To be a good global citizen is about more than our alliances with major powers; it is about how we deal with those people denied the most basic rights around the world.
Just this week, Israel announced plans to alter planning procedures for settlement activity in the territories that they have occupied for more than 55 years, and plans for imminent advancement of the construction of over 4000 settlement housing units.
At this pivotal moment, when Israeli civilian politicians, led by members of the settler movement, have taken over the running of the occupation from their country’s military, it has never been more urgent for Australia to stand up for Palestinian statehood.
After all, where are the two states that Australia says it stands for to be found if all the land is put in the hands of just one?
For any peace talks to be effective and productive, as Australia’s position demands, Israel and Palestine need to be on an equal diplomatic footing.
For the last 30 years, whether bilateral negotiations were being conducted or were frozen, Israel’s leadership has rejected any reasonable solutions to the key final status issues of refugees, Jerusalem, security, borders and water. Rushed offers of backroom deals made when governments were on the verge of collapse due to Israel’s internal politics, as was the case in 2001 and 2008, were always about Israeli politicians’ CVs and not any lasting acknowledgment of Palestinian rights. Proof of this has come through Israel’s continued de facto and de jure annexation of territory beyond its internationally recognised borders.
Read the article by Dr Izzat Abdulhadi, the Head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific in The Canberra Times. If you can’t get behind the paywall you can find the whole article here.