Hady Amr :
It was that 1987 uprising that transformed the Palestinian political position from the unrealistic to the pragmatic. We’re in trouble. The world that is. Or at least those who pray for peace in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land. Some track the current conflict back 100 years to a November 1917 British declaration – cursed by some, commemorated by others. Others to a November 1947 decision to partition Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State. But in the future, we may look back at President Trump’s Jerusalem announcement as a turning point.
Before we get to the impact of Trump’s announcement, it’s essential to understand the current chapter of Israeli/Palestinian relations – both hope and hate – which began almost exactly 30 years ago. On Dec. 9, 1987, an Israeli military jeep plowed into a Palestinian vehicle in the Gaza Strip’s Jabaliya refugee camp, killing four. And when the Palestinian public in the West Bank and Gaza rose up against the Israeli military occupation that dominated their lives, a civilian resistance that was part sit-ins and strikes, part rock-throwing, and part Molotov Cocktail was born.
Imperfect as it was, it was that uprising – painful and hopeful – embraced by the West Bank and Gaza’s Palestinian society, and spurred a series of events that led us to where we are today. It was that 1987 uprising that inspired the Palestine Liberation Organization to bravely accept compromise via an emotional Nov. 15, 1988, “Declaration of Independence” from their 1964 goal to “liberate Palestine” and achieve a “complete restoration of their homeland” to accepting even less than the 1947 partition – a state only on the West Bank and Gaza – a mere fifth of the Holy Land.
It was that 1987 uprising that transformed the Palestinian political position from the unrealistic to the pragmatic. It was that 1987 uprising which a few years later, in 1993, inspired sworn enemies – Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat – to shake hands on the White House lawn and sign the Olso Accords under the auspices of President Bill Clinton.
All of this was a result of the collective response of Palestinian civil society in the form of an uprising against their completely unsatisfactory situation. Then it was Israeli military occupation. Today it’s a failed peace process. It’s important to remember that uprising, because that force can rise up again.
But now, three decades and thousands of Israeli and (mostly) Palestinian deaths later, the hoped-for peace resulting in two states built on the cry of Palestinian civil society for dignity and independence, and the aspirations of Israelis to finally be accepted by the Arab world in a secure state of their own, is in deep trouble. Countless peace efforts – from Annapolis to Aqaba, including one I personally worked on under the auspices of Secretary of State John Kerry, and even an Arab Peace Initiative failed to achieve further progress.
Trump’s Jerusalem announcement was an earthquake in Palestinian society. Now the Palestinian leadership is gathering to determine their answer.
Will they cling to the sliver of hope that the White House stated it “recognises that the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties” and stick with the United States? Will they continue to strive towards a two-state solution but abandon Washington as the peace broker? And if so, will there be no broker? Or will another world power – Europe, Russia, China – or a group of them step in? Will they lead the Palestinian street in another uprising and, if so, will it be a peaceful resistance of Gandhi or a military resistance of de Gaulle? Will they undertake an international diplomatic uprising joining every international organisation and pressing a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court?
The good news is, for now, the Palestinian Authority is holding steady and maintaining security cooperation with Israel. But it is Palestinian society writ large that may determine the future if it speaks with a collective voice.
Is there anything that the Trump administration can do to salvage the situation in the eyes of the Palestinians? The clarifications made during a Dec. 7 State Department briefing that the United States “is not taking or changing a position on the boundaries of sovereignty in Jerusalem” is completely falling on deaf ears in the Palestinian street. Although the PLO leadership might understand this nuance, it is unclear if that will affect its ability to manage public opinion.
What the United States could do – specifically on the question of Jerusalem – is encourage the government of Israel to change its policies there in a manner that makes the Palestinians feel they have a real stake in the Holy City’s future. That includes: Allowing the re-opening of the many Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem closed in 2001, such as the Arab Chamber of Commerce. Announcing that if Palestinians hold legislative elections in 2018, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem would be allowed to vote in those elections. Halting the frequent denial of residency permits to West Bank spouses of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. And dramatically easing the restrictions on the ability of Palestinians to build housing for themselves, or even renovate, in East Jerusalem.
At this point, there are few words the United States could speak that would make a difference. As we learned through the uprising that began in 1987, it is the hopes, dreams, and actions of the Palestinian people who will shape the future. It will guide the actions of their leaders. It will form the views of the world. And will provoke a response from Israel.
But for better or worse, unless this president – or possibly the next – has the courage to take new and dramatic steps in this arena, the decades-old chapter of US leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian arena may have come to a close. And who knows, given our failure thus far – in which I am admittedly complicit – that may not be such a bad thing.
(Amr served in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2017 as deputy assistant administrator for the Middle East and as deputy special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Courtesy: Washington Post Syndicate).
