Humanitarian pleas occupy an immense political vacuum

Palestinian students gather to show solidarity with hunger striking prisoners n Ramallah, West Bank on September 19, 2016 [Anadolu]

Traversing the spectrum from phenomenon to expected reaction, the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails once again find themselves facing oblivion. It is particularly heart-rending for anyone remotely interested in the plight of these individuals to perceive the deepening contradiction between their unwavering determination and the absence of political support that could make a difference.

A report by Ma’an news agency reveals that Palestinian prisoner Malik Al-Qadi, who has been on hunger strike for 66 days, reportedly issued a statement in which he called upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the people of Palestine to support all such prisoners in their resistance. Al-Qadi’s statement, which was released by the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, included a heartfelt plea: “I ask President Mahmoud Abbas to intervene as quickly as possible, and I ask every holder of a Palestinian identity document who has a conscience to support us in this battle.”

Israel has embarked upon an extension of its violations, by announcing suspension of the administrative detention order in the cases of al-Qadi and, Mahmoud Balboul and Mohammed Balboul until their health gets better, a move which has been rejected due to the implications arising from yet another administrative detention order being issued against them at that time.

Meanwhile, at the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Venezuela, Abbas asserted his wish to implement the two-state compromise, proving his allegiance to the powers which have forced colonialism upon Palestinians and their territory. Citing “difficult circumstances” is old news, yet it serves the futile meetings in which rhetoric is paraded beyond the usual perfunctory gestures. However, there are examples of recurring events which are neglected, such as the absolute disregard for Palestinian hunger strikers, regardless of the pathetic appearances by PA officials at protest events in which their “full support” is proclaimed.

It is a fact that the historical international integrity which encompassed opposition to colonial and imperialist endeavours is nowadays but a memory. However, one must analyse the irrelevance of Abbas even within the remotest connection to the Non-Aligned Movement, and how this irrelevance is proving to be a dangerous occurrence which plays right into the hands of Israel and its allies.

In the isolated realm of Palestinian prisoners, and within the oblivion shrouding hunger-strikers, Abbas’s words hold even less significance with regard to support for their struggle. That is not to say that the regurgitated, convenient discourses have no impact. The reaffirming of commitment to the two-state paradigm is a death knell for Palestine, regardless of what the international community, Israel or Abbas may say about the matter. It is a choice between embracing resistance, which includes what has been ignited by the collective hunger strike protests against administrative detention, colonial violence and international complicity, and choosing to lacerate Palestine even further, to the point where land exists only in Palestinian memory.

Major contributions to Palestinian literature by those involved in resistance recognised such a dynamic decades ago. Abbas has succeeded in accelerating the process. Between resistance memory and complicit memory lies an immense political and social vacuum, wherein lie humanitarian pleas such as Al-Qadi’s.

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