A fascinating historical analysis by the Abu Nimahs (father and son):
“The essence of the failed PLO strategy is that it put the priority of having a state under PLO leadership ahead of liberating the land from Israeli occupation. It ought to have been self-evident that once the land was liberated no one would have been able to stop the Palestinians from establishing a state on it if that was their wish and that, therefore, all efforts should have been aimed at liberating the land first and worrying about its political status later.”
I would perhaps word the failure differently. The Palestinians are making the same mistake the Jews did. Instead of focusing on removing Jews from the dangers of Europe, the Zionist leadership focused on solving the “Jewish problem” through the establishment of a state under its leadership, in the Jewish “national homeland.” How many Jewish lives might have been saved if the Zionist movement had a different focus?
The PLO is yet another useless nationalist movement. Nationalism is a problem, not a solution. The focus of liberation movements should be on demanding essential human rights, not on demanding a piece of rock. Hence, I disagree with the Abu Nimah’s characterization that the Palestinian’s goal should be “liberating land.” Land has no rights and can’t be free. It is the Palestinian people that need to be liberated, not any piece of rock.
P.S. Merry Christmas to all my Christian readers.