Daily Alert Archives

The Palestinians' Imaginary State

(Foreign Policy) Steven J. Rosen - In a few weeks, an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly will likely vote for collective recognition of a Palestinian state. But the purely imaginary state that the assembly will endorse has neither a functioning government nor meets the requirements of international law. The PLO does not seek statehood for the West Bank. Its minimum demand is a state that includes Gaza and the eastern part of Jerusalem, demanding title to lands and authority over populations it does not control. Mahmoud Abbas is presenting himself as the president of the Palestine that is pressing the claim in the UN, but he is not considered to be the president anymore by Hamas, the largest political party in the putative state. Abbas' term expired in January 2009. The Palestine that the General Assembly will recognize also will have two rival prime ministers pursuing incompatible policies. Hamas denies that Abbas has the authority to appoint Salam Fayyad as prime minister. This putative state also has a legislature that never meets. Elected on Jan. 25, 2006, for a term of four years, the PLC has enacted no laws, and conducted no meetings since 2007. The writer served for 23 years as a senior official of AIPAC and is now the director of the Washington Project of the Middle East Forum.
2011-08-04 00:00:00
Full Article