THE PALESTINIANS: IN SEARCH OF A JUST PEACE
by Cheryl A. Rubenberg
Boulder & London: Lynne Rienner Publishers
2003.
485pp
$24.50
Reviewed by ABU IQBAL
For anyone trying to understand the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book provides critical background and context. As the title suggests, Cheryl Rubenberg’s topic is the Palestinian-Israel conflict as a whole, and not only the Palestinian side of this simple equation.
The author opens with a brief history of the Palestinians, and their relation to Israel, a daunting task given the Israel’s overwhelming media blitz that has convinced the world that the Arab-Israeli conflict started in 1948 when the Arab armies from seven countries invaded the tiny ‘defenceless’ Israel. The Palestinians retreated to the refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Gaza of their freewill and they have since then waged a terror war to wipe out Israel.
1967 Arab defeat ended with the loss of the West Bank, Golan and other territories beyond the UN 1948 Mandate and sealed the fate of the displaced Palestinians.
Israel and its backers in the US and Europe always blame the Palestinian intransigent for the stalemate in the peace process, despite major concessions in Oslo, Madrid, Annapolis, etc. As a matter of fact, Israel was never interested in a real peace. The following quote from page 336 explains the realty of the situation:
.… who were the first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, in order to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it. We, combat officers and soldiers who have served the State of Israel for long weeks every year, in spite of the dear cost to our personal lives, have been on reserve duty all over the Occupied Territories, and were issued commands and directives that had nothing to do with the security of our country, and that had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian….
The book consists of eight chapters: Whither Peace; Life in the Occupied Territories; Caldron of Hate; City of Light City of Darkness; Politics Corruption; The Palestinian Israel; Despair Manifest; A Future for the Palestinians?, two appendices and an index.
Most Americans know little about the Middle East realities except what the western media repeats of Arab stereotypes. Palestinians are victims of a European syllogism. They are the defenceless people who became refugees in the formation o Israel.
Rubenberg conveys how Israeli policies have eroded Palestinian commitment to a peace process, how U.S. intervention has affected the region, and how pervasive corruption within the Palestinian government has played a role.
The book was published years before the Palestinians elected Hamas to rule Gaza, Israel’s total blockade to punish a population of 1.5 millions crammed in a tiny area and finally, the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, including the UN facilities.
The Palestinians are pushed further from realising their aspirations for self-determination than at any time since 1967.
Rubenberg’s sombre conclusion supports the contention that peace in the region, while hoped for by many, depends entirely on unlikely shifts in policy and objectives on all sides.
A valuable book for all who have interest in justice for the suffering humanity.