Speaking up over Palestine

The Palestinians will not get statehood just yet. Presenting an application to the Secretary General of the United Nations was a symbolic as well as a political act. The Palestinians know that if the Security Council voted in favour of their application, they would still be without a proper state. They would have an increased weight of diplomacy behind them. It would serve to massively increase pressure on Israel to treat them more justly, to stop building settlements, to recognise and respect boundaries, to respect a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, holy city to the three religions that recognise and worship God as the Creator.

But it will not happen, not for quite some time, despite the emotional outpouring of celebration by the Palestinian people. President Obama has topped huge diplomatic pressure on the Palestinian leaders and people not to proceed with their application by wielding the biggest stick of all and discounting his remaining credibility in the Arab world to zero.

He declared he will use the veto in the Security Council. There was a time, during his run-up towards the historic election which saw him bring hope of fresh thinking and action to the White House, when it was anticipated that here was a President who would finally help solve the Palestinian question. Who would protect the interest of the state of Israel and its people, yes of course. But who would do that in the context of recognising the interests and rights of the long-suffering Palestinian people.

Early beautiful rhetoric after he was elected fed that hope. Now it is recognised that rhetoric was all it was. Barak Obama has had a lot going against him. He was elected at a time when his country was about to suffer one of its worst financial upheavals ever, coupled with the second-hardest economic recession which has embedded a high rate of unemployment. He encountered the incredible swing of the Republican Party to the right.

He suffered a huge setback, as Bill Clinton had, in the mid-term elections. Unlike Clinton, he cannot handle a majority against him in the House of Representatives and an insufficient majority in the Senate. He had a lot to chew on and he is choking on it. It is not just circumstances that are working against him. Barack Obama has not lived up to expectations, showing indecisiveness, wrong compromises and, in the case of the cry for justice by the Palestinian people, ultimate submission to the traditionally strong American pro-Israel lobby.

In all probability the Palestinian leadership expected all that. In the political part of their ploy they wanted to project the plight of their people right to the top. They will not get statehood through the Security Council. Yet they will probably gain observer status through the General Assembly. It remains to be seen what these two developments will lead to. The worst outcome could be a fresh divergence rather than convergence on the reality recognition that there have to be two mutually-respecting states, and a return to violence. Urgent fresh negotiations and manful leaning by President Obama on the Israeli leadership in return for the blocking veto in the Security Council are required.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi put it well in his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday. “At a time when people in the Middle East and North Africa, and beyond, have embarked on a new path to freedom, dignity and prosperity, we must also invest our efforts and determination to fulfil the long-sought aspirations of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Malta, there is little doubt, will be part of the stand which the EU as a whole will take on the issue. The big players, Germany, France and the UK, will be the main drivers of that stand. Yet Malta has a role to play in its formulation. We have good diplomatic relations with Israel, recognising that country’s own fight for a statehood, which, thanks to the big powers of the day, came about in controversial circumstances which to a considerable extent led to the displacement of the Palestinians.

We also have shown and maintain full recognition of the misery of the Palestinian people, who cannot win their rights without outside help that brings the two sides to a reasonable compromise. Now is the time to do our best to contribute towards a belated fulfilment of that just objective.