Hope for Palestine independence

A senior Palestinian Official announced that Palestine now has 116 countries officially recognising it as a state, a declaration that they hope will advance Palestine’s bid to join the UN. Dr Nabil Shaath of the Palestinian Central Council, during a round table discussion at Chatham House in London on Wednesday, said that the Arab Spring had provided Palestine with a great opportunity. He believes that there is a new ‘mood’ in the Arab world stemming directly from the events this spring based on peaceful mass protest, similar to those that occurred in Egypt and Tunisia. Both the movements (the Arab Spring and Palestinian liberation) are based on similar principles of self determination and freedom of oppression, and Dr. Shaath hoped that this new ‘mood’ and continued international support will help force Israel back to the negotiating table on Palestinian terms. He quipped about Israel preceding and following him to every county he visited so as to try and discredit him, but astutely observed that a war with Israel was unwinnable. However, he pronounced that a diplomatic fight was certainly within Palestine’s grasp. Although Dr. Shaath was optimistic, other speakers seemed less sure, postulating that what is needed for success at the UN and for independence is ‘unequivocal Western state support’ which with an increasingly more inward looking US and EU will be hard to obtain. It was also observed that for Palestine to obtain the ‘critical mass’ of people for a successful protest the Palestinians outside of the state (the majority) are going to have to return. Whether this autumn brings Palestine closer remains to be seen, and although as of yet there does not appear to be any real change in the attitudes towards Palestine, it is obvious that the Arab world is in flux. What remains to be seen is whether or not Palestine can translate this into a successful drive towards independence.