National Congress in Algiers in November 1988 and their subsequent issuance of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, have two very straight forward demands: 1. Full rights between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River, including the right for Palestinian refugees to return to their homes; 2. Statehood in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip; post-November 29, 2012, one could claim Palestine has already been codified in the international system of governance and now only requires the extraction of the Israeli military occupation from its lands. If one defines the second point as the Palestinian right to self-determination , then it may be lumped into the first point and, all together, the issue of rights, full rights, is the Palestinian single demand. To some unfamiliar with Palestinian history, this may seem like a lot, however, it is merely a portion of what was taken from them by force over the last seven decades. It is noteworthy to mention that the majority of the world’s peoples and the majority of the world’s countries stand with the Palestinians here; it is the global superpower, the United States, which stands in the way of the achievement of these goals. In the meantime, while the Palestinian struggle remains, Palestinians want to be treated as equal human beings wherever they reside, from the refugee camps in South Lebanon to the refugee camps in South Gaza, and everywhere in between, near and far. Collectively, these demands are the Palestinians’ strategic choice. It is a politically inspired choice, one that was developed on the heels of decades 26 *Sam Bahour serves as a policy adviser to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network and does business consulting in Palestine as Applied Information Management (AIM). He is chair of the board of Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (AVPE) and co-editor of HOMELAND: Oral History of Palestine and Palestinians. He writes frequently on Palestinian affairs and blogs at www.epalestine.com. @SamBahour 27 of emotional reactions to the events imposed upon them. This strategic choice is not etched in stone, it is a product of a distinct Palestinian political system. No one can guarantee that this choice will not be modified or changed if deemed unachievable for any reason. A rights-based approach is the most conducive one to the current Palestinian national agenda and a political end-game cannot be openended . Moreover, the struggle for national self-determination cannot come at the expense of the struggle for rights—and vice versa. These two processes are simultaneous dynamics: one process focuses on the rights of the individual (political, human, and civil), while the second focuses on the rights of the nation (national rights, specifically self-determination). The mutuality of these processes—rights and politics—are two asynchronous and inseparable tracks. One’s personal conviction of what political path the Palestinian leadership should have taken throughout its history is immaterial for this analysis. Until and unless today’s Palestinian political system can reconstitute itself and declare an alternative strategy, it is imperative upon anyone engaged in the imperfect world of realpolitik to accept the current Palestinian political agency’s strategic choice and act accordingly. This current strategic choice of establishing a Palestinian state on 22 percent of British-mandated historic Palestine has international legitimacy and has witnessed the majority of the world’s nations recognizing this “New” State of Palestine based on that international legitimacy. It is therefore not an academic choice, but rather the result of already spent Palestinian political capital that has resulted in a matter of law. Thus, the current polarized discourse about the choice between a onestate solution or a two-state solution is a red herring that has, not innocently, been adopted by the highest level of the powers-to-be at a time when Palestine is systematically being codified and recognized in the international sphere. Simultaneously, the rights of Palestinians cannot remain at the mercy of the need to...