1

A Brief Reflection on the Calamity of the Middle East Peace Process

66 Years & Counting
Omar Alansari-Kreger

The calamities that proceeded after the official declaration of Israel has left the
Palestinians in perpetual limbo as they continue to endure the open brutality that thrives
off militarized occupation. As an outsider I couldnt imagine what it would be like to be
openly humiliated on a daily basis while remaining powerless to do anything about it.
From the moment a non-Jewish foreigner sets foot on Israeli soil, treatment of contempt
and suspicion are hurled at any outsider as officials size up the same foreigner. In the
Israeli mindset, any and everyone who isnt Jewish or Israeli for that matter could pose
a potential threat to Israel which attributes to the rampant paranoia that has traditionally
defined the Israeli psyche.
The treatment that is endured by Non-Israelis in immigrant control areas directly
compares to a minuscule shadow in which Palestinians residing within the West Bank
and Gaza Strip endure daily. It is for that reason why it must be realized that deranged
situations defined by immorality are amplified by the pillars of cruel and unusual
punishment and that breeds immoral behavior on both sides of the spectrum. The
Israelis desire to fashion themselves as the gatekeepers of peace and the harbinger of
democracy in the Middle East; however, from a generic point of view, effectual
democracies are evaluated by an overtone of humanitarianism which reflects on the
treatment of the socially depraved.
That display is easy to manipulate because the mistreatment of Palestinians can
be brushed off onto the Palestinian Authority; in some cases, the latter has proved to be
just as brutal as the former if not more so. Theoretically Israel has assembled a highly
successful democracy for its own citizens, but if you arent Israeli or Jewish for that
matter Zionist hardliners will always view you as second class or subhuman if you are
Palestinian residing in either the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. Albeit, Israeli Arabs
(Palestinians that reside outside of Gaza and the West Bank) enjoy the rights and
privileges of Israeli citizenship in addition to representation in the Knesset, but what
chance does an Israeli-Arab have of becoming president or prime minister of Israel if
that nation truly champions a democratic spirit?
In relation, if Israel really is a democracy that styles itself as an equal opportunity
engager for its nationals shouldnt that apply to Jews and Non-Jews alike? Those
inquisitive inclinations imply that the peace process was dead on arrival before it was
even initiated. Due to the peace negotiations, the marginalization of Palestinians has
2

reached great heights as they are virtually forced into the territorial totality of the Gaza
Strip and West Bank; that conveniently cedes more land away from the Palestinians
which effectively makes them weaker. It is for that reason why it must be realized that a
peace process cant preserve itself when its terms arent balanced due to the inherent
totality of its one sidedness.
It is also for that reason why a two state solution stands as a virtual death
sentence to the posterity of the Palestinians. How will an independent Palestinian State
compete with Israel when it is treated as a diplomatic sideshow to Israel? The only
peace process that can bring a definitive end to the crisis in the Middle East can be
attained through a socio-political merger that economically and militarily joins Israel and
Palestine together into a single nation/union. Unfortunately that aspiration stands as a
far cry from reality because Zionist hardliners understand that any merger with the
Palestinians in a nation that is defined by an equal opportunity democracy will
effectively laud them as a minority stripping them of their political leveraging power.
A one state solution that fashions itself as a diplomatic merger between Israel and
Palestine cant be achieved through heinous extremism which is why it will remain as a
concept simply because the current trends defining the peace process wont allow it
whatsoever.