In the face of annexation and displacement... embodying the “state under occupation” as a national initiative to change the strategy of action and confrontation

Writer: Marwan Emil Toubasi

In light of the current facts, the essence of the initiative and the transformation required, in my opinion, is to move from institutions that manage a reality imposed by the occupation to democratic institutions that contribute to changing it without coexisting with it, and from waiting for external initiatives to having a Palestinian national initiative to declare “the state under occupation” that places the international community before its political and legal responsibilities, and links recognition of the state to ending the occupation that prevents its embodiment.

Ending the occupation remains the national priority, and embodying the state under occupation is not an alternative to liberation, nor a concession to Palestine as the historical homeland of our people, but rather a tool to enhance the battle for freedom and sovereignty and confront racial discrimination. As for the desired transitional phase, it must be a bridge towards restoring the will of the people as the source of authorities, renewing legitimacy and building a democratic state based on citizenship, justice, pluralism and the rule of law, not another open phase that reproduces the crisis.

The challenges facing the Palestinian national liberation project are no longer limited to the continued occupation and escalating settlements, but rather extend to political and social transformations within Israel, with which the circle of acceptance of annexation, displacement, and denial of Palestinian national rights expands, as indicated by many Israeli newspapers and polling centers, which ranged from 82% to 56% of the participants, so that these results, despite the different questions, reflect the widening acceptance of the idea of displacement among wide sectors of Israeli society. .

On the other hand, our Palestinian political system is facing a crisis in its structure, functions, and legitimacy of its institutions, after the collapse of the political foundations of the transitional phase that arose under the Oslo Accords. Between these two realities, the necessity of moving to a national strategy that reconsiders the liberation project by embodying “the State of Palestine under occupation” emerges.

As for Israeli election polls, they indicate continued competition over the future of Netanyahu, who is recording progress, but his opposition does not necessarily mean opposition to occupation, settlement, and annexation. The differences between the Zionist forces are primarily related to the management of war, security, and the nature of governance and the state, more than they are related to recognizing the rights of our people and ending the occupation. Therefore, changing the Israeli government does not automatically mean changing policies towards the Palestinians, but rather support for the continuation of the occupation and the implementation of their project.

The seriousness of these transformations increases with the acceleration of settlement, forced displacement, and the fragmentation of the Palestinian geography in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the genocide and widespread destruction that the Gaza Strip was subjected to, in addition to plans to reshape its administration and its future under the title of the “Peace Council” and UN Resolution 2803, and the continuation of policies of racial discrimination and abolition against the remainder of our people who cling to their land and rights within Israel.

In light of this reality, nothing remains of the land designated for the establishment of an independent and geographically contiguous Palestinian state except what is exposed daily to more confiscation, dismemberment, isolation, and escalating settler terrorism in the face of a national deficit. Specifically here, the necessity of transforming the vision of embodying the “State of Palestine under occupation” into a comprehensive national initiative for political, legal, diplomatic, and popular confrontation with the occupation emerges, and not just changing the names of institutions or their functions, but rather in an attempt to get out of this painful deficit. Without dropping other political alternatives that achieve the principle of justice and the right to self-determination for our people in all of Palestine, as it is our historical homeland, as long as this colonial reality continues.

This initiative gains additional importance with the expansion of international solidarity and recognition of the State of Palestine. What is required is a move from political recognition to commitments and practical measures to end the occupation and protect the components of the state, and to place the international community before its responsibilities, once again, after it recorded its recognition of the state and remained without its legal responsibilities, which recognizes the right of our people to self-determination, by demanding that it assume its responsibilities towards policies that destroy the geographical and demographic basis of the state that it recognizes, instead of being satisfied with verbal positions that do not contribute to consecrating the establishment of a sovereign state.

The Palestinian National Council declared the independence of the State of Palestine in 1988, and it received wide international recognition from that time onwards. Directions for moving from power to a state under occupation have also been previously proposed, without turning into an integrated institutional path. What is meant today is not to declare a new independence, or to abolish existing institutions and abandon the national presence on the land that our people impose by remaining on it, but rather to redefine the functions and references of these institutions as institutions of the “State of Palestine under occupation,” working to actually strengthen steadfastness, protect rights, and develop confrontation tools, without claiming to possess complete sovereignty or exempting the occupation from its responsibilities under international law.

In this context, postponing the legislative and presidential elections until September 2027, despite our initial reservations about postponement and the preparation mechanisms associated with it that I talked about in previous articles, should not be turned into a justification for the continuation of institutions without renewing their legitimacy. It is also not permissible to grant the occupation a veto over the democratic popular will through obstacles to the elections in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, or to consider this as a political justification for continued postponement or cancellation. Elections are part of the battle for sovereignty and national liberation, and are not merely a constitutional entitlement and right of our people, the source of authority, that is postponed whenever circumstances become complicated.

Hence, the necessity of launching a comprehensive and broad national dialogue emerges as a continuation of what will begin in Cairo, not limited to the factions only, but also including representatives of the popular and civil sectors, national independents, youth, and women, to agree on a transitional path with specific objectives and duration towards this initiative, based on the Declaration of Independence, and preserving the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of our people, while reforming and renewing its institutions democratically.

Within this path, it is possible to discuss the formation of a broadly representative transitional constituent council for the state, which will be responsible for completing the constitutional framework, organizing the transitional phase, oversight, accountability, and legislation, without becoming a substitute for the parliament that must be elected, or a gateway to consecrating the appointment, or continuing to postpone the elections.

This also requires the formation of a national salvation government with the reference of the Liberation Organization as a broad national front that represents our people at home and in the diaspora, working to unify the institutions between Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, strengthening the relationship with our people in the diaspora, thwarting separation plans, strengthening the resistant national economy and social justice, protecting rights and freedoms and the independence of the judiciary, and expanding popular participation, leading to comprehensive general elections with clear time guarantees without submitting to American dictates regarding them in order to preserve the dignity of our people. The independence of our decision, and the demand from the Europeans to provide its conditions without accepting that Paris or others determine our course of action, despite the importance of embodying Palestinian democracy, which we must rely on in asking the world to determine its positions.