New embassy complex and bilateral talks will be a morale booster
President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas’s Pakistan visit comes at a crucial time, with the future of his people at a defining crossroads. Over decades, every avenue has been explored to end the occupation, including terror, the intifada, peace talks, recognition of Israel, asymmetrical warfare and world’s condemnation, but to no avail. The treatment of the Palestinians by the ‘chosen people’ has some parallels to what the latter themselves suffered at the hands of the Aryan ‘master race’. Israel’s expansionist quest for Eretz Israel, USA’s political and military support and UN vetoes, political infighting among Fatah and Hamas leadership, hard-line far right governments in Tel Aviv, quantum increase in settler power and influence, and the recent rise of Donald Trump have all raised doubts about the idea of the two-state solution.
At a time when the fortunes and morale of the Palestinian people are at their lowest ebb, the inauguration of the new Palestinian Embassy Complex in Islamabad’s Diplomatic Enclave jointly by the president and the Pakistani prime minister is a ray of light in the present gloom of the Palestinian leaders regarding their independence. Islamabad’s long held and unwavering stand for a Palestinian state, come what may, in accordance with various UN resolutions will no doubt be reiterated in the scheduled talks between the two leaderships, which should focus on Pakistan’s assistance in alleviating hardships of the people in the Gaza Strip and other humanitarian work. Pakistan’s opposition to the unbridled settler construction in East Jerusalem and to the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem must be vigorously spelt out in the joint communiqué.
The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Though a Palestinian state may seem far in the future, the one-state solution is a double edged weapon for Israel too. The logic of demography, with Palestinians possibly outnumbering Jews by around 2020, and the prerequisites of democracy, including one man, one vote, should ring warning bells for those aspiring for a Jewish and democratic Israel.