Khalaf Al Habtoor The Arab world needs to move on from the liberation of Palestine | Opinion
haaretz.com
For the people caught in the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict, their own leaders and Western intermediaries have failed.
Summits,
conferences, accords and a roadmap going nowhere have been a waste of
time and effort. Earlier attempts at finding solutions brokered by U.S.
presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were genuine - but were
stymied. Those that followed were either fig leaves or half-hearted.
Today, there is not only "nothing on the table," there is no table. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch – a statement he later retracted for international consumption – he meant every word. Just days ago, his government announced it would consider approving the construction of 2,000 more settler homes on the West Bank.
And, quite frankly, I am beginning to think President Donald Trump’s blueprint for peace is a figment of his imagination.
There
is plenty of blame to apportion. But regurgitating past errors of
judgment has been done over and over again. It is beyond time for a new
page to be opened in this unending book of horrors. How long must we go
on rehashing and repeating more than 50 years' worth of mistakes?
Presidents,
prime ministers, Middle East envoys and UN Secretary Generals, however
well-meaning, have achieved precisely nothing. Relations between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority are on the rocks. Rockets and missiles fly
both ways over Gaza.
I
am convinced that peace will not come from the top down, but rather
requires grassroots movements - on the lines of Peace Now, established
by Israeli reservists in 1978 to advocate for a two-state solution. Once
popular and commanding a huge Israeli following, it is now on the
fringe; its activists subjected to death threats.
The
climate has worsened since the movement’s heyday, currently dominated
by fear, hatred and a thirst for revenge. Those destructive emotions
need to change. Trust between the two peoples needs to be built brick by
brick; they should learn to see each other as fellow human beings with
the same hopes and dreams. Peace Now’s philosophy must be revived in the
hearts of minds of not only Israelis but also Palestinians.
Israelis
and Palestinians must put a lid on the past, no matter how painful and
bloody, else they will suffocate what could be a bright future.
Yesterday is just fodder for history books. The only path of any value
is forward, a path that takes us away from dark shadows into the light.
What
Palestinians have to gain from a peaceful conclusion to this conflict
is well known. The tiny spark of hope that gave them the courage to
carry on is all but stifled, replaced by desperation, evidenced by
recent mass protests in Gaza resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands
of injuries.
Their
courage is beyond reproach. But other than placing their plight on the
international front burner for a brief moment in time, such
demonstrations are exercises in futility at a great cost to those who
took part.
Yes,
Israel’s reputation for brutality has been endorsed again. European
states and even sectors of the American Jewish community are outraged.
Many countries are beginning to consider Israel a pariah state.
However, as long as it remains under a White House umbrella, it will never be held accountable.
Appealing
to Netanyahu or Trump to come up with solutions in good faith is
pointless. They only understand the language of force.
My
appeal is directed at the people of Israel, so used to the status quo
that they may be unaware that reconciliation with stable, prosperous
Arab states on condition Palestinians get their rights will provide them
with untold benefits.
Those
benefits include inflows of investments from the GCC and other Arab
countries to boost Israel’s economy. That translates into new business
opportunities, improved infrastructure, greater opportunities and
prosperity.
They include the ability to travel and be welcomed as tourists throughout most of the Middle East.
They include a reduction in anti-Semitism exacerbated, in part, by the occupation.
They include a potential end to the conscription of young Israelis and mandatory reserve duty.
They
include an exchange of talent and technologies. Multilateral cultural
and social interactions. The end of aggression and loathing.
And they include security and intelligence cooperation, buffering Iran’s belligerence.
I
would ask Israelis to set aside their long-held prejudices and dig deep
to see what is in their interests. The same goes for Arabs.
Think
about your children and grandchildren. Don't indoctrinate them with
your fears and hatreds. Don't pollute the minds of future generations.
Young people deserve to be carefree, not forced to wear uniforms and
carry weapons. Allow them to formulate their own views.
Give them a chance to move forward together, free
from the weight of your emotional baggage and bad experiences. Changing
attitudes is a crucial prerequisite for Israelis and Arabs to live
together with mutual respect on the same soil.
Like
it or not, the Israeli state is recognized by the United Nations and
the world at large. Israel boasts high-calibre university graduates,
ground-breaking inventions and cutting-edge research. Better to deal
with it than fruitlessly wishing it away. Israel with its nuclear
weapons and military might is going nowhere.
Whereas
I have championed a two-state solution throughout most of my life,
organizing fundraisers and conferences, I am a realist. The chance of
two states happening is gone, other than the creation of another enclave
like Gaza, a demilitarized entity with no control over its own borders.
I can only conclude that Israelis and Palestinians must coexist in one
state as equal citizens with the same rights.
We all prayed for Palestine to be liberated and
for Palestinians to have their own state, but is that achievable now? Or
is that simple, wishful thinking within our stubbornly romantic minds?
Wishful thinking will not permit the Palestinian people to live in
dignity and security without fear.
Let
us shift our thinking towards a logical solution that will secure a
better future for our nations, for Arab and Israeli youth and especially
for those young Palestinians, born in conflict, who deserve the same
chances enjoyed by their peers everywhere.
Israelis
and Palestinians should revolt against the useless old leadership and
outdated playbooks keeping them on different sides of the fence. Tear
down those figurative and material walls. People power could be a game
changer. The men in suits bent on consolidating power have let you down.
Peace engendered by the very people who have the most to gain (and to
lose) could work where all else has failed.
Khalaf Al Habtoor is the chairman of the Al
Habtoor Group, an international business conglomerate with interests in
real estate, hotels, the automotive industry, education and publishing,
based in the United Arab Emirates. Twitter: @khalafalhabtoor
Khalaf Al Habtoor
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