Benson - Palestinian Statehood: Fear and Loathing in Ramallah and the Diaspora

Pesach Benson
Honest Reporting/Backspin
04 September '11





As Mahmoud Abbas pushes forward with his statehood gambit in the UN, there’s a growing unease among Palestinians that the effort will ultimately be a big setback.

Commentaries by Khaled Abu Toameh and Mehdi Hasan reflect the anxiety that is prompting Abbas to deliver a speech in the coming days explaining his political strategy. Toameh is particularly harsh:

Abbas is so desperate that he is prepared to go to the UN even if such a move could turn out to be counterproductive for his people. At all costs, he wants to enjoy the glory of being the “first president of Palestine”

The LA Times traces the fear and loathing to a month-old legal opinion written by an Oxford wonk with serious credentials. among the Palestinians. Guy Goodwin-Gill was a member of the legal team that argued against the legality of Israel’s security fence in the International Criminal Court. (The ICJ ruled against Israel in 2004.)

Goodwin-Gill’s opinion raises issues with Palestinian statehood, and the status of the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people:

(Read full "Palestinian Statehood: Fear and Loathing in Ramallah and the Diaspora")

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