Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

The Center for International and Regional Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar hosted a lecture by Palestinian political figure Hanan Ashrawi on December 1, 2008.

Ashrawi, a professor as well as a political and human rights activist, is both a distinguished and key figure in the (recent) history of Palestinian politics. She served as the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East peace process during the First Intifada, and is a veteran member of the Palestinian legislative council.

Speaking to a packed house of more than 400 people at the Diplomatic Club, Ashrawi’s lecture provided a holistic overview and “contextualized” discussion of the Palestinian situation, revisiting the roots of the past, highlighting the urgency of the present, and discussing initiatives that pave the way to the promise of a Palestinian future.

She began her lecture by cautioning against the “deceptive simplicity” of the lecture’s title: the “Future of Palestine,” in light of the disproportionately more complex and multifaceted nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet she stressed the importance of coming to terms with the conflict’s past as a form of “historical redemption,” and endorsed the optimistic title as a forward-looking topic; one requiring foresight and vision for its effectual realization.

In judging the present, Ashrawi revisited the 1991 Madrid Peace Process, recalling the “sense of euphoria and optimism” among the Palestinians who were confident about finally achieving the “devolution of occupation and evolution of statehood.” Today, she explained, not only has the reverse ensued, but Israel is now “reinventing the nature of its occupation…exercising control without responsibility, violence and oppression without accountability and settlement expansion and annexation without intervention or restraint.” She pointed at the Gaza siege, imposed by Israel after Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory last July, as a clear expression of this, and as an example of pushing Gaza back into the “Stone Age.”

As Gaza is attracting the most news-coverage, Ashrawi reminded the audience of other territories in question, pointing at settlement expansion in the West Bank, and at the “three-rings besieging Jerusalem since 1967,” namely illegal settlements, check points and the Israeli-West Bank separation fence, the highly controversial “wall” demarcating the West Bank from Israel and creating a physical barrier between the two populations. She also pointed to an “ongoing ethnic cleansing pattern” in the abovementioned city, referring to the systematic Israeli confiscation of Palestinian IDs with inadequate disclosure as part of a greater attempt to evacuate Palestinians from Jerusalem.

In discussing the two-state-solution, Ashrawi commented that in spite of global consensus on the matter, Israel was singlehandedly destroying its viability by measures ranging from unilateralism, to ideological extremism and to illegal policies. As part of what she coined the “deliberate deconstruction of Palestine.” The main outcome of this, she explained, is the “transformation of Palestine into a welfare or charity case rather than an issue of self-determination, justice and freedom.”

Ashrawi also visited the internal Fatah-Hamas rift, condemning the situation as “absolutely suicidal.” She cautioned against the danger of such a “national versus ideological” dichotomy and called on both poles to respect the people’s will, the rule of law and to create a system of unified and good governance for the Palestinian people. She stressed her support for PLO reform rather than elimination, and the inclusion of Hamas in a pluralistic and democratic system rather than a parallel or alternative one.

In looking at the broader picture, Ashrawi criticised the US’s imposition of a “conditional” derivative of democracy on the Palestinians. Here, she pointed to the sanctions and boycotts placed on the Palestinians after the democratic election of Hamas in 2007. She also underlined the post-9/11 universe and Bush’s “war on terror” as a key issue influencing Palestinian realities. One such outcome of the above, she stated, is a “compartmentalized Middle East, broken up into separate entities.” She rebutted the conventional “academic perspective” employed by the West when dealing with the region, coining it “simplistic and ignorant, as it does not understand the subtext and nuances and the complex issues interacting with one another.” Looking forward, she advised the incoming Obama administration to quickly start focusing on the real issues in question, which is not the lack of democracy per se, but the “long standing conflicts, injustices and grievances that cannot be depoliticized.”

As she proceeded to envision the future, Ashrawi stressed that a key prerequisite to any peace negotiation is bringing Israel to compliance on the ground by immediately halting settlement activities and demolishing the wall in accordance with the ICJ ruling. She also explained the urgent need for a massive multilateral program of reconstruction and economic development, as well as third party involvement in any potential peace initiative in order to “address and redress the asymmetry of power.”

Ashrawi also proposed non-conventional options. She explained that “the time has come to form a new coalition of the willing,’ suggesting an expansion and reformation of the Madrid Quartet; the four nations and international entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This would require removing the UN, in order to introduce symmetry and to facilitate a potential on-the-ground UN role along with other Arab troops on Palestinian terrain.

Her final remarks stressed the need to immediately end the occupation, which she framed as “a collective responsibility, a test of global justice and the rule of law.” She warned against allowing the failed policies of the past to prevail and supported a collective endeavour in the “grand project of historical redemption, which would allow everyone to share in the promise of future peace and justice.”

In a concluding Q&A session, Ashrawi emphasized that the Palestinian cause is not “up for grabs.” She warned against the violence and extremism this could fuel and stressed the Palestinian cause’s own integrity and justice; one that appeals to people of consciousness around the world. Later, Ashrawi confirmed that she will not be involved in the next round of Palestinian elections; however, she promised continuous support and effort to assist young leaders and the new generation as a whole to run for office. “We need the young; those with new attitudes and new spirits. I see lots of hope in the younger generation and in young leadership,” she said.