How do you define “Coexistence”?

Palestinian Field Negro | 22.05.2011 | NEDERLANDS

The reason I am writing this is because I have been seeing, in the past few years, increased amount of Israelis who come to share the struggle with the Palestinians who face Israeli occupation every day. I want to ask them, how do they define “Coexistence”?

Time has passed quickly, decades have passed since the Two-State Solution has been put on the table. Palestinians have wasted their time negotiating, given up a lot of what was once their right, and have lost far more than they have gained in negotiations with the Israeli Apartheid State past decades. Having said this, I don’t believe any kind of a two state solution is even realistic to think about, two state solution simply means a Jewish-only state, with a Palestinian semi-state next to it filled with Illegal settlements and a wall which basically takes away all natural resources and strategic lands from the Palestinians, not to mention there is no Eastern Jerusalem to be governed by Palestinians.

With even more recent developments, Netanyahu, the Israeli PM refused to even consider going back to 1967 borders. That is nothing new, but it is all becoming official that Israel does not want to see a Palestinian state.

I was never pro-Two State Solution, since that, as for those who yearn for it , rejects the Right of Return for Palestinians. It reject the Palestinians right to claim back their stolen property, to come live in their hometowns in Yaffa, Haifa, Safad, Tiberius and others. Some Israelis and Palestinians are seeking a two-state solution. As a Palestinian, I consider a two state solution to be a dream far from reality. There is no way (current) Israel will give back East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, the wall and settlements all across the West Bank have already designated the borders of the Palestinian state, even the West Bank is barely under Palestinian control.

I often criticize few Israelis who come to the West Bank to support Palestinians struggling in the fight for their state, a state which will co-exist along with Israel, an unarmed poor state of Palestine aside with the nuclear-armed mass-destruction power, Israel. Those who seek the two state solution have forgotten who owned the house they live in, who owned the property their Mall is built on, who owned the land of Palestine which is today referred to as Israel.

Historic Palestine is a land that welcomes all faiths, all people. Israel seeks to become a Jewish-only State; even Barrack Obama started referring to Israel as a Jewish state in his last MEspeech. A Jewish state will set its agenda to expel those few 1948 Arabs from their homes to refugee camps in a tiny Palestinian State, or neighboring countries.

I refuse Zionism; I refuse to even discuss this struggle with a Zionist. Zionism is another word which describes the complete ethnic cleansing of Arabs from the land between the River and the Sea, and replaces them with Jews from all over the world that don’t even belong to this land.

We have lost our lands in 1948, we have lost more lands in 1967, and we are losing whatever is left of Palestine today. The only way to not lose it all, is to not give up anymore. I will accept to live in a one state joining Jews and Arabs, equal rights and of course, the Right of Return must be applied.

I respect every Israeli who is ready to have me or any Arab alike, to be his neighbor in an apartment in Tel-Aviv. I am ready to respect every Israeli who feels we are all equal and we all deserve the same equal rights of living. 1948 Arabs today are living in ghettos around Haifa, Yaffa, Jerusalem and others due to the extremely racist apartheid Israeli laws and regulations which consider Arabs as inferiors in the state of Israel. This is not acceptable.

I am extremely inspired by the South African experience which succeeded using non-violence, to gain equal rights for all citizens whatever their race or ethnicity was. As their Apartheid system has fallen, the Israeli Apartheid System can and will fall, hopefully democracy will prevail, the people will speak, and their voice will be heard.

We are not different, no one deserves to be treated different than any other person because of his religion or ethnic origin. We are all Semites after all; we can and should live together, not separated by walls or borders.

I ask you, how do you define “Coexistence”? Do you accept me as your neighbor? Are we different?

Please take time to read and sign this [Action for a One-State initiative]

Photo from the Atlantic of an Israeli and Palestinian suffering from Tear Gas in Qalandia 15 May 2011

Best,

A Palestinian Field Negro