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Palestinian Magical Thinking

(PJ Media) Jonathan Spyer - Palestinian nationalism in both its Fatah and Hamas variants rejects the possibility of accepting the permanence of Jewish statehood in any part of the area west of the Jordan River. For the Palestinian Authority, the nine-month period of negotiations came as an unwelcome interruption to a very different strategy to which it will now return: attempting to isolate and delegitimize Israel at international forums to induce it to make concessions in return for nothing. This strategy is unlikely to bear fruit, but its adoption follows a notable pattern in Palestinian politics - namely, the constant attempt to find an alternative to a negotiated peace based on compromise. The Palestinians see themselves as part of the local majority Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslim culture. From this point of view, the establishment of a non-Muslim sovereignty in Israel is not only an injustice, but also an anomaly, bound eventually to be defeated and disappear. So there is no need to reconcile to it. The campaign to place pressure on Israel through activism on the international stage is the latest example of this Palestinian magical thinking. So expect more furious and pathos-filled denunciations of Israeli crimes from various UN committees largely staffed by the representatives of various dictatorships. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
2014-05-08 00:00:00
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