PRAY FOR THEM

“Tahrir Falasteen”

Do you remember the Arab spring which started in Tunisia in late 2010? The Arabs were protesting against oppression? From Tunisia the wild fire spread to many other countries with different consequences but one image which is still vivid in my mind is the Palestinian flag. Why the Palestinian flag? Because the Palestinian flag is the symbol of the struggle against oppression the flag is a Tricolour of three equal horizontal stripes (from top to bottom black, white and green) with a covering red triangle from the hoist. The flag is the flag of the 1916 Arab revolt. The Palestinian flag was adopted by the Palestinians liberation organisation (PLO) on 28th may 1964 and reconfirmed on the “creation of the state of Palestine on 15th November 1988.

The Palestinian flag was and is a rallying cry against any form of oppression and the Zionist movement for the Arabs. The flag of Palestine and the Palestinian struggle has a deeper meaning in their psyche. The Palestinian flag has also tattooed the consciousness of all muslims around the world. But we must be very cagey as the Palestinian struggle is not a religious issue. How can the Arab world be free without a free Palestine? The bleeding open wound is not to be shrugged away.

The Palestinian has been used, misused and abused by nearly all Arab leaders because they are fully aware of the resentment of the masses against Israel since its establishment in 1948. Why am I saying all these. These consciousness issues in a Frantz fanon (Peace Notre Masque Blanc) inspiration simply because the Arab masses & others round the world will never accept the peace plan of the son in law, Jared Kushner, of president Trump.

The ‘deal of the century’ is not a peace plan. It is clear that the Jared Kushner plan is in fact in the interests of America, Israel & its cronies in the Middle-East. The cronies will support Jared Kushner’s plan not because they believe it is in the interests of the Palestinians but out of self-interests.

The Americans scheduled the announcement to coincide with the end of the Holy month of Ramadan but they never thought in their wildest dreams that Netanyahu would have failed to form a coalition Government despite winning the general elections. The Bahrain conference which is due to go ahead is doomed. Israel is on campaign again. Now the Bahrein conference will focus on investment so we must look away from the core issues such as the boundaries, the fate of Palestinian refugees, the occupied Palestinian territories, the status of Jerusalem… and how can it be a success when we know that the Palestinian leadership was not contacted about the Manama conference?

The Palestinian leadership has said with one voice that any solution to the Palestinian conflicts is political. Note that the Palestinian Authority (P.A) which governs the West Bank has cut off all relations with the United States last year.

The chief negotiator for the Palestinians is saying with a good dose of Irony that the deal of the century looks like it might be the deal of next century. Factors that will influence the American time table:

  1. Israel’s September elections
  2. The early start of the US presidential elections which is due in 2020
  • The volatile situation in many Middle-East countries
  1. The willingness of the Saudis to teach a “Lesson” to Iran
  2. The mounting divisions within the European Union and the re-emergence of Russia
  3. The role of China

And also we must not underestimate what was said by King Abdullah of Jordan that Middle-East peace is only possible with a Palestinian State and with East-Jerusalem as its Capital.

Rama Valayden