Abbas seeks further imperialist collaboration

Only a few days after Tawfik Tirawi ambiguously called upon Palestinians, including the Palestinian leadership, to embrace resistance, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has once again revealed his allegiance to Israel and imperialism by compromising upon border security, should the hypothetical Palestinian state become a reality.

In a televised interview with Ma’an which was broadcasted at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference, Abbas made contradictory remarks regarding sovereignty, stating that “the borders of the Palestinian state will eventually be in the hands of the Palestinians, not the Israeli army”. He then added that following the three-year transition during which Israel would gradually withdraw from the borders, security would then be entrusted to NATO, “in order to soothe our concerns and Israel’s”.

A recent meeting between Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin and NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow highlighted a mutual interest in collaboration between the imperialist organisation and the Zionist state, including the possibility of an Israeli representative at NATO. According to Elkin, the past decline in relations has improved and Israel is looking forward “to broaden the range of matters that NATO and Israel join forces on, including having an Israeli representative at NATO”.

Since the commencement of the negotiations, Abbas has embarked upon compromise which undermines the Palestinian right to unity and self-determination. By insisting that a Palestinian state based upon the 1967 borders is “an acceptable, lasting and legitimate solution”, he portrays the PA’s disassociation from Palestinian history. There are various ramifications associated with the statement asserting a conclusive solution based on the 1967 borders, including forfeiture of the Palestinian right of return, the repudiation of atrocities inflicted upon Palestinians in order to establish the settler-colonial state and an acceptance of international complicity in recognising the state of Israel. In addition, the PA is invalidating Palestinian collective memory by adhering to the framework adopted by corporate media and Israel, which present the colonisation process as if it commenced in 1967.

Departing from the premise that the PA is aligned to imperial interests, entrusting border security to NATO decisively portrays the officially recognised Palestinian leadership as collaborators. As an extension of imperialism, NATO has consistently sought to neutralise its aggression and organisational expansion by perpetuating supposed humanitarian concerns. The organisation has ably exploited terms such as democracy, genocide and repression to embark upon premeditated aggression against countries and populations who fail to acquiesce to its demands for perpetual subservience. An absence of compliance from countries hostile to foreign plunder provides justification for an intervention which secures land and resources, always under the guise of fake humanitarian concerns which are repeated by other international organisations such as the United Nations, which has regularly exploited and selectively applied the definition of genocide to exclude the murderous rampages committed during imperial wars.

It seems as if Abbas is not averse to subjecting Palestinians to further international oppression. Considering the possible collaboration between Israel and NATO, as well as the organisation’s impunity in relation to war crimes, Abbas is embroiling Palestinians in an extension of oblivion which invites the addition of imperialist narrative from within and in concurrence with the Zionist narrative, obscuring and limiting Palestinian collective memory and opportunities for resistance.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.