Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ plan to seek recognition for the Palestinian state in the United Nations on Friday has stirred opposing views from both Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for Israel at Boston University.
“Israel and the United States really left Palestine no choice,” said Charles Dunbar, a BU professor of international relations. “But there will be a price that Palestine is going to pay for taking this issue to the United Nations.”
Abbas will deliver a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, and the Palestinians will formally submit a letter to request U.N. membership, despite U.S. and Israeli requests to return to negotiations, according to news report.
“This is circumventing the entire negotiation process,” said College of Arts and Sciences junior Alex Alpert, the vice president of public relations at BUSI. “They need to decide on borders and in order to do that, they need to talk with Israel. They’re moving the peace process backwards.”
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has already promised to prevent Palestine’s recognition at the United Nations, The Times reported. Israel also opposes Palestine’s route to statehood, which violates multilateral peace efforts agreed upon by both countries in the Oslo Accords of 1993. Palestinian government officials said that they are taking further action because negotiations have not worked thus far.
“What more do you want in negotiations?” said CAS sophomore Luke Rebecchi, a member of SJP. “Since the Oslo accords, the settlements have expanded, 82 percent of our land is gone, there is state terror in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority officials admit that they killed their own citizens for Israel. It’s come to a point where it’s just ridiculous.”
U.N. Security Council vote will likely be postponed, said Augustus Norton, a professor of international relations at BU. “I expect some prevarication to find a path for serious talks, as opposed to the bogus talks that have been the story to date.”
Israeli headlines indicate that Israelis do not want a viable Palestinian state and would rather continue advancing their settlements, Norton said.
CAS junior Kareem Chehayeb, SPJ treasurer, said that Palestinians need a state that has sovereignty over its borders.
“As a secular person, I have an idealistic one-state solution, where they all coexist,” Kareen said. “If this can’t happen immediately, I feel like a two-state solution could be a stepping stone.”
Part of the issue is that Israelis want their nation to be recognized as a Jewish state by Palestinians, Rebecchi said.
“This is subjecting the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that live in Israel to a second class status,” she said. “It’s a policy of ethic cleansing. That’s what the settlement is about, that’s what disconnecting Gaza from Israel is about.”
BUSI members said they think a two-state solution is the best path to peace.
“Palestine already declared themselves a nation in 1988, but they’re still in this situation because they neglected negotiations,” Alpert said. “Israel has proven time and time again that they’re willing to negotiate.”
The only thing preventing peace is Palestine, said CAS sophomore Matt Goldberg, BUSI vice president and a CAS sophomore.
“Peace takes two. If you want to make peace with someone, you can’t decide it on your own just like they can’t do it on their own,” Goldberg said. “Israel wants to be at peace, but they need a real partner.”
Chehayeb said that not only will the U.S. likely veto the measure, but U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state would not likely improve the average Palestinian’s life.
“I would say go for it, because it will give more exposure to the plight of the Palestinians when the U.S. rejects them publicly,” he said “[Palestinians] are getting excited for something that will not actually lead to living in a better situation. They’re only further away from peace with Israel.”
Despite the possible outcome of this declaration, Dunbar said that it a necessary move on the part of Palestine.
“They made that calculation and decided that the United States’ role as a broker of peace between Israel and Palestine is simply not fulfilling their goals effectively,” Dunbar said. “They’re taking a deep breath and going on a different course.”