Finkelstein underlines Palestinian right of return
Finkelstein underlines Palestinian right of return
Finkelstein underlines Palestinian right of return
Norman Finkelstein, a prominent Jewish American political scholar and author told Qudsna that the Palestinian right of return has been validated in numerous UN resolutions and major human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
He believes that actually the US is blocking peace in the region rather than Iran.
The author believes said that the UN is not an effective body in resolving the Palestinian issue because it is dominated by a handful of powers, in particular the United States, that mete out justice according to the criterion of whether it serves their interests.
Finkelstein described Hamas as popular movement that was elected by the Palestinian people in free and fair elections in January 2006.
International support for the Palestinians is growing and international support for Israeli policies is diminishing, he noted.
The text of Qudsna's interview with Finkelstein is as follows.
Qudsna: You know half of the eleven million Palestinian population is displaced following the 1948 developments and that UN conventions require a return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland. Isn’t it a Palestinian right to return? If yes how the right can be regained? How do you think about the role of international Quds day in this regard?
Finkelstein: The Palestinian Right of Return has been validated in numerous UN resolutions and by the major human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Regaining this right requires the same commitment to struggle as regaining any of the other rights of Palestinians. If Israel is unwilling to allow for the full implementation of the Right of Return, it must present the Palestinians a counter-offer that they find acceptable.
Qudsna: What do you think about the much-touted US peace initiatives for Palestine and the whole Middle East as well as its motives or motivations?
Finkelstein: Each year the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE PALESTINE QUESTION. It calls for two states on the June 1967 border and a resolution of the refugee question based on the right of return and compensation. Every year the vote is the same: the whole world -- including the Islamic Republic of Iran -- on one side and the United States and Israel (plus a few South Pacific islands) on the other side. It therefore makes no sense to speak of "US peace initiatives" when it is the US (alongside Israel) that is blocking peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Qudsna: How do you evaluate the Israeli commandos’ raid on Gaza fleet?
Finkelstein: Israel clearly wanted a violent confrontation but probably not on the scale that ensued. It wanted to show the Arab-Muslim world that it was still capable of an Entebbe-like commando operation; it wanted to humiliate Turkey, which was getting too "uppity"; and it wanted to intimidate the sponsors of the flotillas into not organizing more of them. As it happened, the commandos encountered more resistance than they anticipated (and executed several passengers in retaliation) and Turkey subsequently reacted more aggressively than Israel anticipated.
Qudsna: What must the world do to prevent Israel from its cruelties?
Finkelstein: We should do in the case of Israeli cruelties what we should in the case of all cruelties inflicted by States: use the mechanisms sanctioned by international law and elementary morality to compel Israel to desist from them. In the specific case of the blockade of Gaza, an international convoy under the aegis of the United Nations that ensures the free passage of goods into and out of Gaza, as well as a total arms embargo on Gaza and Israel (in accordance with the recommendation of Amnesty International), would seem to make the most sense.
Qudsna: As a Jewish American political scientist and author, do you consider the UN as an effective body in harnessing the cruel Israeli regime?
Finkelstein: I do not speak or write as a "Jewish-American." I speak and write as someone committed to basic human rights for all people. The source of my commitment to human rights is the suffering of my late parents, both of whom were in Nazi death camps during World War II. On both sides of my family, every member was exterminated by the Nazis except my parents. The U.N. is not an effective body because it is dominated by a handful of powers, in particular the United States, that mete out justice according to the criterion of whether it serves their interests. The challenge is of course not to get rid of the United Nations, which does a lot of good and important work, but to democratize it, so that it more closely represents the interests of humanity.
Qudsna: How do you think about the Hamas entity and what they call ‘resistance’ against Israel? Is their idea work in
Finkelstein: In January 2006 Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people in free and fair elections. According to the terms of an Egyptian-brokered agreement in June 2008, Hamas ceased its rocket and mortar attacks on Israel but Israel refused to lift the illegal siege of Gaza. The ceasefire was broken on 4 November 2008 when Israel entered Gaza and killed six Palestinian militants. Although Hamas agreed to resume the ceasefire if Israel lifted the siege, Israel refused. At this point Hamas had the right to use force to resist Israel's brutal siege.
Qudsna: How your colleagues in general think about that?
Finkelstein: Israeli propaganda has been quite successful in convincing people that Hamas was the aggressor by initiating unprovoked rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. But the magnitude of the devastation Israel inflicted on Gaza during the 22 day invasion turned much of international opinion against Israel.
Qudsna: How do you see the role of Islamic Republic of Iran in the Palestinian issue?
Finkelstein: The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly voted with the overwhelming majority of member States of the United Nations in favor of a diplomatic settlement of the conflict in accordance with international law. The obstacle to such a settlement is not Iran but the United States and Israel.
Qudsna: How do you forecast the future of Palestine?
Finkelstein: International support for the Palestinians is growing and international support for Israeli policies is diminishing. The main challenge now is for the Palestinians to bring forth a leadership that is able to capitalize on this international support so we can work together to end the occupation.
Qudsna: Any further comment about Palestine as a ‘country’?
Finkelstein: The suffering of the Palestinians and the passivity of the international community have endured much too long. The example of the Freedom Flotilla shows that independent initiatives by the people of the world can significantly contribute toward bringing about justice and peace.
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