As long as the Arab world remains firm and clear that the United States must stop blocking a two-state solution, there is a good chance that an independent and sovereign UN member state of Palestine will emerge in the near future.
Israel’s war on Gaza became a war for the liberation of Palestine. The brutality of the war and its blatant disregard for international law shook world politics to its core. But with Arab unity, Palestine will win its liberation and pave the way for peace and security in the Middle East through a two-state solution.
While the U.S. government acknowledges the need for a two-state solution, it has blocked it in practice, using its only veto power last month to block Palestine’s accession to the United Nations. Israel expects the U.S. to continue blocking the emergence of a truly sovereign Palestinian state. But even this obstacle can be overcome.
Arab nations have shown impressive unity in fending off US resistance. After an Arab League meeting in Bahrain in mid-May, the Arab world is moving towards a global conference to implement the two-state solution.
The Bahrain Declaration calls for “the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations to end Israel’s occupation of all occupied Arab territories, in accordance with the legitimacy of the international community, and to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two-State solution in which an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state will exist alongside Israel in peace and security, as a way of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”
Arab unity around a two-state solution has been growing for more than two decades. Despite Israel’s rejection of the Arab peace proposal for a two-state solution and the United States’ repeated support of Israel’s veto policy, the Arab Peace Initiative achieved a breakthrough in 2002. After the Gaza war broke out in October, Arab and Islamic leaders reiterated the peace proposal at a meeting in Riyadh in November.
Since then, Arab-backed diplomacy towards a two-state solution has accelerated, while on the ground, Israel’s war on Gaza continues unabated. After multiple delays and vetoes by the United States, the UN Security Council finally endorsed an immediate ceasefire on 25 March, despite Israel’s brazen ignorance of the resolution. On 18 April, the UN Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of Palestine joining the UN, with only the United States opposed and two abstentions (the UK and Switzerland). On 10 May, the UN General Assembly voted 143-9 to overwhelmingly support Palestine’s application for UN membership. On 22 May, Norway, Spain and Ireland announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state, with the Irish Prime Minister saying he was confident “more countries will follow suit”.
Not only is the US-Arab League diplomatic process isolating the US, but the forces of international law are also inexorably at work. A South African case against Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) led to a key ICJ preliminary ruling on January 26th, stating that Israel is likely violating the 1948 Genocide Convention, and on Friday an emergency order was issued for Israel to immediately cease operations in Rafah. This week the International Criminal Court prosecutor also recommended arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as three Hamas leaders.
The World Conference will bypass the United States. It is likely that the United States will change its position. It is intolerable for the United States to be isolated in the world, which is untenable for its security and national interests. The United States needs to have good relations with the Arab world because of its population of about 500 million, its strategic location, its economic role and its centrality in the global energy system. The United States also needs to have good relations with the entire Islamic world and its approximately 2 billion Muslims.
The Israel Lobby in the US is working hard to block any move towards a two-state solution. In corrupt US politics, money talks. The Israel Lobby pledges campaign funds. But lobbying has its limits. US public opinion is turning against Israel’s apartheid policies and shocking violence in Gaza.
The US mainstream media is now telling Americans how the Israeli justice system has been an instrument of oppression, land grabbing and systematic murder of Palestinians since long before last October. Social media shows the daily destruction in Gaza with Israeli soldiers gleefully destroying universities, hospitals and apartment buildings.
The US is trying its final trick, the old divide and conquer tactic, by trying to undermine Arab unity over Palestine through a backroom deal with Saudi Arabia, promising nuclear technology, advanced fighter jets and defense agreements if the Saudis immediately normalize relations with Israel, again leaving Palestinian sovereignty to a vague peace process.
The US gambit will almost certainly fail, as Arab nations realize that Arab unity has unprecedented power in establishing peace in the region. They are not only on the side of the Palestinian cause, but also of overwhelming world opinion. As long as the Arab world remains firm in its stance that the US must stop blocking a two-state solution, an independent and sovereign Palestine will soon emerge as a UN member state, in accordance with the will of the region and the world community.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.