When street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation on December 18, 2010, sparked a wave of protests in the North African country of Tunisia, it eventually toppled the 23-year reign of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. At the time, few suspected that such an act of defiance would ignite democratic political change throughout the Arab World.
Next week this democratic movement, known as the Arab Spring, will hit the UN General Assembly. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will ask the assembly to recognize it as a state. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the PNA, is set to deliver a keynote speech to the 193 member states that outlines a plan for admittance into the UN. Also speaking that day is Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who is expected to counter Mr. Abbas’ speech.
Will Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas at odds next week?
To explain the implications of this potential diplomatic showdown for Israel, David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee, gave a speech at Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Connecticut, on why an “end-run” by the Palestinians could create more tension than good.
“Given a choice between negotiating with an Israel that has said repeatedly over the past decade we are ready for a two-state solution, we are ready to sit without conditions and to deal with painful compromises as a result, the Palestinians have decided to spurn that opportunity,” Harris said. Instead, according to Harris, by taking their case directly to the UN, the Palestinians are spurning the chance of finding a diplomatic solution and that such a one-sided stance will not bring about lasting peace, but instead create deeper tensions in the region.
Because of the complex nature of the issues between the two nations, a unilateral push for a vote by the Palestinians will alienate Israel even further, especially now that it has become more politically isolated in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Even if the UN votes against Palestine, relations between both parties will deteriorate, he said. The answer is to avoid a vote altogether and bring the two parties back to the negotiation table. As an advocacy group, the American Jewish Committee’s message on Israel should be “yes to peace, but no to Palestinian unilateralism” he said. If the Palestinian people’s expectations aren’t met – through either a yea or a nay vote at the UN — more violence and backlash could occur on the ground in the West Bank, Gaza, and ultimately in Israel itself.
Watch Turmoil and Transformation in Israel and the Middle East on demand at FORA.tv.