An Official Palestinian State and What It Could Mean for Israel

"  Our image has undergone change from David fighting Goliath to being Goliath"  - Yitzhak Shamir, former Israeli prime minister on the state of affairs between Palestine and Israel

President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine at UN council meeting

         The Palestinian government is currently attempting to gain recognition from the United Nations to become an official state, hoping that by September their calls will be heeded and statehood will be officially granted to Palestine. Palestine had been a swath of land near Jerusalem, where Palestinians had lived for over two thousand years. In 1917, the Balfour declaration was signed, which granted Israelis the land that had been cultivated and inhabited by the Palestinians for thousands of years. When Israel was declared an official state in 1947, Palestinians declared war on the newly founded nation of Israel. The result was countless wars and conflicts between the two states that still plague negotiations today. In the end, Palestine lost almost 70% of it's territory, and is now split in the middle by Israel, between the Gaza Strip in the southwest, and the West Bank in the northeast.

The land in green shows Palestinian land, the land in white shows Israeli land
The map shows the loss of Palestinian land to Israel since 1947 throughout
various wars

         Groups like Hamas which oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian land operate out of the Gaza Strip and have used terror tactics to gain ground on Israeli forces. They have launched home made missiles and bombs over the Israeli border for years in an attempt to deter Israeli forces from entering Palestinian land. In 2008 the "Gaza War" was initiated by Israel to stop the rocket fire into Israeli territory and to cease the shipment of arms to the terrorist group. The war that lasted three weeks resulted in almost 2,000 Palestinian deaths and only 13 Israeli deaths. It is said that for every 1 Israeli soldier killed in the half century long conflict, almost 4 Palestinian civilians were killed.

         The Palestinian Authority which is the official government of Palestine has denounced the terror tactics employed by groups like Hamas, and does not recognize them as an official political party. Although the Palestinian Authority opposes Hamas's tactics, Israel only further complicates problems by continuing to build Israeli settlements which encroach on Palestinian territory, further diminishing the terrirtory already lost by Palestine throughout the years due to Israeli won wars.This provides Hamas the needed sympathy to continue their war against Israel from both civilians and government officials alike.

Bombs over Palestine launched by Israeli forces in 2008

         Palestine now looks to bypass peace negotiations with Israel by seeking UN recognition, as talks throughout the years between Israel and Palestine to halt the building of Israeli settlements in turn for Palestinian concessions and an Hamas ceasefire have led only to broken promises and unfulfilled agreements. Israel claims Hamas's aggression is a never ending threat and that the settlements being built by Israelis contractors are not encroaching on Palestinian land. The borders which are hardly defined between the two nations give Israel the plausibility of claiming no fault of their own for 'accidentally' building settlements on Palestinian land.

         Palestine hopes to achieve the goal of obtaining statehood through the UN by September, but many in the Israeli government are opposed to the resolution, because they see Palestine as a state that is too unstable to be deemed a valid and functional state. "On behalf of whom will you present a resolution in September? Mr. Abbas or Hamas?" said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor, insinuating that Hamas would lead the newly Palestinian state, and not the current president Mahmoud Abbas. 

         President Mahmoud Abbas seems pragmatic in his approach towards Israel, and since his election in 2008 has reached his hand out to Israel and has warranted U.S. support to come to a peace treaty between the two warring states. He has denied claims that Palestine is attempting to circumvent negotiations between his country and Israel by seeking UN recognition. Mahmoud Abbas said his nation's desire for UN recognition did not have to prevent talks, but instead could potentially be a catalyst for well intentioned and productive talks between Palestine and Israel. UN recognition would give Palestine the ability to seek UN resolutions and support, ultimately undermining Israeli dominance over the region. This would in turn give Palestine the leverage necessary to impede Israel's desires to have the upper hand in negotiations

President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia shaking hands with
President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine

         Several countries in Latin America have already recognized the state of Palestine, along with Russia, shown in the picture above with President Mahmoud Abbas and President Dmitry Medvedev shaking hands at UN council meeting. The Obama administration has not announced whether or not it supports Palestine's attempts at gaining recognition for statehood, but has indicated it does not like the unilateralism employed by Palestine to gain recognition by the UN. This comes to no surprise, as the U.S.'s long time alliance with Israel hinders almost any public support for Palestine in their actions.

          Whatever the outcome may be, Palestine seems to be the underdog in this fight. Israel's advanced weaponry, sophisticated intelligence agency and strong security forces have given the nation the upper hand in almost any battle fought against Palestine. Palestine lacks a strong and advanced army, or even an infrastructure worthy of notice. Almost 80% of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip live in extreme poverty, while almost half in the West Bank live under the same conditions. This all comes as the result of Israeli sanctions and blockades against the state, which Israel claims is in favor of the national security of Israel to prevent the arms trade to Hamas, but many in Palestine say it is just an attempt to keep the Palestinian state from becoming functional and autonomous. 

          One thing is for certain, negotiations between the two countries have yielded nothing, and Israeli ignorance of the Palestinian civilian's livelihoods only further enrages terrorist groups that see Israel as an oppressor of it's people. Meanwhile Israeli citizens are fed propaganda and outrageous claims of Palestinian aggression and savagery against it's people. Both sides must come to an agreement that can facilitate a two state solution that can live side by side without conflict. Although this may seem idealist and paternally optimistic, crazier things have happened. 

         Israel's bullying of the weaker nation has left Palestine no other option but to seek support from the international community, which has normally batted an eye to the demonized state formerly ruled under Hamas. Now that light has been shed on Israeli aggression and violations against Palestine's people and international law, the tables have turned and sympathy has been given to the Palestinian state. Hopefully these two nations can live in peace, and it is in my opinion that the only way this can be achieved is if the playing field between Palestine and Israel are leveled. This will be done through UN recognition of Palestine, which will show Israel that Palestine can't just be pushed around anymore, and that it's violation of Palestinian autonomy won't go unpunished. It's this that Israel worries about, the loss of power over the Palestinian territory which it arrogantly claims is Israel's. 

         When September comes Palestine will be crossing it's fingers and if statehood is granted to Palestine, it will surely be a day Israel will lament. But this could maybe be the beginning of fair and balanced talks between the two countries, and a gradual and eventual downgrade of military power from both sides. It is always said that the stronger party in negotiations does not have to negotiate. Now that Palestine may have the support of the international community, Israel will no longer have that luxury, and maybe the Palestinian people can finally regain their livelihood without the harsh and aggressive sanctions of it's Goliath like neighbor, Israel.

-Signing Out- John Thomas