This course explores the politics of the Middle East with particular focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Identity and Politics in the region, the role of Islam and the U.S. in the region's politics. Fall 2007
Simulation Blog: Friends and Allies of Palestine
posted by Muqtedar Khan @ 9:16 PM
20 comments
Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. He is also the Director of the Islamic Studies Program. He is a Non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom (Amana, 2002), Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity and Strategy in International Relations (Praeger, 2004).
20 Comments:
The Friends and Allies of Palestine agreed on an outline of our demands in the meeting, they are as follows:
1. The creation of a recognized Palestinian States with full sovereignty over the pre-1967 borders.
2. The right of return for all Arab refugees and due compensation for their loss and hardship as well as compensation for the Arab governments that have taken care of them.
3. Secure access to reliable transportation from the Gaza to the West Bank.
4. A retrial for all Arab prisoners being held by Israel, to take place in a neutral court.
Friends & Allies of Palestine- CAIR
Last week, CAIR hosted a joint conference between Arab nations and Islamic lobby groups, in hopes of clarifying our common interest for the creation and security of a Palestinian state. CAIR supports the demands outlined in this conference, and hopes for a negotiated settlement with Israel. We also hope that the United States will abandon it's historically unlimited & uncritical support of Israel and its occupation, and serve as an un-biased mediator to future negotiations. At last week's conference, a fellow Islamic lobby suggested that if just negotiations are made, and our demands are met, that President Bush should visit the newly defined Palestinian state. CAIR supports this idea, in hopes that it will counter-act the Islamic-phobia that has victimized American Muslims across the United States. We hope the U.S media will follow the global trend, of fair and accurate reporting of the Palestinian plight. CAIR also encouraged the removal of all illegal settlements throughout GAZA and the West Bank. CAIR is strongly against building walls in Jerusalem to separate holy sites of Muslims and Jews. We feel that walls would counteract the international respect we are seeking for Islam faith. Muslims should be free to practice and worship alongside any other religion.
CAIR continues to condemn terrorism, and is anxious to assist in securing civil rights for Muslims across the world.
If possible we would like to hold a meeting tonight to attempt to make some agreements with Palestine on their part now that we fully understand what Israel wants. please meet at Trabant with as much of your group as possible at 9 tonight.
We did not find out about this meeting until too late. Please email any meeting times to the Palestinians. President Abbas will not be available for any meetings Wednesday Nov 14. If it is possible to arrange a meeting time before 11 am on Thursday he can attend.
sgold@UDel.Edu, emjoseph@comcast.net, ghakim@UDel.Edu, mkirby@UDel.Edu, scurran@UDel.Edu, schrandt@UDel.Edu
Letters were exchanged between the leaders of Fatah and Hamas late this evening. President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Hamas as "murderous terrorists" and "coup plotters" following the events of Tuesday November 13.
BBC News:
""Hamas says it has rounded up dozens of Fatah activists in Gaza, a day after a huge rally commemorating Yasser Arafat ended in gunfire killing seven people. Witnesses say security forces opened fire on unarmed crowds after the rally turned into a protest against the Hamas movement's takeover of Gaza in June.
Hamas says its police came under attack from Fatah gunmen and returned fire.
Fatah party officials allege 400 of their supporters were arrested and dozens more summoned for questioning.
President Abbas has declared a three-day period of mourning for the dead and flags flew at half-mast throughout the West Bank, which has remained under Fatah control since the summer's violence.
Chaos
A spokesman for Hamas's Executive Force security teams said troops had detained about 50 Fatah members since the rally.
More than 200,000 people attended Monday's rally in Gaza City, making it Fatah's biggest show of force in the overcrowded coastal territory since Hamas took control in the summer.
Crowds were dispersing after listening to speeches from Fatah figures now based in the West Bank when the first shots rang out. ""
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7092365.stm
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A response was received from Hamas within hours.
President Abbas,
Whatever your personal feelings regarding our organization may be, you must take into account the simple fact that if you do not seek our cooperation in this vital conference, we will make your lives a living hell. You place an incredible amount of faith in your theory that when the Palestinian people get some land, all support for Hamas will quickly drift away. I have two questions for you: Do you really think that all Palestinians will be satisfied with your partial peace? And are you truly willing to risk Civil War on that crackpot theory?
If you make a deal without consulting us, we will rebel. If you continue your campaign to exterminate us, we will fight. You know how strong our warriors are, you know that we will wound you greatly. You will not be able
to deal with us alone, and you will call in foreign troops; perhaps they will be United Nations, perhaps they will be American, perhaps even Israeli. Whomever you call, the image you send the world will be the same...Palestine cannot control their own people; Fatah is ineffectual it eradicating terrorists; Palestine is too weak to defend herself without foreign aid. You will become the laughing stock of the world..."Look, the Palestinians fought for so long for independence, and now they rely on the West to take care of basic needs"
We are offering you a chance to avoid all this. Talk with us, negotiate with us, and all of this unpleasantness will be avoided.
Remember, Even if you ignore us, we will remain. We will not be swept under the rug and ignored.
Khaled Mashaal
Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
========================
Khaled,
my response to you is this. What I am most interested in is showing the world that we, the Palestinian Authority, are truly dedicated to a lasting peace between Palestine and Israel. I am not afraid to appeal for the help of greater nations such as the United States or the European Nations in ridding our new state of a terrorist organization. You cannot intimidate us with your threats any longer.
We demand the release of all prisoners, your fellow Palestinians. We also demand the return of the Gaza Strip to legitimate governance. Following this we will be willing to discuss possible democratic solutions for our future state of Palestine.
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ
Mahmoud Abbas
This post has been removed by the author.
"Greater nations such as the United States...?" So what shall it be? The Palestinian territory of the United States? Or perhaps the Palestinian State of Israel?
Abbas, you betray the Palestinian people through your very words! It is clear that you are so deep in the shadow of the Americans that you have forgotten your true loyalties lie.
You say that you will support free elections, but then you accept nearly one billion dollars from Israel on the condition that you "kill Hamas". It is we who shouldn't trust you, yet here we are, taking that chance. As for our prisoners of yours, perhaps we will work on that, if you decide to negotiate with us
Khaled Mashaal
Mr. Abbas,
Upon Hamas winning the election in 2006, you have told the Supreme Judicial Council in the Gaza Strip to stop functioning. Because of this, we had to set up a new judiciary called the Higher Judicial Council! This is to show the world that we ARE a legitimate gove
A top Fatah office who will not be named said that the 'Hamas government is illegitimate ...it has no right[s] ... relating to the judiciary.'
You are still trying to undermine our authority.
-Prime Minister Ismail Haniya سماعيل هنية
It was made clear to me at the last meeting that several of the Arab nations were disappointed that more consideration had not been given to the costs they had sustained by hosting refugees these many years. I would like to publicly state that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia intends to help compensate these countries for helping Muslims in a time of need and as a token of good will towards this peace process.
King Abdullah (Wes)
President Abbas made a speech at the conference today Nov 15th:
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished audience, allow me to begin by extending my thanks to the nations who have joined us here for this Peace Conference. I would also like to extend my greetings and thanks to the American people for their continuing assistance to our people on all levels especially in rebuilding the infrastructure and in a multitude of other vital projects that will play a role in building our independent democratic state that will live alongside the Israeli state in security and stability.
We have many pending issues with the Israelis starting with the checkpoints and ending with the political solution. The end to our negotiations here will be founded upon many proposals and agreements. As we stated in our last session, we fully agree to a two-state solution within the pre-1967 borders. The new Palestine will constitute the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We are not however, willing to accept a long protracted withdrawal by the Israelis. The resettlement of the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian refugees will already take quite some time to accomplish and we do not wish to prolong the time any longer than necessary. The creation of the new Palestine will require urban planning and the building of new infrastructure which will be difficult to accomplish if we must work around Israeli settlements.
We are willing to negotiate on those settlements who wish to remain within the West Bank. However, these settlements cannot remain under the jurisdiction of Israel. How are we to create a unified state with an annexed territory as large as Ariel falling directly in the center of it? Israelis who wish to remain in the settlements in the West Bank will fall under Palestinian rule and may become Palestinian citizens with equal rights and civil liberties. We will have to coordinate with the IDF, upon the creation of Palestine, the disarmament of the settlements. We will also ask for a concession of land to be given by Israel, in return for allowing the settlements to remain.
In return we will offer Israel the counter terrorist measures it requires. We will help to bring lawlessness to an end. We should start from our side by stopping the launch of rockets and imprisoning those who seek to quarrel with Israel. We will put an end to the antics of Hamas. I believe Hamas has committed a coup de’tat against the legitimate Palestinian government. Until they return everything as it was, returning the control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority and releasing the 400 some prisoners they took on November 13, there will be no talks. But we must speak of international reconciliation not discord, because the killing, destruction, and violence is not part of our culture. I believe that once we have provided a home for the Palestinian refugees, the conditions that have caused them to turn to radical groups like Hamas will be eliminated. In turn terrorism stemming from Lebanon and other Arab countries due to the strain of resources brought about by these refugees on their lands will be eliminated.
In previous negotiations Israel has agreed to give Palestine money for the building of infrastructure in order that we may create a prosperous economy. These talks ensued on Tuesday with Prime Minister Peres in Turkey as we discussed the development of two industrial zones in the West Bank. This which will create 5,000 jobs for Palestinians and is to be sponsored by Turkey. The expedient building of this infrastructure is necessary so that we may be able to provide our citizens with good schools, jobs, and healthcare services.
We have also been negotiating with Israel over the control of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Olmert understands the importance of this city to the Muslim people and has agreed to cede the Temple Mount and Palestinian neighborhoods to the control of the Palestinians. However, I urge the Mr. Olmert to reconsider his stipulation that there should be a presence troops, even if they are peacekeeping troops, at this holiest of shrines. I am afraid that this will incense some Muslims who will be greatly offended at their presence in a holy place. We of course will welcome Jews and Christians to this shrine to worship beside us as People of the Book.
We also ask that some of the funds set aside by Israel for the building of infrastructure be immediately channeled into the reconstruction of Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It is here that the sidewalks disappear, our school buses get caught in potholes, trash is collected infrequently leading to unsanitary living conditions, and we are unable to provide decent schools and medical facilities to our children. We would see our children grow and prosper alongside the Israeli children.
The initial sum of $40 billion from the US and the EU was decided on in reparation to the Palestinian refugees. A further commitment of UN peacekeeping troops for a period of 5 years is to be put in place to safeguard the passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Right of Return within the borders of Palestine will be given and negotiations concerning the reunification of families within the boundaries of Israel will be negotiated.
Of course these negotiations must first derive from the parties involved but we are in need of the interference of the international community and regional powers and the help of our friends to help and to push the peace process in order to reach a conclusion. I feel that Israel is truly committed to taking steps towards peace and I can only hope that we make further strides in these negotiations. "If there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians and the occupation of Arab lands ends, Israel will also live in a sea of peace, security and stability in the Middle East." As Condoleeza so aptly put it at our last meeting, “It is time for us all to make difficult decisions for the sake of peace.”
To my fellow Palestinians with conflicting view points:
One of the biggest detriments to the Palestinian cause is the lack of continuity within our leadership. While Hamas is the elected government, they are not recognized as legit by numerous other nations. Rather, they are considered a terrorist organization. Therefore, political leaders are refusing to deal with them. Instead, they are talking with Fatah. This process continually creates hostilities within the Palestinian people. As a result, the cause will continuously be hurt until Fatah and Hamas can learn to work together for a common good. With that said, other nations are setting up and adding to this trap. Dont give into it.
Hamas will gladly work with Fatah towards a peaceful solution...as soon as Fatah publically berates Israel for paying them one billion dollars to eliminate our organization.
CAIR left the negotiation tables with the European nations on Nov. 13th. At the conclusion of the first round of meetings, and after the Israeli government’s press release, CAIR was hopeful that a just negotiation could be made. However, Tuesday’s discussions seemed to thwart all advances we had made in our original deliberations, and once again, the plight of Arabs was forgotten. France and Britain reneged on promises that had been made in the initial negotiations. While agreeing to allocate $40 billion for ROR of Palestinians, this money would only be granted to refugees who passed the application process, and resettlement would be within the bounds of the newly established Palestine (while Israel gave a press release prior to this, stating that ROR would be given in Israel). European nations refused to discuss reimbursement to Arab nations, namely Lebanon and Jordan, for the costs they have accumulated in Palestinian refugees. France and Britain refused to apply any pressure to the U.S or Israel to follow through on their agreement, and are only willing to provide troops for 5 years to secure the borders of West Bank and Gaza. European nations seem to have selective amnesia of the countless times the United States and Israel acted as an aggressor in the Middle East. Israel’s press release after the 2nd round of negotiations proved to be an “about face”, as stated that certain Israeli settlements would be given back to Palestine “with time”, and the permanence of one settlement in the middle of Palestine. These terms were “non-negotiable”. In other words, Israel is carving a turkey, keeping the juiciest parts of Palestine for itself, and leaving the morsels that are left over for Palestine. CAIR will not support any more humiliation to the Muslim world. The U.S must stop is unilateral support NOW, and consider the voices of American Muslims!
Hey guys-
I know this isn't the right place to post this, but since it's related to our simulation i figured its ok. Did anyone read the NYT yesterday? I found it amusing- the handshake with Bush, Olmert and Abbas. Just as Khan predicted, the event was all about photo-ops. 2 days, and all that happened was an "agreement" to "negotiate". And the papers portray this as progress... hmmm. Forget the fact that nothing of substance was settled. Yes, it is some achievement that they got them all in the same room, but the Palestinians hope of actually getting some kind of acknowledgement of the refugee situation was crushed. And the protest in Palestine was portrayed in later NYT pages, as those opposed to negotiations, but in reality, they were opposed to the gradualism of negotiations, and were hoping that after 6 decades of unrest, there would be some action taken. As we can all predict, these negotiations will probably be lots of fluff, with Condoleeza doing all the foot work, and Bush will probably come step in by Nov 2008 with a last ditch effort to increase his credibility before he leaves. I also thought it was amusing that in our simulation, Iran didn't show, and that's exactly what happened in Annapolis. And the Arab League was virtually a non-mentioned player at Annapolis, which was also what happened in the simulation negotiations. So I'd say our class did a fairly good job predicting the reality of Middle Eastern "negotiations".
The idea that CAIR is a legitimate actor in this debate is dubious. CAIR has been linked to various outlets of Wahabi/salafist Islam in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, responsible for exporting islamic extremism and sharia modeled oppression through the middle east and the world under the guise of educational and sociological initiative. CAIR need not voice such strong opposition to the US's supposed "unilateral support" for any position while their position is firmly solidified on a foundation of irreconciliable extremism and intolerance.
The Arab Israeli conflict is a struggle that has plagued the Middle East for the last fifty years. Through our class studies as well as our simulation, the geographic struggle for an actual home state for these two different but similar groups of people has occupied the world stage for appropriate reasons. Although numerous attempts have been made by world leaders to right this ever growing struggle, the idea of peace is as foreign to this struggle as is a home state for the Palestinians. The most important aspect of the conflict stems from the desire for an identity. Both groups, the Israelis and the Palestinians have sought the ability to lead a peaceful existence but have been unable to live in harmony.
The overwhelming inability to find peace seems to be rooted in the tradition of discourse and hate these two groups share for one another. The most glaring problem found in the conflict is the fact that both sides are incapable of allowing the other to feel as if they have obtained an upper hand. The ever growing pride of each group aids in the lack of commitment to peace. I truly believe that the conflict continues to go on because each group refuses to appear as a weaker party. With an attempt to create peace, one side will be forced to compromise its beliefs and values and thus be portrayed in a negative light. Along with obtaining their goals, both parties wish to be viewed as the victim, once again allowing pride to come in the way of peace.
In playing the role of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, it became clear to me the overwhelming pressure that exists in negotiating for a country. Syria, being a key player in the Middle East, allowed me a clear cut advantage in negotiating for what I believed would be important to my state. The acquisition and return of the Golan Heights as well as compensation for refugees that occupied land were key issues in negotiations. In early talks with Israel it became clear the that greater part of the Golan Heights would be returned to Syria due to the agreement for pre 1967 borders. Compensation could only have be attained through negations that guaranteed the end of harboring terrorist as well as support and recognition of an Israeli state.
The simulation itself showed and proved that attempting to find peace can be a very difficult process when dealing with such a prolonged conflict. With both sides deeply rooted in their beliefs there was little room for diplomacy and negotiations. Both sides desired peace as a common goal but were unwilling to waiver in what they felt was right. It became quite clear that all parties that were involved in the peace process put their own well being and self preservation vastly before peace. Although this might seem selfish and arbitrary the simulation taught us that you must look out for you own self before all else.
We were unable to come up with a peaceful resolution at our conference, but we did make strides in the right direction. The simulation made it quite clear that in order to obtain peace, all sides involved must be able to compromise their beliefs and put the good of the whole as their first priority.
I was very disappointed by the fact that Lebanon and other Arab countries that have been severely affected by the Arab-Israeli conflict were not given more say in the proceedings. Lebanon has suffered massive losses, both human and economic, at the hands of the Israelis and no matter one’s opinion of the country, they have certainly earned their right to he heard. It is undeniable that any outcome from the peace talks will drastically effect Lebanon and that being so, they should have had the opportunity to contribute. The disunity and disorganization of the Arab countries during the simulation seemed to very much reflect the real world situation. The United States and Israel didn’t seem very interested in including the Arab countries in their negotiations and unfortunately that seems to also be the case in the real world. If there is ever going to be peace, all parties need to be involved in negotiations.
While I am encouraged by the dialogue at this past conference I fear many issues were left undiscussed or even postulated which does not bode well for peace. I also must echo Lebanon's dissapointment with the level of say from many of the Arab nations in this process. While the United States played Israel's mini-me and the delgates of France and Great Britian decided it was against their religious beliefs to say anything with US approval they were heard. Lebanon, Jordan, and others were simply ignored specifically on the issue of compensation for the host countries. President Bush told me point blank "the United States will not even discuss compensation as we don't feel it is an issue that needs to be addressed."
I am also dissapointed that as a lobbyist I was left unheard by not only the American government but by the Arab world as well. As one of the few who has access to talks with all parties, sans Israel, I feel I could have played a much larger role in bridging the gaps present between the two sides. Nonetheless, the American government brushed us aside and the Arab world ignored me leaving me to wonder if the desire for peace is strong enough to mend the two sides, or if this whole convention was simply a way to save face and claim "we tried."
Sorry steph-
But those kind of comments about CAIR the exact problem of Arab-Israeli relations. The jewish lobbies, a MUCH LARGER funded and influential lobby, spread anti-CAIR sentiment as you have said. Since CAIR refuses to call HAMAS terrorists (which they are right to do, becuase HAMAS is acting against occupation) the Jewish lobby spend large sums of money to make these allegations. Since the Jewish lobby is so large, these allegations can be repeated frequently enough that AMericans absorb it as the truth. The Jewish lobby even formed a lobby under the name ANTI_CAIR. CAIR has spent time and effort to portray a positive image of Arabs among AMerican eyes. 9/11 did irreprable damage to treatment of American Arabs. In my hometown alone, a 7/11 owner was shot, purely bc he was Arab. CAIR works to counteract that. Notice how many Arabs are the enemies or "bad guys" in movies. We, as college students, may be able to see past the attempted brainwashing, but young children growing up during and post 9/11 are at risk for accepting these stereotypes of the Arab community. CAIR tries to eradicate the roots of Islamophobia, while supporting the acceptance of Jews as well. CAIR is not an anti-semetic lobby. CAIR has also condemned suicide bombing on multiple occasions because it is counterproductive to eradicating Islamophobia. The condemned the kidnapping and murder of Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia by AL-Qaeda in 2004. They called for a release of all hostages in Iraq in Sept. 2004 this was in response to the murder of American Armstrong, and two other Western hostages (one American & one Briton). CAIR also condemned the killings of civilians in GAZA. They also issued a "not in the name of islam" campaign to try and stop the association of all Muslims with fundamentalists (although I still maintain that Palestinians are commiting these bombings out of decades of personal attacks and abuses by Israel)
Check out www.cair.com rather than going straight to Anti-CAIR websites
One more thing:
After the 2nd simulation, I went as a CAIR representative with an Arab lobby to speak with "Rice". After voicing our frustration of the U.S lack of discussion with Arab nations (Rice had said that she/he had spoke with Arab nations- what he/she really meant was they spoke with one Arab nation... guess who? Saudi Arabia. No attempt had been made to speak with Jordan, Lebanon or other Arab nations burdened by the refugee crisis. When I voiced how disconcerting it was that Bush was ignoring the American Arab lobby's request to speak with him, Rice stated and I quote, "you have to understand the pressure the Zionists and Christian lobbies put on us". I urged Rice to give the same attention to the desire of the American Muslim communities, as the Zionist and Christians are receiving. Jews and Muslims are both minorities in the U.S, with less than 2% of the population. They should both be heard and represented.
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