Doha, Qatar: There is a need to move beyond the current political system and towards a Palestinian leadership which has the confidence and trust of all the Palestinians, experts stressed yesterday.
Speaking at a session on ‘The Imperative of Palestinian Political Renewal’ at Doha Forum, panellists said the war on Gaza should serve as a defining moment in the Palestinian struggle, and as the beginning of a new approach to get the Palestinians their long-denied rights.
“I think we need to move past the existing leadership ... The PA (Palestinians Authority) has lost any credibility and legitimacy on the streets,” said Safwan Masri (pictured), Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q).
“When you talk to young Palestinians they tell you what they are interested in are their rights. They don’t care about two-state solution, one state solution. What they want is the rights. I think a comprehensive, inclusive process that brings together people on the inside, people on the outside, in consultations about the future is what is needed.”
The speakers said the Palestinian issue is not an issue for Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims only; but rather it was an issue of human rights for the whole world. The session, moderated by news anchor Mehdi Hasan, also observed a moment of silence to mourn over 17,000 killed in Gaza.
“The state of Palestinian politics today is in a total state of fragmentation and dysfunction. Nothing is going to happen until Palestinians put their own political house in order. Despite the tragedy of today, there needs to be a steward, a Palestinian political agent, that can navigate these kind of international events, events at home. And we’ve seen the failure of that to happen,” remarked Omar H Rahman, Research Fellow at Middle East Council on Global Affairs.
Asked why the world is failing to stop the war on Gaza, GU-Q Dean Safwan Masri told The Peninsula that though there is mass support for Palestinians at the street level, “Unfortunately, Western states are beholden to their interests and have given Israel a carte blanche to pursue its genocidal attacks on Gaza.”
Wadah Khanfar, President and Co-founder of Al Sharq Forum, said instead of reining it in, the US was encouraging and providing weapons to Israel. He said the only way forward was a ceasefire and allowing all Palestinians to choose their leadership, which could negotiate on their behalf.
“Without that, we will have delegitimised leadership. We will have Palestinian organisations fighting outside the Palestinian leadership, and we will continue to have 7th of Octobers and many others in the future,” he told The Peninsula.
