Rashid Khalidi is one of the world’s leading specialists on the Palestinian issue. He advised the Palestinian delegation during the Oslo negotiations in 1993. Thirty years later, the situation is bleak. The ceasefire in Gaza may have diverted the attention of the international community, but it only imperfectly masks what is happening elsewhere: the daily violence in the West Bank and the unrest in Lebanon. Yet it is in this context that the first municipal elections since the beginning of the conflict were held over the weekend, in the West Bank and Gaza. What political future does the current situation foreshadow? Can the history and current events we are experiencing still allow us to be optimistic?
Context: Rashid Khalidi provides insights into the current political climate in Palestine.
Fact check: Rashid Khalidi is a renowned expert on Palestinian issues and played a role in the Oslo negotiations.
The Palestinian Dilemma: Resist or Surrender
Rashid Khalidi criticizes the ongoing Israeli operations in Lebanon: “What Israel is doing now is another attempt to do the impossible, that is, to deal with a problem that is essentially political by force, and they will not solve it by force. The problem is not just the destruction of these villages, or the expulsion and flight of a million Lebanese from southern Lebanon. The problem is that what Israel and the United States are trying to do is create a civil war in Lebanon. It would be possible to deal with this politically between Israel and Hezbollah or in Lebanon, among the Lebanese, but that would mean that Israel would have to abandon the approach it has followed for decades, force.”
Context: Rashid Khalidi critiques Israel’s military actions and approach to conflict resolution.
Fact check: Rashid Khalidi elaborates on the Israeli military actions in Lebanon and the broader Middle East.
Historical and Political Background
This preference for the use of force is also evident in the destruction carried out by Israel in Gaza and now in the West Bank: “What Israel did in Gaza, that is, destroying nearly 80% of the structures, they are now doing in three refugee camps in the West Bank. And this is what they are doing in border villages too. This is a publicly announced policy. They said that the populations of southern Lebanon who were evacuated from along the border will not be allowed to return, and there is fear that this policy of ethnic cleansing will be extended to several parts of the West Bank. There are dozens of communities in the West Bank that have been emptied of their population by settlers supported by the Israeli army.”
Context: Rashid Khalidi highlights the impact of Israeli policies on Palestinian communities.
Critique of Oslo Accords
Rashid Khalidi denounces the Oslo accords: “I was involved in negotiations in the 1990s, and what was offered to us in Madrid and Washington was essentially autonomy, the continuation of colonization, settlements, and permanent military occupation. […] So the Palestinians have a choice: you stay under the yoke, that is, Israeli security control, no sovereignty, or you resist. When we were in Washington – we were advisers to the PLO – we told them that this was not acceptable. There must be a horizon that would put an end to this and lead to self-determination and sovereignty. I do not think that this was an offer made by the United States or Israel. Their positions were and are identical. So condemning Hamas is very easy. We must start by condemning the greatest power on earth and the greatest power in the Middle East, rather than people who resist.”
Context: Rashid Khalidi critiques the limitations of the Oslo Accords and advocates for Palestinian sovereignty.
Overview of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
For Rashid Khalidi, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stems from European antisemitism and the ideological upheavals of the 20th century above all: “There was a conflict during the crusades when Muslims, Jews, and Orthodox Christians were massacred by the Crusaders, but there were no pogroms in Palestine, ever. There was no Holocaust in Palestine. This is a conflict that developed with the rise of modern nationalism – Jewish, Zionist, and Arab – and the great imperialist powers. He is also right in the sense that Palestinians are being asked to pay for the crimes of Nazi Germany. Everything changed in Palestine in 1933. Thousands of people fleeing Nazism arrived in Palestine. The Jewish population increased from 17 to 33% in 5 years.”
Context: Rashid Khalidi links the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to historical events and ideologies.
Fact check: Rashid Khalidi delves into the historical context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emphasizing the impact of European antisemitism.
Conclusion
The historian concludes: “If you want to solve [the problem], you must accept the idea that it must be based on total, absolute equality and justice. You cannot have a people controlling an entire territory, from the river to the sea, a government based on Likud, on principles that say that between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, there will be only one sovereignty, Israeli sovereignty. This is not a basis for resolving the conflict. You cannot have the supremacy of one people over another. Confederation, federation, binationalism, two states, three states, no matter. Put an end to the supremacy of one group over the other, establish a solution based on absolute, individual, and national equality.”
Context: Rashid Khalidi advocates for a resolution of the conflict based on equality and justice for all parties involved.
