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Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World
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Jyoti
6:28
Hello and welcome to a panel discussion on 'Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World'. We have Avi Shlaim, Israeli historian and Professor Emeritus of International Relations at St. Antony's College, Oxford University and Raja Shehadeh, a Palestinian lawyer, writer and founder of the human rights organisation Al-Haq, in conversation with Chris Doyle, commentator on Middle East and Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding.
6:43
Anna Cahill from Exeter, United Kingdom introduces the speakers.
6:45
6:49
Chris Doyle refers to Donald Trump's announcement yesterday about Bahrain joining the UAE to normalise its ties with Israel. Doyle poses the question, "Is this some great redrawing of the Middle East, the peace in our time? Or just the political interests of the parties involved in action?" Doyle wonders, "Will Saudi Arabia join? Does this mean the annexation of the occupied territory is on the cards, or just suspended for a very short period of time? Is the Trump 'deal of the century' being resurrected now through the efforts of the likes of Jared Kushner?"
6:52
Doyle addresses Avi Shlaim, "If you listen to PM Netanyahu, this is the result of peace through strength. You won't negotiate through weakness and they'll come around to you." He requests Shlaim to explain the background and meaning of the 'Iron Wall Strategy'.
6:54
6:59
Avi Shlaim traces the background to the Iron Wall to an article written in 1923 by Vladimir Ze'ev Jabotinsky, spiritual father of the Israeli Right. In the article, Jabotinsky had argued that no people in history have ever made land for other people to come and make a state on their land.
7:00
7:01
"The essence of the strategy is land for peace," elaborates Shalim. But he adds that with Palestinians, Israel is more interested in land than peace.
7:02
7:03
Shlaim opines about Bahrain being the second Gulf state to have offered peace to Israel, "This is nothing but betrayal." He says that the only way to realise the Zionist state in Palestine is unilateral military action.
7:07
7:08
Shlaim explains, "The key Gulf state is Saudi Arabia. The new enemy is Iran. Trump's and Netanyahu's governments, all are against Iran. This has sidelined Palestinians."
Doyle asks, "What does this mean to Netanyahu? Doyle highlights that since Netanyahu has a revisionist Zionist background and is a believer in the 'Iron Wall Strategy', one would expect this to be a historic achievement for him. "You'd think that he'd be in a wonderful place. But he is in great domestic turmoil."
7:15
Shlaim agrees that Netanyahu believes that the Jews have a historic right to the whole of Iran. As a consequence, he had "rejected and dismantled the idea of peace". Shlaim thinks that this is the time for Netanyahu to make a deal with Bahrain. But Shlaim warns that his mistake is that the Palestinians will never agree to "maintain peace on Netanyahu's terms".
7:18
Do you think the idea of peace will come back in the West Bank leaving behind political and religious conflict?
Yes (14.3% | 1 vote)
 
No (28.6% | 2 votes)
 
Can't say (57.1% | 4 votes)
 
Total Votes: 7
7:20
Doyle highlights annexation as one of the important parts of the Iron Wall Strategy but underscores, "In the Emirati deal, the annexation is meant to be suspended." He then refers to the announcement by the Netanyahu government about its intention to formally annex the other areas of West Bank.
7:21
Doyle asks Raja Shehadeh, "So how do you see the Iron Wall Strategy in terms of the creeping annexation and growth of settlements in the occupied territory since 1967. Where do you see this going now?"
7:28
7:30
Raja Shehadeh asserts, "The Iron Wall strategy is alive and well!"
Shehadeh refers to the memoir by Ami Ayalon, an Israeli politician, wherein she writes that between 1922 and 2002, the Israelis were victorious. He remarks that Israel has never shown the readiness to recognise the Palestinian nation and there is ample evidence for it.
He cites examples of how the laws were amended to justify the occupation of settlements despite the Geneva Convention, in order to help the takeover of the Palestinian land and he highlights how the US shielded Israel over decades.
7:32
Shehadeh laments how he spent most of his life writing and investigating the evidence, but to no avail. "At the time, we naively believed that if only Israel knew what was happening, it could all be prevented. But the intimidation was a part of the same scheme."
7:33
"Settler violence is in the open, the government and the courts are on the same page and support them," emphasises Shehadeh.
7:40
He highlights that while Jewish settler violence increases, there is no resistance from the police. He emphasises, "It can be called terrorism." He cites how though the army plants explosives, the action is called 'combat action'.
Shehadeh expresses his concerns about the occupied territories being used as testing laboratories for arms and how the US has aided this. He remarks, "Israel is being destroyed from the inside by making it an Apartheid state."
7:41
7:44
Is apertheid even close to ethical in 2020?
Yes (0% | 0 votes)
 
No (100% | 6 votes)
 
Total Votes: 6
Doyle raises the question, "Where does this now leave the Palestinian leadership and national movement and civil society, when they see key Arab states normalising their relations with Israel?"
He further contextualises the question, "You see an American administration giving complete backing to Israeli expansionist plans. What do you think the Palestinian civil leaders need to be doing now? What sort of strategy should they take up?"
7:45
7:47
Shehadeh replies, "Unfortunately, Palestinian authority has side stepped all authority, and there is little role for intellectuals. The strategy is a failed strategy. Annexation has been happening for the last 15 years, slowly and surely. And slowly, the Arab states are coming in support of Israel."
7:52
Shehadeh breaks down the situation: Israel has told Palestinians to leave but they are adamant and Israel can't take the land unless they leave.
Doyle asks Shlaim, "If Netanyahu is not going to be ultimately successful, annexation doesn't really go forward and Palestinians don't land up in some disastrous historical defeat, what is necessary? What should be the strategies of not just the Palestinians but what remains of the Israeli peace movement, for example?"
7:55
Shlaim elaborates the situation, "Netanyahu is facing three very serious charges of corruption. So his main concern is to avoid going to jail. Donald Trump is facing an election and he needs these peace agreements to gain Christian evangelist supporters of Israel. So we have two actors who are concerned with their own personal and political interests. So the question arises: Where is Israel leading to? The answer is Israel has become an Apartheid state."
7:59
Doyle follows up, "Do you think there is any way of galvanising something of a peace camp within Israel in all of this?"
8:01
"After the collapse of the Camp David Summit in 2000, Labour Prime Minister, Ehud Barak came and blamed Arafat. But he himself was to be blamed. And in doing so, he destroyed the Labour Party. There is no Labour Party today," replies Shlaim.
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