Luke-warm Responses to a Palestinian State

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that January elections will be postponed as the Palestine Liberation Organization attempts to receive U.N. recognition for a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 border. However, Daniel Levy argues that this effort will not significantly affect the peace process.  He notes that by mid-week some Palestinian officials were already backing away from the “statehood now” plan, but he does hold out that the effort shows an important “new fluidity and questioning of assumptions” in the “Israeli-Palestinian arena.”  Victor Kattan similarly argues that a unilateral declaration of independence will not constitute a Palestinian state because it certainly would not be recognized by Israel, it only speaks for half the Palestinian population, it is not a novel approach to the problem, and the declaration lacks “independence and sovereignty, and effective control over its territory.”

David Ignatius puts forth a prescription for Palestinian statehood that follows PM Salam Fayyad‘s plan for an administrative transition to statehood.  Ignatius contends that “[Fayyad's] nation-building program is the only ray of light I can see in the Palestinian morass, and it deserves American support.”

Al-Arabiyya is reporting that jailed Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti has released a statement that the peace negotiations have failed, calling for Palestinians to “launch popular and diplomatic campaigns to achieve statehood” and for Hamas to accept the Egyptian agreement for reconciliation with Fatah.

Ha’aretz reports on a BBC interview in which Abbas claims Israel is currently in negotiations with Hamas and that “Washington isn’t pushing Israel enough to advance the peace process.”  Hamas officials have denied the accusation.  In another story, Fatah officials have decided to declare a third intifada in response to failed peace talks.  The Fatah leadership stressed that this new movement would not endorse an armed struggle.  Abbas reportedly agreed to the resolution in principle.