Palestine’s upgrade to UN “non-member observer state” status is virtually a foregone conclusion, with an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly expected to vote in favor and only a handful, led by the US and Israel, in opposition.
The question then is what Israel’s reaction will be, and the nation’s cabinet met today to discuss possible “punitive” measures to punish the Palestinians for getting the enhanced level of recognition on the international stage.
Exactly what the move will be remains unclear, and with Israel already not negotiating with the Palestinians and already expanding settlements, the number of options that will actually feel like “punishment” instead of just business as usual is limited.
The most likely proposal on that front is for Israel to freeze all Palestinian tax dollars, though Israel does this too on a semi-regular basis to express displeasure, and with the West Bank’s economy already on the brink of collapse a prolonged move to cut off funds to PA employees could be diplomatically difficult for Israel as well.
In the end the most likely new moves will also be the least impactful, imposing harsh new restrictions on Palestinian detainees who by and large aren’t involved in the PA to begin with and who have no say over their recognition anyhow. This has been a go-to activity for Israel’s government several times in the past, forcing Palestinians in prison to go to court to get access to things like paper and pencils.
This may punish the PA, but it would be a big favor to the Palestinians to rid them of the Quislings who manage the Israeli occupation of them at the expense of their own taxes and EU donations. The losers would be the Israelis, who benefit from the subsidy, from the pretend "efforts" at peace to disguise and excuse their actions, and most of all because two states is what Israel wants and needs to avoid one state.
Unless the zionist apply the measures that america did to the native americans then all that they have done to the Palestinians will have no effect on the outcome.
Isn't that exactly what they have done? All the land is gone and the Palestinians are already living in "reservations" both inside their own land and wherever else they go. They've been either forced out, jailed, maimed and pretty much annihilated. Even their culture has been assimilated/stolen by the Zionists who didn't have much of an identity. And their history has been wiped off. They have been dehumanized, demonized and humiliated. Isn't that pretty much what was done to the natives?
The right-wing Israelis are making a "stand" against liberty for the Palestinians – don't they understand that their own feet are planted firmly in muck and mire?
The most dangerous people in the world are not the strongest, the smartest, the most unscrupulous or well-armed. The most dangerous people in the world are those who have had everything taken from them, who have nothing to lose– who realize no one is going to come to defend them. The Israelis have been grinding these people out like mass produced sausages. They will only have themselves to blame when the Palestinians snap.
Ah… The hypocrisy of Israel never ends. There was a time, as a child, I was dumb enough to believe the fantasy narrative but as an adult I've put aside such childish things. Would that Israel grow up as well.