This week, I will be presenting my senior seminar project for political science — the title of this presentation is, “Irresolvable Conflicts: The Case of Israel and Palestine.” After putting the PowerPoint together, I began to dig beneath the surface as to why this issue is considered irresolvable, as well as assess the role of Palestine in today’s political uprisings and revolutions. Is this issue truly a stagnant, politically reclusive issue with no precedents? Or could there actually be hope for resolution in the form of either a one or a two-state solution?
Libya’s revolution has been proven difficult over the past couple of weeks; Gaddafi is still in power and managed to capture cities he lost to the protesters (according to Aljazeera, these cities have been reclaimed), thousands of foreigners in Libya are fleeing by the masses, and the death toll continues to rise. Also, Gaddafi threatened that thousands of Libyans will be killed should the US or NATO become directly involved and set foot on Libyan soil. Looking at the case of Libya, who is to blame for Gaddafi’s reign of power? Or in the case of Egypt, who is to take responsibility for the decades of tyranny and inhumane conditions the majority of the Egyptian people had to live under?
The answer is everyone, and at the same time, no one. When Arab lands were divided after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the only governments which existed were those of British, French and Italian rule. Prior to that, as well, a foreign Turkic entity controlled the region, and the disconnection between the Ottoman Empire and the Arab people lingered until it became transferred over to an even more foreign entity — the Western powers. Colonialism and the recent history of these countries is largely to blame for the fate of the region; current Western impositions have greatly affected the socioeconomic make-up of these countries, and finally, the disunity and corruption among Arab leaders has managed to aid in the complete break-down of any opposition, both internal and external. Today’s revolutions are miraculous in that the people are, for once, speaking out and reprimanding their leaders for the atrocities that have overtaken their governments. Therefore, it is only natural to question the role of Israel in this revival of Pan-Arabism.
In the case of Palestine and Israel, the reason their issue is considered irresolvable is due to the existence of nuclear weapons within the power of Israel, who has more than 200 nuclear warheads, courtesy of the US. To put it simply, it is a zero-sum game where no one will win everything, and everyone can lose everything at any moment. Internal divisions make peace even more unachievable; however, the current political situation seems to have frightened Israel to no end, as many Israeli foreign policy diplomats have been openly discussing. So what’s next for Palestine? Depends on what is next for Israel. The normative outcome would be the gradual creation of a one-state solution, a potential outcome ― more realistically ― would be the abrupt creation of a two-state solution, and finally, the status quo seems to suggest change will not be coming any time soon. Watching it unravel ― whether across Tunisia or Morocco or even Jordan ― is priceless.
Dina Al-Hayek is a senior political science major and a columnist for the Daily 49er.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
