NEW DEAL LIKE APARTHEID FOR PALESTINIANS

WHAT we’re facing in Palestine is the worst form of apartheid. What the Deal of the Century will propose is one country, Israel, with cantons of self-government, similar to the idea of the Bantustans under apartheid.

The game being played is to make the Bantustan system seem palatable and potentially profitable to the international community, by emphasising the economic incentives and potential investment.

But it’s really all about ensuring Israel’s annexation of settlements considered illegal under international law, and ensuring Israel’s control of the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Let’s not forget the pronouncement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu three days before the Israeli elections in April when he was asked by Israeli TV Channel 12 about his policy regarding the West Bank: “I will not uproot a single settlement, and I will ensure that we’ll control all the area West of the Jordan river. We will move to the next stage – to the gradual extension of Israeli sovereignty in the areas of Judea and Samaria. I also do not distinguish between the settlement blocs and the lone settlements, every settlement like that is for me Israeli.”

Right-wing Israeli politicians are calling for the annexation of all land in “Area C”, which would see Israel annexing most of the land in the West Bank. The West Bank is only a fraction of historic Palestine, and was supposed to comprise the bulk of a new Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, the recognition of which has been called for in UN resolutions.

The basis of the Trump administration’s supposed deal is to recognise Israeli sovereignty over what has been, up until now, considered illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This would be the crowning achievement of the Israeli government’s theft of Palestinian land, and ensure its recognition of what it considers Judea and Samaria.

Will this mean Palestinians will be squeezed into tiny cantons? Palestinians in the cantons won’t be able to exercise their right to self-determination or be afforded Israeli citizenship rights. They will not have equal rights to Israelis, such as the right to vote in elections, influence government policies, or be able to access the same services as Israelis such as education. Israel will determine Palestinians’ ability to move outside their cantons.

The cantons will not be contiguous. At most, they will be characterised as self-governing enclaves. There is no realistic possibility of such a situation ensuring the economic and political independence and sustainability for the Palestinian people.

If the US and its allies ensure the deal is imposed on Palestinians against their will, Israel would have moved from a democracy to a country based on ethnic discrimination.

As our Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said recently: “Any economic solution will be a result of a political solution.”

Palestinians need to first have their right to an independent viable Palestinian state. Once that’s achieved, the economic incentives and investments will be welcomed in nation building. To put economics before a political solution is an attempt to bribe the Palestinians to give up their land in return for financial compensation, much of which will end up going to neighbouring countries.

Our people have fought a long, hard struggle over the past 71 years against dispossession, and for freedom. No glossy workshop of the US and its allies in Bahrain will blind Palestinians to the attempt to camouflage Israel’s expanding occupation, sweetened with the promises of money and investment.

Just as our leader Yasser Arafat would never sell Palestinian aspirations for a national state down the river nor will any Palestinian administration ever accept this Deal of the Century.

Majdalani is the Palestinian Minister for Social Development and member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.