Snub for Palestine

An aborted attempt for Palestine’s full membership at the United Nations has flagged the volatility in the Middle East. It also proved beyond doubt that the US is not sincere in finding a de jure settlement for the question of statehood, and believes in playing to the gallery when it comes to the irresistible roadmap for a Two-State solution. Washington’s emissary Robert Wood’s testimony that an “acknowledgement can only come from direct negotiations between the parties” was hoodwinking, to say the least. An apt rejoinder, obviously, was from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who rightly termed it “unfair, unethical, and unjustified”. This kind of a snobbish diplomatic deal for the Palestinians, six months after a persisting genocide over Gaza, poses legitimate questions over America’s global leadership, and its credibility as an honest broker.

The snub at the world body for a stateless and hapless nation under the yoke of neo-colonialism, coupled with barbarism, will surely ignite reactions on the streets of the Muslim world. It won’t be a surprise if radicalism is borne out of it, and efforts for a negotiated way out takes a back seat. The absentee states on the resolution, Britain and Switzerland, have done a great disservice by aligning themselves with the ruckus of power arrogance. The failure of the UN to find a solution to the Palestine issue despite dozens of valid Security Council resolutions is a flak on its vitality and very existence. Apparently, it awaits the fate of the League of Nations that plunged the world into a world war, merely because it kept on appeasing a psyche of war-mongering.

The Mideast is on the brink, and the misadventure of Israeli drones hitting targets deep inside Iran on Friday adds to the restlessness of the region. A calculated calm from Tehran is appreciated, and perhaps that is the way to go in order to deescalate the situation. To what extent can this cool be kept, however, is a difficult question with no plausible answers. Time to stand down on the volatility front, and address the issue of peace and security in all sincerity.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2024.

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