By Jafar M Ramini

In a sane and just world the lines between right and wrong are clearly defined. In this uncertain, unprincipled world where political expediency rules the moral compass is askew.

I have been deliberately absent from these pages because I had a lot to deal with and sift through during the last few weeks in order for everything I am about to say to make sense.

First we had the Israeli/Apartheid week whereby I went to a few university campuses to listen and participate in discussions about the apartheid system that was prevalent in South Africa and is now being replicated and practised by the occupying authority in Palestine on a daily basis. It encompasses every aspect of Palestinian life.

The BDS movement (Boycott, divestment and sanctions) has been extremely active and in some cases successful in punishing Israel in commercial and academic spheres for its crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing on a large scale in Palestine. This last week I went to two different meetings at University College London and Queen Mary University London to listen and take part in a debate about the One-State/Two-State solutions to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Those of you who have become used to reading my contributions to this forum may remember that I was a guest speaker at Kings College London in November 2011 where the same subject was discussed. My view then was and still is that the two-state solution is dead and buried, the peace process is a sham and the one-state solution with equal rights and obligations for all its citizens and the right of return for Palestinians is the only viable option.

Until a couple of years ago, I was a proponent of the two-state solution. That is until my wife and I went to Jerusalem. That visit was after an absence of almost ten years. The changes I saw and the experiences I went through convinced me, beyond doubt, that Israel would never entertain the idea of a viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and harmony, no matter how many times, how many years or how many avenues are explored to make this miracle happen.

I went back to Palestine again in November last year. The changes are gigantic. Peace and harmony are null and void. Israel does not seek peace, Israel does not profit from peace, Israel has plans firmly entrenched in its psyche and modus operandi that are the total domination of the entire landmass of Palestine and beyond.
If my words are not enough to convince you, listen to H.M. King Abdullah II who said in this very forum. “To us, peace always was and remains a strategic choice. But popular frustration at Israel’s policies is at a peak across the region and even traditionally moderate parties and groups are starting to question whether seeking or keeping peace with Israel makes sense any more.”
Your Majesty, inspiring words and completely true. Dare I ask you, in the spirit of justice and fair play to start questioning the Wadi Arabah agreement?

The Israeli ethnic cleansing and usurping of Palestine is not a new policy born from recent or current events. It is what the founding fathers of Zionism called for at the latter part of the 19th century. Eliezer ben Yehuda, credited for being the inventor of Modern Hebrew said, ‘ for us to realize our dream of Eretz Yisrael we must remove the Arabs from Palestine.’ Note the use of the word ‘Arabs’ not Palestinians.
That removal has been an active policy ever since.

This, amongst other factors, made me change my mind and lean towards an inclusive one-state solution for all its citizens with equal rights and equal obligations. It is a school of thought with inherent pitfalls but if peace is ever to be achieved between the Palestinians and Israelis these pitfalls have to be repaired.

The one-state solution has been gaining momentum all over the world within Palestinian communities living in the Diaspora and in academic circles within and without Palestine. For example, Mr. Sari Nusseibeh, the Dean of Al-Quds University was once a proponent, like myself of the two-state solution. He has just written a book, ‘"What Is a Palestinian State Worth?" (Harvard University Press), outlining his vision of alternatives to the two-state solution.

I have not yet read the book, but I have read an interview that Mr. Nusseibeh gave to the German periodical, Der Spielel in which he advocates a federation between Israel and Palestine but with an alarming proviso.
“Palestinians should be given civil rights but no political rights…
“The Jews could run the country while the Arabs could at last enjoy living in it.”

Really, Mr. Nusseibeh? After all the hardships, the sacrifices and the losses we sustained are we to accept living as a tolerated guest in our own homeland? Would this bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians? I wonder.

Another academic document, which has also been published on this forum, is by my friend and fellow writer, Nehad Ismail called ‘The Beit Sahour Document’ in which the authors call for a one-state solution, which encompasses Israel as it exists now, and The West Bank with equal rights for its citizens, but devoid of Gaza.
Here I must say, that I was privy to this document, prior to its publication by my friend, Nehad and I aired my objections to it then and the dangers that lie within the original document. Do we really want to do the Zionists’ dirty work for them and wave good-bye to Gaza, leaving two million Palestinians living there to fend for themselves? Have the Palestinians in Gaza ceased to be Palestinians because they elected Hamas? Are the Palestinians in the West Bank more committed to the Cause because some of them support the PA and Fatah? I find the whole idea completely abhorrent and ask all my compatriots to pay close attention to what is happening around them and what is transpiring in the international arena.

In the same vein, a group of academics have ventured even more into this one-state solution idea. They called their document, ‘One State In Palestine, A State For All Its Citizens’. They actually went to the trouble of producing ‘The One State Vision and Foundational Principles of A Republic In Historic Palestine’. Some of the signatories to this document are known to me personally such as Dr. Ghada Karmi, European Centre of Palestinian Studies at Exeter University, Dr. Haim Bresheeth, University of East London and Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, University of Bethlehem. (uk.mg40.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=6tivk3knbi546)

The Document as a first draft is worth looking at because, in my opinion, it encompasses most of the current issues in dispute and is a fair-minded reflection on years of suffering and conflict.

This weekend, Ahmad Noor, a contributor to Al-Jazeerah English has organized a conference at Harvard University on the same subject.
‘It was awareness that there will never be a viable Palestinian state that prompted me to work with other Harvard students to organize a one-state conference this weekend. Our work has been informed by the uncontroversial view that all people are created equal. Assessing an environment in which Israel controls the lives of 4 million people and deprives them of basic human rights, we ask whether there is an alternative: Can the one-state solution deliver equal rights to everyone?’

He goes on to say:
‘It is also worth asking whether permanent occupation is good for the Jewish people. Palestinians learn about thousands of years of Jewish suffering, persecution and genocide, and we wonder whether Israel can really be the height of Jewish achievement. Did the Jewish people survive for so long only to become another people’s occupiers and permanent oppressors?

You can imagine the uproar in the Israeli/Zionist lobby in America against such a daring conference at a prestigious venue like Harvard. I am sure you can also imagine the campaign that has been waged to thwart it before it began.

This conference is an on-going event and I, for one, await with bated breath the conclusions.

In the meantime, another conference is going on in Washington DC this weekend and for the next few days. AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
There has been a vociferous ‘anti’ campaign by the Occupy AIPAC Movement and, at last, the American people are calling into question the role that AIPAC plays in their political arena, not only in foreign policy but also in very vital domestic issues. American people are questioning, why? At a time of economic austerity that affects their daily lives American Congress, through pressure and lobbying by AIPAC not only offers Israel huge aid but that aid is on the increase.

Of course the chameleon war criminal Netanyahu is there to address the conference and of course, Mr. Obama, the President Of The United States and his Defence Secretary Mr. Leon Panetta will be there to pay homage and outdo themselves by declaring their undying, undiminishing support for Israel.

Mr. Gingrich and other like-minded Congressman will be there and believe me, the last thing to be discussed will be the so-called Peace Process. What will be discussed, ad nauseum, and advocated will be Israel’s fervent wish to attack Iran. And we all know, from bitter experience, that the favourite child of the west always gets what it wants, even at the cost and damage to the west’s own interests and image around the world. Do you think I am exaggerating here? Please read this, from Theodor Herzl, founding father of Zionism. "The Jews make countries fight each other and when they want, make peace. But whatever happens, they get rich from this."

In conclusion, the hard, inescapable fact is that there has been, since 1967, a one-state in Palestine from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea called Israel. The problem with this state is that it is an APARTHEID state, based on supremacy, separation, ethnic cleansing and oppression. All these unjust, inhumane and unlawful activities that are continuing on a daily basis in Israel must cease. At the same time Palestinians must learn to live in the new secular, inclusive and democratic state with their Israeli co-citizens.