Alternative track to Palestine

In January last year, at the height of Israel's entrenchment in Gaza, I wrote a piece that suggested that following King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz's wise and widely commendable yet short-lived success in forging a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, the Arab leaders should sponsor a blueprint for sustainable and unified Palestinian leadership. I have gone back to this idea a number of times since. At times I was disappointed that the Arabs did not actively work towards this goal and at others I doubted its practicality. The latter sentiment has become increasingly predominant.

I now think that my idea of having the Arabs work with the Palestinian movements in order to achieve a unified stance was romantic at best and was motivated by the inhumanity of the siege and attacks by the Israeli army then.

The reality is that Fatah, the Islamic Jihad and Hamas have all become turf-conscious ideological political establishments as opposed to liberation movements. I doubt whether any of their leaders really think of, let alone have executable ideas, achieving a two-state solution. Yes, there are calls for it and CTRL+P ready proposals, but they lack economic and social practicality. I have not heard from any of those parties any realistically fathomable idea on the Palestinians' right of return, or what to do about Occupied East Jerusalem beyond denouncing Israel's moves.

Following Hamas' 2005 victory in most of the municipalities it contested, Salah Abdul Shafi Palestinian economist and current Palestinian Ambassador to Sweden said: "I think it's very, very serious it's becoming obvious that they can't agree on anything." Fatah is "widely seen as being in desperate need of reform", as "the PA's performance has been a story of corruption and incompetence and Fatah has been tainted." A year later, Hamas would gain majority in the Palestinian parliament. Many thought that with its social development record in its constituencies, Hamas would bring in a much-needed jolt of, perhaps not reform, but something that would force Fatah to review its own ineffectiveness.

Alas, we've painfully realised that Hamas has quickly become more interested in consolidating power in Gaza than advancing the case for Palestine. The peculiar Iranian connection, though not as blatant as Hezbollah, is starting to outweigh Hamas' longer relationship with Saudi Arabia. And in another similar fashion to Hezbollah, Hamas has also lost its position as a voice of people who are disoriented and disgruntled with Fatah corrupt bureaucracy. In fact, the latter's state is so dire that veterans such as Faruq Al Qaddumi, Hani Al Hassan and Jibril Rajoub have become open critics of it.

Lack of pragmatic leadership

Where do we go from here? Who has the persevering capacity to commit to a two- state solution, largely viewed as the only realistic present solution?I very much doubt that any of the groups have the capacity of making the required intellectual migration to achieve such a goal. Palestine is yet to find a pragmatic leader that understands the end goal.

I propose for some of the funds that have been coming from around the world, particularly from the Gulf, be diverted into setting up lobbying offices for the cause of the Palestinian State. These offices should also be endorsed and financially supported by a broad range of prominent business and intellectual leaders of the Palestinian Diaspora. Though I developed my ideas independently, I found a fantastic paper that proposes a similar idea by Sara Hanafi, titled ‘Between Two Worlds: Palestinian Businessmen from the Diaspora and the Building of a Palestinian Entity'. In it, Hanafi concludes: "the investments conducted individually or collectively by Palestinian businessmen of the Diaspora remain modest relative to the total financial might of the Palestinian bourgeoisie. Yet, they are very significant when compared to the overall foreign aid promised. So far, Palestinian businessmen are apparently not waiting for Marshall Plan before they start building a Palestinian entity, as was hoped by the leaders of the PLO [or] the Palestinian population in general. [What they] expect from the West is political rather than economic support. They have also learned to take the initiative as a private sector, without requesting assistance from the State."

What I would like to build on from Hanafi's work is how this "political support" from the West can be achieved. I believe that these lobbying offices could go a long way, if not all the way, in garnering the required understanding and, subsequently, the support for a two-state solutions with all the required political, economic and social considerations.

So why am I writing this article here? Over the last few years, the UAE has set a great example of how Arabs can communicate better with the West. The UAE Embassy in Washington D.C. has been working hard at this. The UAE continues to be viewed as a pragmatic, wise nation around the world. These two attributes position as the ideal incubator for such an important peace project.

This is a new century and we must work towards a new Palestine that is built on achievable pragmatism as opposed to empty rhetoric. Time will tell if the Palestinian Diaspora can mobilise effectively and develop a Palestinian Collaboration Manifesto towards that goal.

Mishaal Al Gergawi is an Emirati commentator on socio-economic and cultural affairs in the UAE.