Hikmat Ajjuri

OPINION

”The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that´s the essence of inhumanity”.

George Bernard Shaw

No conflict on earth has more international attention devoted to it than the Israeli Palestinian conflict; it is the only question of the cold war era, which is still waiting for an answer. It is all because the International Community – represented by the UN and its security council – against all the rules has so far allowed Israel ,the occupying power, to ignore the International Law and meanwhile call on the oppressed Palestinians to forego their internationally recognized right to resist this Israeli military occupation. All in spite of the norm that no power on earth can stop an oppressed people, determined to win their freedom.

People in Western democracies enjoy peace, justice and equality in their territories. Because the people in these democracies make the system, implement it and observe it. In an utter contradiction, the Palestinians are forced to live under the Israeli occupation and endure mental and physical torture, captivity, bondage, political slavery in addition to poverty and hunger at the hands of the occupying forces. Ironically and in spite of these facts and many others including total ignorance of Israel to all calls on Israel to comply with International law and international humanitarian law, Israel continued to receive unconditional support from Western leaders. This support had for our misfortune perpetuated the Israeli military occupation and pushed a peaceful settlement further. This support had contributed tremendously contributed to change negotiations from a realistic option to end this conflict to a trick by which Israel gains time to grab more and more of the land which is internationally allotted for the sovereign state of Palestine.

The major Western powers have in the past, viewed the Apartheid regime in South Africa as well as Israel, as their strategic partners in their cold war struggle to isolate the Soviet Union and to protect their interest in the Middle East. As soon as the cold war ended, the West toppled the South African Apartheid regime because it became an unbearable burden on the West and the Western humanitarian and democratic values.

Because Israel and Apartheid South Africa are two sides of one coin, the West is now obliged to follow the same rules with Israel to end its occupation in order to burry once and for all the cold war and finally bring peace to our world.

Israel is so far the only apartheid state left on the face of our planet. The architect of the South African Apartheid itself, Prime Minister, Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, said in 1961: “The Jews took Israel from the Arabs after the Arabs had lived there for a thousand years. Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state.”

Today in the Holy Land:

• Palestinians are forced to carry identification cards at all times when travelling from city to city.
• Palestinians must apply for a difficult to obtain permit to travel from city to city.
• Palestinian Christians and Muslims are not allowed to buy, rent or lease land in 93% of the state of Israel because they are not Jewish.
• Israel takes 85% of the Palestinian water resources and the remaining 15% is divided between Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
• In the West Bank, Palestinians are not allowed to drive on roads allocated for Jewish settlers.

All attempts by Western powers, in their quest to ensure global safety and security, are unfortunately, directed towards the wrong targets. In fact, the resurgence of the Taliban and the emergence of terror such as Al-Qaeda and its new generation, Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as well as the previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and nuclear ambitions in the region, are all collateral to the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories, including the state of Palestine. Israel, the occupying power is the only state that ignores the international law and blatantly conducts terror with impunity.

The Israeli Film director Shai Carmeli-Pollak said in August 2006: “Life under occupation is life under permanent terrorism”. I, on too many occasions, affirmed the integral relation between the Israeli occupation, its crimes against humanity and the emergence of the Islamic radicalism or terrorism but to no avail. The Israeli creation of new facts to Judaize Jerusalem, the third holiest place for all Muslims and to ethnically cleanse it of its indigenous Palestinian residents is a recipe for hatred, anger and radicalism. More importantly a recipe for a religious war.

Finally, I find it quite inspiring to realize that this fact has lately been acknowledged first, by John Kerry, the US secretary of state who suggested that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would help the campaign to defeat the jihadists of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. “As I went around and met with people in the course of our discussions about the [anti-Islamic State] coalition … there wasn’t a leader I met with in the region who didn’t raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation that they felt they had to respond to,” said Mr Kerry, at a state department gathering to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival.

Former president Bill Clinton, said on the 21^st of Sep. 2010 “solving the Israeli Palestinian conflict would take away much of the motivation for terrorism around the world”. I with these inspiring quotes from strategic allies of Israel, dare to call on the International community, including friends of Israel, first not to let world peace be hijacked by irresponsible Israeli politicians such as Netanyahu and his extreme coalition. Second to follow the brave steps of the Kingdom of Sweden, to fully recognize the state of Palestine as a first and positive step to forcing Israel to end its 47 years of occupation of the state of Palestine. Indifference as well as whispers in the presence of wrong is neither a democratic culture nor a European value.

Ambassador of Palestine

Article first appeared in: Diplomática, Dec. 2014 – February 2015

Hikmat Ajjuri

OPINION

The creation of the state of Israel a year after the UN general assembly resolution number 181, of 1947, had so far caused a tremendous damage in human lives and infrastructure. Israel was established without agreement or even consultation with the indigenous population.

Had the UN enforced fully the aforementioned resolution, no doubts, many innocent lives Jewish Palestinians and worldwide lives, which had unnecessarily been lost in what is called the war of terror and counter terror, could have been saved. These tragedies are still ongoing because all middle eastern wars and their repercussions are collateral to the Israeli illegal practices and conquering land by force including Palestine which houses the most religious Christian’s and Muslim’s Holy Places.

It is astonishing after all these years that world leaders accept to be eluded all this time by the Israeli political leadership. Twenty years of vain negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis should have proven to all that Israel was never interested in Peace. Israel’s participation in the Madrid land for peace conference of 1991 was not a choice but by force because it was threatened to lose America’s loans totalling 10 billion dollars. In 2011, former American President Clinton said that Netanyahu is responsible for the failed negotiations with the Palestinians and he is not interested in Mideast peace deal.

All Israeli leaders realize that it is unacceptable for any Palestinian to engage into negotiations with Israel while settlement activity continues. Because doing so is like negotiating over a pizza while one party to the negotiations is eating it.

The question the international community should ask is not who wants negotiations but who wants solutions. The answer is clear one side wants to negotiate a permanent solution and the other wants permanent negotiations. Last week the Israeli defence minister, Ya’alon, told settlers that he wished to expand settlement construction and refrained from doing so for fear of the American administration’s displeasure. He also said; “this (American) administration will not last for ever”. This statement shows the true anti peace intentions of the Israeli leadership. President Obama said “Netanyahu is a political coward and is so thoroughly a captive of the settler lobby. (Haaretz 15 Jan 2014).

On the other hand, the Palestinians in 1988 and in 1993 explicitly recognized the right of Israel to exist on 78% of historic Palestine. By doing so, the Palestinians limited their national aspirations to 22% of their historic homeland. It is an historic compromise in the interest of peace. Peace is too precious to be left in the hands of such Israeli irresponsible Politicians, Ya’alon and Netanyahu who also salutes a rabbi who supported a work on the laws of killing non-Jews”. (Sefi Rachlevsky , Apr.23, 2013).

In the midst of this darkness, candles were finally lit by Sweden and some European Parliaments to comfort the children of the Holy Land; Jews, Christians and Muslims. The Last so far was the Portuguese Parliament in the hope that be transformed to a Swedish style.

These candles were in fact lit by the power of the European values. This European positive move is a victory to all those who want peace in the Holy Land .More important is, a European response   to the pain and the grievances which are inflicted on the Palestinians Christians and Muslims by the Israeli occupying power, over the past decades. Our enemy is never the Jews but it is the Israeli military occupation, which should be ended by the force of human values.

Ambassador of Palestine

Article first appeared on 22.12.2014, Diário de Notícias

Hikmat Ajjuri

OPINION

The continued Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine: West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza, which began in 1967   is contrary to the UN Charter, which affirms the inadmissibility of conquering land by force.

Israel however has come into being by a UN resolution, has so far ignored all (more than 40) UN Resolutions, all calling on Israel to reverse its illegal actions in the occupied State of Palestine and to withdraw from these territories but to no avail. In spite of this defiance Israel continued to receive unconditional support from the Western democracies, in particular America.

I on too many occasions asserted the integral relation between the Israeli occupation and its war crimes and the emergence of the Islamic radicalism or terrorism represented by Alqaedah and ISIS. The Israeli creation of new facts to Judaize Jerusalem, the third holiest place for all Muslims and to ethnically cleansing of its indigenous Palestinians residents is a recipe for hatred, anger and radicalism, more importantly a recipe for a religious war.

This fact was lately acknowledged, by John Kerry, the US secretary, who said that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would help the campaign to defeat the jihadists of ISIS. Former American president Bill Clinton said on the 21^st of Sep. 2010: “solving the Israeli Palestinian conflict would take away much of the motivation for terrorism around the world”.

In November 2012, 138 member states of the UN organization, voted favourably for the upgrade of Palestine to a non-member state of the UN. This vote was a victory to world peace, the UN charter and human values.

I with these inspiring changes have no doubts that the International community, including all European democracies will never let world peace be hijacked by irresponsible Israeli politicians such as Netanyahu and his extreme coalition. I as well predict that the responsible and brave step of the Kingdom of Sweden, to fully recognize the state of Palestine will be followed by the rest of the EU member states. Because indifference, as well as whispers in the presence of wrong, is neither a democratic culture nor a European value. We all know that this recognition is the only effectual tool to forcing Israel to end its illegal 47 years of military occupation the state of Palestine.

Ambassador of Palestine

Article first appeared on 03.12.2014: http://economico.sapo.pt/noticias/a-solucao-de-dois-estados_207421.html