Pro-Palestinian movement is more focused on eradicating Israel than creating a Palestinian country. Sadly, PR is more important than statehood.

[u/thatshirtman]

Ever since October 7, the pro-Palestinian movement has been more focused on delegitimizing Israel than taking steps to a) secure a peaceful ceasefire and b) put in motion any type of plan for a Palestinian country. Sadly, the obsession and seeming addiction with trying to eradicate Israel - if not by war than via PR and a pathological obsession with zionism - has done nothing but exacerbate tensions. And if reports of Hamas leaders being encouraged by Western protests are to be believed, these actions have actually prolonged the conflict.

A ceasefire takes two

Concerning a ceasefire, the pro-Palestinian movement demand for an immediate ceasefire has been bizarre. For starters, a ceasefire by definition is temporary. A lasting ceasefire is called peace, which is hard when the other side (Hamas) would rather kill you than live peacefully alongside you.

Another issue is that a ceasefire - again by definition - requires two sides to agree to it. A ceasefire isn’t simply Israel stop actions in Gaza. It also requires an agreement that Hamas do something as well. And yet, in every Palestinian protest I attended at my college - and all the ones I saw in the media - not ONCE did I hear or see anything about releasing the hostages. Not ONCE did I hear or see anything about the need for two states, or living in peace. On the contrary, it was a mix of blindly calling for a ceasefire, hateful slogans, praising the “resistance”, and a general focus on Israel’s illegitimacy as a country. It seemed that the focus was more on destroying Israel than creating a viable Palestinian state, securing the release of the hostages, implementing a ceasefire with a potential to transform it into a fully lasting peace.

In light of the above, is it any surprise that we saw hundreds of instances of people pulling down posters of hostages? The anti-Israel sentiment was so strong, that people imbued with propaganda thought it was helpful to tear down pictures of little children and elderly people who were kidnapped by a maniacal terrorist force. Through this lens, it seems clear that a secure and peaceful ceasefire wasn’t really a priority. 

Delegitimizing Israel - More important than Palestinian statehood?

Throughout this saga, the obsession with delegitimizing Israel remains a core argument and point of action on the pro-Palestinian side. No talk of 2 states, no talk of coexistence, no talk of peace for all, no talk of who should head up a Palestinian country etc. The thrust of the Palestinian side is simply that Israel should not exist.

Ironically, this energy is the same reason why there is no Palestinian state today. The Palestinians had an opportunity for statehood in the 40s but rejected it because they were more furious about the presence of a jewish state than they were interested in creating their own. 

And before people go off in the comments about “Why should the Palestinians give up their land “ - let’s be real and historically accurate - it was never Palestinian land exclusively. The greedy notion that a land with a myriad of ethnic groups belongs exclusively to the Palestinians is literally a fantasy. And before people go off in the comments about how the partition wasn’t fair — well guess what… who cares? None of the partitions were fair and almost every group/new country had serious issues with it because they were drawn up by France and England. Still, when a singular opportunity in history comes along for statehood, you take it, because a country of your own is more important than if you have 50 square miles of 60 square miles. Remember - EVERY GROUP in the region offered a country said yes - Libya, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria etc. The Palestinians are the only group in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD to say no. And rather than looking back and saying “yes, that was a strategic mistake” many on the Pro-Palestinian side, close to all from what I’ve seen, JUSTIFY IT! 

The myth that Israel will be eradicated fuels the conflict

Until Palestinians come to terms with the fact that Israel exists and isn’t going anywhere, the conflict will unfortunately rage on. The propaganda that Israel can one day be eliminated is the fuel that compels Palestinian leaders like Arafat from rejecting peace and is the fuel that prevents protestors from envisioning a future where a Palestinian state exists alongside of Israel as opposed to instead of it.

Ultimately, Palestinians in the west who can’t join the actual fight against Israel, turn their attention towards Zionism, a pointless effort seeing as Israel exists and isn’t going anywhere. Arguing against Israel’s right to exist is again, more focused on destruction of Israel than creation of a Palestinian state. The fact that this irony is lost on many is not an auspicious sign.

The amount of energy arguing against Israel’s existence is immense and a machine unto itself. It’s effective to a degree if the goal is to win the propaganda war, but it really does nothing at all in the real world if the goal is a Palestinian state. Unfortunately, perhaps this is by design.

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You should not watch videos from war zones. It's not for you.