Defending the human rights of
Palestinians is my life's work.
For many years I worked for the
Israeli non-government organization B'Tselem, uncovering Israeli abuses of
Palestinian human rights. No one was addressing Palestinian abuses of
Palestinian human rights, so I left B'Tselem and founded the Palestinian Human
Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG). Support for PHRMG dried up because no one was
willing to scrutinize Palestinian abuses of Palestinian human rights; instead of
constructive concern for Palestinian human rights, I see only anti-Israel
rhetoric
Consequently, I have determined to travel the world to
raise awareness about Palestinian human rights. We Palestinians need economic
prosperity and we need a state, but we have been going about it the wrong way.
We trusted Arab states, but they led us to turn down the 1947 United Nations
partition plan, and turned us into perpetual refugees. We trusted the UN, which
does nothing but benefit itself and maintain the status of refugees for
Palestinians. We trusted the West, but they are obsessed with a two-state
solution that is not possible until the more fundamental Palestinian problems
are addressed.
Who cares about the Palestinian economy right now?
Not the Palestinian Authority, not the international community, and not the Arab
world. Only Israel cares about the Palestinian economy right now. The Israeli
government recently decided to issue another 32,000 work permits for
Palestinians, in addition to the 90,000 that already exist. They said that they
want to help Palestinians gain greater economic prosperity because that is good
for the Palestinians and for Israel.
The countries that say that
they want to recognize the Palestinian state are doing us no favors. Where is
the Palestinian state? Where is our economy? It is false hope. The Palestinian
passport is recognized in only 27 countries. Even some countries that say they
recognize the State of Palestine do not recognize our passport anymore. There is
no Palestinian state.
The Palestinian situation is not on the
international community's agenda anymore. Their only concern right now is the
terrorism coming from the Middle East. This of course angers the PA, which wants
international attention and funding. That is why the PA has been encouraging
violence-to bring international attention back to it. Despite what he says to
the press in English, President Mahmoud Abbas' interest today is to add fuel to
the fire so that violence will continue.
Meanwhile, Arab media,
which used to blame Israel for everything, is changing its tune. Much of the
Arab world sees that Israel is not to blame and, in fact, sees Israel as an ally
against Iran. We Palestinians need to take advantage of this détente between
Arabs and Israel in order to enhance cooperation for improving the Palestinian
economy.
What has our own leadership and the Arab leadership done for
the Palestinians since 1948? Nothing. Only Israel has helped us. Palestinian
society is sick right now, and we need the right medicine. We must realize that
we have to take responsibility for our own daily lives.
Violence will
not bring about a state and will not bring prosperity. And yet, we are doing
nothing to stop the senseless violence.
We Palestinians need a whole
new approach. We need to start fresh. We need to recognize that Israel is not
only here to stay, but it is also not our enemy. Israel is our friend, our ally,
and our best hope for the future.
There is no denying that Israel
is the sanest place in the Middle East. Palestinians do not want to live in
Syria or in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East. It is much better for them
to live in Israel, despite the conflict with Israel. But the conflict is
stifling us and limiting our possibilities.
Hamas and Fatah want
us to believe that it is through conflict with Israel that we will achieve a
better future, and I am here to say that this is completely false. It is through
cooperation and friendship with Israel that we Palestinians will build a better
future.
Before 1967, Jordan controlled the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, and Egypt controlled Gaza. They could have worked together to create
a Palestinian state, but they did no such thing. The notion of Palestinian unity
did not come about until Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and
Gaza.
It is Israel that gives Palestinians jobs in Israel and in
the West Bank. It is Israel that gave us jobs in Gaza when it occupied Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza now miss those jobs.
Israel is already our
best friend and our best hope. All we need to do is to recognize it. All we need
to do is to stop the hatred against Jews and against Israel.
If
the BDS movement wants to help us, then I implore them to stop boycotting Israel
and to start boycotting countries that are hostile to Israel, such as Iran.
Start promoting trade and cooperation between Israel and the Arab world.
If the West wants to help us, then I implore them to stop talking
about a two-state solution and start talking about economic prosperity for the
Palestinians through cooperation with Israel and the Arab world.
The two-state solution will come in due time; there will be a Palestinian
state. But first the hatred must stop. First we Palestinians must see Israel for
what it really is, not an angel and not a monster, but our closest friend, ally,
and partner.
This is my hope for the future. This is what I fight
for every day. If you care for the human rights of Palestinians, I hope that you
will join me.
Bassem Eid, who lives in Jericho, is a human rights
activist, political analyst, and commentator on the internal Palestinian
politics.In February, Eid was forced to end his remarks early at the
University of Chicago because an anti-Israel protestor hijacked the event and
threatened him with physical violence.
