What next in Palestine?

There is abundant literature in both Israeli and international media accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a “pathological liar”.

Just print on the Internet “Netanyahu the liar” and you will get a plethora of articles on this topic.

Many statesmen referred to that in their press conferences and interviews. 

US President Barack Obama implied that every time he made a rebuttal of the fiery Netanyahu pronouncements against the recent nuclear deal with Iran.

King Abdullah did the same thing when he talked about the Israeli promises to facilitate worship at Al Aqsa Mosque.

This same prime minister of Israel stood in the UN General Assembly to accuse Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of lying and deception, infuriated by the raising of the Palestinian flag on the UN Headquarters in New York, a small step towards nationhood.

In his September 30 speech at the UN, Abbas declared his decision to freeze security cooperation with Israel. Hardly a few days passed when frictions between Palestinian youth and children with Israeli fully armed police broke out.

Under Netanyahu’s watch, not much protestation happened. He often bragged about that.

He can no longer gloat about it. The number of Palestinian children and Israeli policemen and army staff killed betrays that record.

Hamas calls the new Palestinian protestations in the occupied West Bank a third “Intifada”.

If they go on, despite Israel’s overreaction and excessive use of firepower, Netanyahu is in for big trouble.

The arrogance of his insistence to hold direct negotiations while continuing his settlement and Al Aqsa measures cannot hold water, nor give sustenance to maintaining the status quo in the occupied Palestinian lands.

The Israeli governments’ policy of maintaining minimum livability to the occupied Palestinians in order to calm them down while it is changing facts on the ground is failing.

Moreover, the aggressive Israeli expansion into the occupied lands has been prompted by the current wars and divisions in the Arab world.

In the final analysis, the Israeli success in arguing that the Palestinian issue is but one problem among many others plaguing the Arab world is now firing back.

To convince the Obama administration to put the Palestinian issue on the back burner has left Palestinians with little hope that their fair demands will ever be met through negotiations.

Regardless of the rift between Hamas and Fateh, and the rise of other complex problems in the Arab world, the Palestinian issue and rights will never stop haunting the Israeli society.

To thrive on the prospect that the world has more pressing issues on its plate would not put Israeli qualms to rest.

At the end of the day, Abbas the meek is not the weak.

His pro-negotiations stance was meant to prompt the Israelis to acknowledge and deliver on the Palestinian rights. If that policy fails, as it has, he will have to look into other options.

The Israelis should also remember that Jordan is not happy at all with their hegemony and aggression towards the Palestinians.

King Abdullah will support the Palestinian rights and Jerusalem. The world is not backing Israel as it likes, nor are Arab leaders oblivious to the international diplomacy games Israel thought were under its spell.

Israel won wars against governments. But it failed to win against people, and in battles against civil societies in Gaza and Lebanon.

What is Israel to do next?

Well, it can either carry on as usual, or it can sit at the table with the political will to resolve issues.

All their victories in other world arenas will not save the Israelis from the burden of facing an oppressed people under their occupation.

Apartheid has a bad name. Israel’s racist policies are equally condemnable.

The writer, a former Royal Court chief and deputy prime minister, is a member of the Senate. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.