Palestinian perspective
I took a taxi in Toronto, and the driver was Palestinian, from Jerusalem, and his brothers and parents are still there. I took the opportunity to ask him what he thought of the situation there.
Of course, he had very strong feelings. He blamed the Jews for not wanting peace, especially Sharon. The wall they are building, he felt, would destroy any hope for ending the war. He said that any time Israel wanted, they could have peace, just by pulling their soldiers out. He portrayed the Palestinians as a poor, powerless people, who have no nuclear bombs and cannot be a threat, being pushed around by Israel.
He agreed that the Clinton proposal was the closest thing to peace they would see, and he blamed the Jews for not wanting it. He also railed that they are not honoring commitments made by Begin 15 years ago, that they don’t even respect their own signatures.
I asked what he thought of the Palestinian leadership, and he said they have no leadership. Arafat is prisoner of the Israelis, and how can he govern if he can’t leave his compound. The new prime minister is a puppet – they have to do whatever the Israelis say. All the European governments do whatever the US says on Israel, so Palestine has no friends.
I asked if the Palestinians had made any mistakes, mentioning that the Israelis had made some awful ones. He felt that they were so powerless they couldn’t make mistakes, so they are blameless.
There you have it. I have only heard mostly pro-Israeli points of view, so it was interesting to try to listen with an open mind. I still pretty strongly disagree with his point of view, but it sure made me think.