The Palestinians were not surprised at the Israeli media reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering measures to defy a "diplomatic tsunami," if the UN recognizes a Palestinian state on the territories Israel occupied in 1967.
Since the suspension of the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in last October, one month after it was launched in Washington, due to Israel's refusal to halt settlement construction, the Palestinians threatened to use diplomatic options, including grabbing international recognition of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also declared that this September will be a decisive month for the Palestinians. It would be the end of the one-year peace talks with Israel and at that time the structure of the independent Palestinian state's establishments is expected to be finalized, where the future Palestinian state will be a full UN member.
Palestinian observers believe that Netanyahu "is trying to be smart and go for a preemptive plan of withdrawing Israeli troops from some areas in the West Bank before the Palestinians officially apply to the UN in September and demand an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state."
NOT JUST PLAYS
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, said Netanyahu's plan to withdraw troops from the West Bank is "no more than plays," adding that "the Palestinian leadership doesn't believe in what the Israeli media says."
It seems that Abed Rabbo didn't seriously consider Netanyahu's plan, where he even refused to predict what would be the Palestinians' plans if Netanyahu officially gets the United States ' backing for his plan. But Naji Shurab, a Gaza-based political analyst, said the Palestinians should seriously consider the plan.
"I believe Israel will soon carry out a preemptive action before the Palestinians apply to the United Nations, in order to block any international recognition of a Palestinian state by using Gaza as an example and offering some facilities to the Palestinians," Shurab told Xinhua.
Netanyahu had earlier said it is hard to make peace with Abbas because he doesn't represent all the Palestinians, where the Gaza Strip is still in the grip of the Islamic Hamas movement, which is considered as Abbas' major rival after it seized control of the coastal enclave by force in June 2007.
ENDLESS TALKS
Shurab said Netanyahu wants not only to counter the diplomatic tsunami if the UN recognizes a Palestinian state, but also to bring the Palestinians back to the table of endless peace negotiations. "Practically, the Palestinians should immediately look for the affective tools," he added.
"If Netanyahu officially presents his plan, the Palestinians would of course reject it. But unfortunately, the Palestinian side doesn't have enough tools of influence. Therefore, they would wait for Netanyahu and for the expected speech of the U.S. President Barack Obama on the Middle East," said Shurab.
The Palestinians and Israel had failed over the past 20 years to reach a permanent peace agreement to end decades of conflicts. They had reached a transitional agreement in Oslo in 1993, which led to the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA).
The Palestinians insists that Israel should halt settlement building in the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, before the resumption of any negotiation. They repeatedly said they want to resume fruitful talks that end up with a permanent peace deal within a specific period of time.
EUROPE'S POSITIVE STANCE
France, Britain and Germany proposed a plan that was supported by the Palestinians. The plan considers the Jewish settlement in the Palestinian territories illegal and stipulates that the borders of the future independent Palestinian state are the borders when Israel occupied the Palestinian territories in 1967.
Hani Habib, another Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua " it is obvious that Netanyahu is annoyed by the European Union's position which supports the Palestinians," adding that "Netanyahu wants to obstruct any positive European position and wants to win the world's public opinion."
"Whatever Netanyahu says or promises or proposes, the Palestinians had never trusted him. Even if his troops withdraw from some parts of the West Bank, this withdrawal won't prevent those troops from entering those areas whenever they want," said Habib.
The Palestinians believe that whatever Netanyahu does, they would at least be able to put both Israel and the United States in an embarrassing position once they apply to the UN Security Council to demand an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and the United States vetoes it.
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