Palestine will be liberated
by Palestinians

Israeli historian told Qodsna: I think that Palestine will be liberated by the Palestinians and with the help of all the international community as happened in the case of South Africa. I am confident Palestine would be decolonized, democratized and liberated.
 

Tehran (Qodsna) – Ilan Pappé, Israeli historian and socialist activist in an exclusive interview with qodsna spoke about the major effects of Iranian 1979 revolution especially on the Palestinian issue.

Here is the full text of interview:

Qodsna: Experts in the Palestinian issue argue that the Islamic Revolution changed the direction of fights against Israel. What is your opinion about the effect of Iran’s Islamic Revolution on Palestine and Islamic resistance movements?

Ilan Pappé: I think the revolution had two major impacts. It enhanced the already existing political Islamic groups within the Palestine liberation movement, who now had a model of success and not just a utopian vision of how to fuse Islam with the liberation struggle. The second influence, was creating a counter regional power to the USA, tipping the imbalance that was totally against the Palestinians, and left, especially after the fall of the USSR, without any proper regional or international support.

Qodsna: Why did the leaders of the Zionist regime like Yitzhak Rabin compare the victory of the Islamic Revolution to a great earthquake for Israel?

Ilan Pappé: I think mainly for the second reason, I mentioned above, The realization that there is a regional power that is totally committed to the Palestinian struggle and changes the balance of power. I think, they also believe that Iran could pose an existential danger to Israel, should it develop nuclear capacity and finally, it is clear that Iran's special relationship with Hezbollah in Lebanon, reinforced the capability of the group that Israel indeed failed to defeat in this century.

Qodsna: What changes Iran's continued support for Palestine brought in the conflict equation with Israel?

Ilan Pappé: The resilience of the political Islamic groups I think is the most important one and also the potential to create a nuclear deterrent thus making sure that the Palestinians are not entirely helpless, although the imbalance is still huge, in any aspect, between Israel and the Palestinians.

Qodsna: Many experts believe that the people of Iran have turned on the key of the collapse of Israel with their Islamic revolution. How do you see the signs of this collapse?

Ilan Pappé: I am not sure this is in the offering. I think that Palestine will be liberated by the Palestinians and with the help of all the international community as happened in the case of South Africa. It is not a military issue only; it is mainly a moral issue, and therefore you need the world behind you, not just one regional power. But everyone will play their role and it might take long, but I am confident there a just solution and Palestine would be decolonized, democratized and liberated.

Qodsna: If the Islamic revolution of Iran had not happened, how would be the equations in Palestine, the region and the international sphere?

Ilan Pappé: I think the options for Palestinian resistance and resilience (sumud) would have been much more limited, and Israel would have it easier to maintain the policing and controlling millions of Palestinians.