Obama opposes a Palestinian state
President Obama’s rejection of Palestinians’ bid for the recognition of their statehood by the UN is in violation of the promise he had made at the General Assembly a year ago for the creation of a Palestinian state by the present session. The move is bound to further strengthen the anti-US sentiment in the Muslim world, weaken the pro-West Muslim regimes and strengthen extremist tendencies. In his address at Cairo University in June 2009, Obama had vowed to help the Palestinians achieve statehood amidst thunderous applause. A black American with a Muslim background being elected as the US President was seen as a miracle. Many thought this could be followed by another miracle, the creation of the Palestinian state. Over two years after his election, they find the US president obstructing the move for a Palestinian state. Obama’s claim that peace would not come through statements and resolutions at the UN but only through the resumption of direct negotiations amounts to downgrading the UN and giving Israel a veto power over Palestinian statehood.
The plight of the Palestinians has led justice loving people all over the world to support the demand for a Palestinian state. By siding with the Zionist leadership of Israel, the US has isolated itself in the comity of nations. Obama’s opposition to Palestinian state would be widely resented in the Muslim world. The blind US support for Israel has encouraged successive Israeli administrations to crush the Palestinians demanding statehood through brazen acts of state terrorism. Israeli atrocities, followed by the illegal blockade of Gaza have led Turkey, which had the closest ties with Israel among the Muslim countries, to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv to the lowest level.
Obama’s address before the General Assembly was one sided. He evoked the horrors of the Holocaust but made no mention of Israel’s construction of settlements on Palestinian land. While Obama has thus won Benjamin Netanyahu’s gratitude at a time crucial for the presidential elections due 14 months hence, he has lost much goodwill among those fighting for the Arab Spring and the worldwide Muslim community. What is more, he has provided another cause celebre to the extremists.
