Palestinian negotiators in Cairo know well that this may be their last chance at breaking the blockade of Gaza. It should, therefore, be no surprise that they would walk out of any agreement that does not guarantee that.
If the killing of more than 1,900 Gazans was not a high enough price for the Palestinians to pay for the lifting of the inhumane blockade, then what is? How many Palestinian deaths does Israel want on its record before agreeing to the most basic of demands? If Israel walks away from these negotiations without lifting the blockade, it has made it as clear as ever that it never intends to — at least not through negotiations. Any further negotiations with the occupier would be in vain.
The Palestinians should not be blamed if they abandon the negotiations entirely and declare that “there is no partner for peace”. Israel has fooled a naive Arab world for two decades into believing that it wants peace. Yet, in those two decades it has further entrenched its colonisation, killed thousands of Palestinians and ethnically cleansed many more. Every arm that has stretched an olive branch to it has been savagely chopped. Hence, it is unrealistic, but more importantly unjust, on the Palestinians for the Arabs to continue negotiating with Israel and for the international community to expect them to keep returning to the negotiating table.
A rejection of any deal that does not include a full lifting of the blockade should not be seen as stubborn posturing or politicking. Palestinian negotiators owe it to the people of Gaza, and particularly those who have been killed, not to walk out of those talks with a deal that does not provide a just solution for Gaza. This matter is not about handing Hamas a victory, as some have suggested, but handing back the Palestinians their lives. The international community and the Arab world, despite their differences with Gaza’s rulers, should not let Gaza’s people be held hostage.
The Palestinian negotiating team cannot be pressured into accepting an unjust agreement. It cannot and should not be forced into submission, and it cannot and should not let the lives of those who died go in vain.
