Palestine & Israel-Part Two: The Main Dilemma Today & The Grim Reality

 

The Main Dilemma Today: What if Elections Take Place?

The main dilemma facing Palestinians today, which could even be understood as true for the Arab world in general, is people's choice when faced with elections. The choice is limited to two undemocratic forces in their essence. These forces are linked in their agenda to outside influences or countries and thus don't consider the country's best interest or its people. So having elections in and of itself is a problem. On the one hand, people often wonder whether there should be elections because they might live under harsher conditions socially and politically if the Islamist forces win. On the other hand, there is the question of remaining under the governance of a possibly corrupt, Western-supported, and illegitimate rule.

The two main forces on the ground here in Palestine follow the same paradigm. There is the Palestinian Authority, although without true control, and other parties connected to the Authority in their interests. The Palestinian Authority has long lost its legitimacy because elections didn't occur since 2006. A natural result of the absence of elections is the impairment and erosion of the democratic process and institutions. The second choice is the Islamist forces, whose political and social agendas have no consensus.

Palestinians are faced with the same dilemma mentioned above and have to answer to another critical layer connected to these forces. The added perplexity for Palestinians is the issue of independence or freedom from the everyday hardships of military rule, the occupation, or what many see as an apartheid system. So the main questions embedded in any upcoming elections for Palestinians are:

1)     Do we settle for what was offered to us in the peace process? In other words, do we refuse the grim reality or accept it?

2)     If there is an agreement on fighting back or resisting, then what form of resistance? 

Some Palestinians wonder about the use of holding elections under occupation with such an imbalance of power, arguing that the Palestinian Authority should end or surrender its rule of the West Bank, thereby clearing the confusion of whether we are under occupation. But this point of view adds to the state of limbo on both sides. Neither side wants to go back to pre-Oslo agreement conditions or under direct occupation where the Israeli army patrolled the streets in Palestinian cities as the situation was prior to 1993 when the peace process was signed. Other realistic voices call for real and free elections where new alliances or parties are formed to establish a more unified and realistic agenda for Palestinians. The Western powers and Israel are also in a state of perplexity. They have a strong interest in allowing the elections to take place because of the lack of legitimacy of the present Authority but fear at the same time the results of any free elections.     

The Grim Reality

To understand the struggle better, it is crucial to highlight where the power lies. Except for managing –but not controlling- the education system and health services in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel controls every source of livelihood for Palestinians. It controls the economy and the primary resources like water, electricity, fuel, and even the internet. While the Palestinian Authority buys most of these resources from Israel, it constantly undermines the Palestinian Authority's ability to have independent control over such vital resources. Furthermore, Israel controls the borders; it controls the only existing airport in Tel Aviv, the port in Haifa, and all entrances along the geographical borders with Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Therefore, Israel decides who enters and who leaves the country and what enters in merchandise. Israel also has one of the strongest armies globally and strategic alliances with the United States. So, in my opinion, it is unfair to treat the two sides as equal parties in any understanding of the situation.

As for the grim reality, the keyword that describes Palestinian lives today is fragmentation. Sadly, Palestinian living is one of imposed fragmented existence: there are Palestinians who live inside Israel, and there are those who live inside the 'wall,' that bean-shaped area, it is the area called the West Bank ‘partially’ ruled by the Palestinian Authority and surrounded by a cement wall.

There is Gaza, which Hamas governs. Palestinians who live in the city of Jerusalem are another group. Each group has different identification documents with differentiating colors given by Israel, incurring rules that apply only to that particular group and do not serve the group.

And last but not least, as a result of the 1948 war, there are Palestinians who live in neighboring countries as refugees, mainly in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. I will give specific examples of such rules and realities in this article to help the reader comprehend the situation better and gain clarity. I encourage you to scroll down and read them if you are interested to know what is going on. The devil is always in the details. However, it is essential to add that these documents and rules do not apply to Jewish Israelis.

I feel obliged and saddened to refer to a specific group of people by their religion, but this conflict has put on a religious attire. Israel was established as a Jewish state, and thereby by the very fact of its existence; it excludes its non-Jewish citizens. And it is only a fact that Israel has recently passed a controversial law stating in essence that this land, including the West Bank, or the area under Palestinian Authority, is a land for the Jews.     

And what complicates the matter even further is the issue of settlements. In a utopian situation, settlements can be understood as neighborhoods inside the West Bank areas. They are Jewish communities that live separately on hilltops overlooking Palestinian villages and cities. These ever-expanding settlements are built usually on land confiscated from Palestinians. Settlers come mainly from the United States, France, and a few other countries.

The mosque indicates a Palestinian neighborhood. The houses up the hill and further in the picture is a Jewish settlement.

In many cases, they don't speak Hebrew. Paradoxically, since the Arabic language shares Hebrew its Semitic origin, the accent of Palestinians when speaking Hebrew is better than the settlers coming from the US or France. The Arabic language shares the Semitic origins of the Hebrew language, and Palestinians also share the Semitic origin. So, the term 'anti-Semitic’ is a third crazy narrative.

However, these settlers have Israeli passports. They vote in the Israeli elections and commute daily to work inside Israel. What is scary regarding settlers is that they are armed, some with machine guns, and are always protected by the Israeli army when moving from the West Bank to Israel. They are protected by the military even when they attack Palestinian civilians. Some are fanatical in their views towards Palestinians, demanding the Israeli government adopt harsher measures against Palestinians in their rallies and frequently chant ‘death for Arabs’ in their demonstrations. Recently, settlers have committed more attacks against Palestinian villages, vandalizing homes and property, uprooting trees, and beating up Palestinians. This reality makes the situation very volatile.   

Under the pretext of protecting settlers, Israel has erected computerized checkpoints[1] at every city and village entrance inside the West Bank. These checkpoints link the information to military headquarters around the West Bank. There are even iron gates outside many villages.

The Israeli army can close off any town or city when seen necessary. Gaza has been completely sealed off since 2006 and is an open-air prison. Israel decides what enters Gaza in terms of food or merchandise. This is sometimes used as a tactic or tool to punish the leaders in Gaza and, therefore, the people in Gaza for their choice to fight the current imposed situation, which is a very inhuman siege.

A puzzling example of such complicated existence is found in the city of Hebron. Jewish settlers live at the heart of the old city, and as a result, the Israeli army has erected checkpoints at the entrance of these neighborhoods. So there are Palestinians in Hebron who need to go through such checkpoints to go back to their homes several times a day as they commute for work or school.      

Examples of Differentiating Rules Imposed on Palestinians in the Everyday Life

Each group of Palestinians mentioned above has a different identity card, with differentiating colors and rules that apply only to that particular group. The list below reflects some of the rules and examples of such discriminatory reality.

1.    1.  Palestinians living inside Israel:

• ·       They are Palestinians who didn’t flee their homes in the 1948 war when Israel was established. They remained in their cities like Haifa, Jaffa, Nazareth, the Negev Desert, and Golan Heights.
• ·       They were given Israeli passports, can vote in the Israeli elections, use the airport, and speak Arabic and Hebrew.
• ·       BUT, this is a crucial point. Most of them don't serve in the Israeli army because if they did, they would be using force, oppressing their fellow Palestinians inside the West Bank and Gaza. But because they don't serve in the army, many financial privileges are withheld, and thus their cities and neighborhoods lack adequate infrastructure. They face discrimination in terms of employment opportunities. Recently crime has infested their towns and communities.
• ·       Another disadvantage I want to highlight here is significant because it underscores the implicit policy of the state of Israel towards Palestinians in general. Most Palestinians living inside Israel are not allowed to fix anything in their homes and are rarely given a license to build. If they are given a license, then the numbers they have to pay for such a permit are astronomical compared to what Jewish Israelis need to pay. As a result, many are forced to live under unfavorable conditions or build without a license.
• ·       However, they benefit from certain privileges inside Israel like the freedom of movement and travel and are insured in the Israeli health care system. Some benefit from the peculiar position of being both an Arab Palestinian Israeli who speaks both languages and have an inside look, knowledge, and understanding of the Israeli Jewish society and the Palestinian society.

2.    2. Palestinians living inside the West Bank:

• ·       This area was occupied in 1967.
• ·       We live under the Palestinian Authority's rule, but the Israeli army frequently enters our cities for arrests.
• ·       We have green identity cards, which means we need permits to enter Jerusalem or Israel for any reason such as work, visits, or health issues, and these permits are denied or accepted depending on security checks.
• ·       Even before applying or getting a permit, we need to apply for a primary magnetic card that uses both handprints and face profiling as a prerequisite for any permit.
• ·       We don't have the freedom of movement or travel. We travel through Jordan, and we are not allowed to use Tel Aviv airport except for a few business people or a few who belong to the Palestinian Authority. This exception is just another way to create further division among Palestinians.    
• ·       We suffer from the unpredictability and danger of checkpoint policies because of their changeability according to circumstances.
• ·       Settlers’ attacks pose a significant threat to Palestinian villages and roads and reflect an implicit Israeli policy to support settlement building and racist views against the Palestinian population.

3.    3.  Palestinians living inside Gaza:

• ·       It was occupied in 1967.
• ·       It has been under an inhuman siege since 2006 and is even fenced in. Anyone leaving or entering Gaza needs to pass through either one of these two entry points: one is controlled by the Israeli army, the other controlled by the Egyptian authorities.
• ·       Hamas rules it; a few people are allowed to enter Gaza. Only workers who pass security checks with special permits leave Gaza to work inside Israel and come back to Gaza every day or every weekend.
• ·       It is complicated for anyone to leave Gaza, and some who do can never return to it because they cannot guarantee a permit to leave. For example, students from Gaza studying abroad are always in a difficult position since they can’t go back home until they finish their studies.
• ·       Since 2006, Gaza has endured five wars. The amount of explosives used in these wars surpasses the amount used in any war you can think of.

4.   4.  Palestinians living inside Jerusalem:

• ·       They are Palestinians who didn’t flee the city and were given blue identity cards, giving them the freedom of movement, travel, and ability to work inside Israel. Many speak both Hebrew and Arabic.
• ·       They are insured in the Israeli health care system but similar to Palestinians inside Israel; Israeli rules do not allow them to renovate or fix anything in their homes. They are rarely given a license to build, and if they are given a license, then the amount of money they have to pay for such a permit is enormous compared to Jewish Israelis.
• ·       And similarly, they don't serve in the Israeli army, and thus under such pretext, they are deprived of significant financial benefits.
• ·       Recently, Israelis claim to ‘have bought’ many homes belonging to Palestinians inside the old city and Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, but Palestinians consider such contracts falsified. Orthodox Jews have taken over many homes in the Eastern Arab part of the city and were allowed to renovate their hundreds or even thousands of years old houses.
• ·       The number of Arab Palestinian Jerusalemites has dwindled significantly due to such policies, and the Arab Muslim identity of the city is portrayed as being Jewish.    

5.    5. Palestinians in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan:

• ·       These are the Palestinians who fled their homes due to the 1948 war.
• ·       In Lebanon, they live under unbelievably difficult circumstances: They have no official documents and no work permits in Lebanon. So officially, they cannot work or study in a local university and live off the aid of UNRWA.
• ·       In Syria, and before the war in 2012, the Palestinian refugees lived under better circumstances. They had official documents, work permits, had freedom of movement, and could learn in Syrian Universities.
• ·       However, armed groups targeted the Palestinian refugee camps during the war in Syria. Many refugees fled Syria to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Europe.
• ·       In Jordan, the status of refugees is similar to that in Syria in terms of having official documents, work permits, and the ability to learn in local universities.

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[1] I also recommend another movie on Netflix called The Present, which depicts the daily hardship of passing through these checkpoints.