Stuart Littlewood: Will Palestinians Ever Seize Their Destiny?

And stop running head on into a brick wall? Some commentators have been saying that Israel's latest land grab has effectively killed off the two state solution, if such a thing was ever truly feasible. And this has led to questions like, what should the Palestinians do next? Palestinians must have been asking themselves the same thing for the last 64 years. They themselves are well acquainted with their rights and the crimes committed against them. They know what they must defend to the last. They also know, and if they don't, they must figure it out quickly, what to do next in order to secure those rights. More than 4 years ago, I came across a report titled 'Regaining the Initiative - Palestinian Strategic Options to End Israeli Occupation' by the Palestine Strategy Group, which shows that at least some of them had the answer. The document "reflects an alternative to an official but impotent Palestinian discourse that will very shortly, in the judgment of most Palestinians, run head on into a brick wall." That was the view expressed by Sam Behour, a Palestinian entrepreneur and one of 45 politicians, academics, business people and others who participated in the study. They set out a number of tasks for the Palestinians, if they were to bring the sterile 'peace' negotiations of that time to an end, and re focus efforts towards achieving the Palestinian dream. The study was funded by the EU, but never given much publicity. I wonder how many EU ministers read it, and how many activists, sympathizers and supporters around the world even knew of its existence? The report's main message urged Palestinians "to seize their destiny in their own hands" by refusing to enter into peace negotiations, unless the international community first dealt with issues relating to national self determination, liberation from occupation, individual and collective rights, and enforced international law. Only when these priorities were recognized and actioned, could peacemaking and state building rise to the top of the agenda.