By Jermaine Figueira MP- The game is rigged, the ambitions, egos, lust for power, and arrogance of some men, cloud their good sense and the result is war, destruction, loss of innocent lives, and much profit for those hiding behind the emperor’s clothes in their haven, pulling the strings of their elected puppets. War is no solution to any problem as is said by John S.C Abbott “War is the science of destruction” That is all it is.
The senseless killing of innocent citizens, women, children, the young and the old on both sides, the humanitarian crisis that is created by the wanton destruction of much-needed infrastructure, schools, hospitals, roads, electrical power and water networks, markets, homes, businesses, and key government institutions, begs the question, where is our humanity? Where is the common sense and good reason?
“No one won the last war and no one will win the next” The question of Palestine’s existence and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been one of the most enduring disputes in the international arena since the Nakba massacre of 1948, which marked the displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Today war presents similar atrocities and experiences of that dark time.
For decades, the issue has been the subject of multiple attempts at resolution, including the 1967 and 1974 United Nations resolutions, which called for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine’s existence through a two-state solution that recognizes the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist side by side.
Guyana as a collective, government, and opposition has for decades been a leading voice led by then Forbes Burnham and Cheddie Jagan in support of a two-state solution which has been widely supported by other prominent figures in the Caribbean region.
The two-state solution has also garnered support from Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike.
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, in his address in the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly’s seventy-third session, underscored his commitment to peace and the two-state solution, as well as the path of negotiation to achieve them, reiterating that peace in the Middle East cannot be realized without an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Israeli politicians have also expressed support for the two-state solution, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who stated in a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in 2010 that “Israel … [needs] two states for two people, not because it is an act of charity but because it is in our security interest.”
The two-state solution has received support from leaders and figures beyond the region as well. Former United States President Barack Obama who supported the two-state solution stated in a speech in 2011 that “the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.” The representative of China cited Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s statement that “a large majority of Israelis support the vision of the two-state solution.”
Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has also expressed support for the two-state solution and affirmed its importance in a speech to the Security Council in 2016, where he stated that “two states living side by side in peace and security is the only solution that brings dignity and security to both Israelis and Palestinians.”
The 1967 and 1974 United Nations resolutions that support the two-state solution have been particularly significant in international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. UN General Assembly Resolution 242, passed in 1967 after the Six-Day War, called for the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict” and affirmed “the right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force” for all states in the region.
In 1974, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 3236, which “reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine… to self-determination, national independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.” The resolution also called for “the achievement without delay of an end to the Israeli occupation… and the attainment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
Both resolutions have been cited in subsequent international efforts to resolve the conflict and have been used to support the two-state solution. The two-state solution, as envisioned by these resolutions, would involve Israel and Palestine existing side by side with recognized boundaries and secure borders, and would provide for the right of return for Palestinian refugees uprooted during the Arab-Israeli wars.
However, the two-state solution has faced numerous obstacles and challenges in its implementation over the years, including ongoing settlement expansion and territorial disputes, as well as political instability and violence on both sides.
Despite these challenges, various international initiatives and efforts have continued to support the two-state solution, including the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which proposed full normalization of relations between Arab states and Israel in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories and a just resolution of the refugee issue.
The Quartet on the Middle East, comprised of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia, has also reiterated its support for the two-state solution in recent years.The question remains why is it not being done, how many more lives have to be lost? why do men with the power to bring into existence move beyond rhetoric and make this resolution a reality? It is time for peace.
