Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1376560
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MAY 2021 INTERVIEW President Abbas. So the signals are positive; but we are trying to build on it by aiming for an international consensus about ending the occupation… My understanding is that rela- tions between Palestine and the USA took a downward turn under President Donald Trump. Apart from the signals you just mentioned, has there been any noticeable shift, in practi- cal terms, in US foreign policy since the change of administra- tion last January? The Americans have always been big supporters of Israel; that is an absolute reality. They have supported Israel through UN resolutions: and also by fi- nancing them, with up to US$ 3.8 billion spent annually on Is- rael… most of that money goes towards weapons, and military spending. Since 2016, we had the Trump administration; and in the first year, he was actually very much in favour of finding a solution to the Middle East crisis. But after one year in the White House, that policy changed… and it be- came absolutely against the Pal- estinian people: by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Je- rusalem – that was a major step – and by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of only one State [Israel]: which was a breach of international regulations, UN resolutions, and our basic hu- manitarian rights. President Trump even closed down our office in Washington DC, and stopped funding for the Palestinian people, and for UNRWA: the Palestinian refu- gee agency. So yes, we did suffer from the biased US administra- tion under Donald Trump. Now, however, we hope that with President Biden, we can build a route towards achiev- ing a Palestinian state. That is our main objective now. We are frustrated by 73 years of being under aggression, under con- stant attacks, under occupation. We want to end the suffering of the Palestinian people; and to live freely, like any other society in this world. Fifty-four years of suffering, since the 1967 war, is enough for our people. It is about time that the in- ternational community - led by the United States, the EU, Rus- sia, China, and even the Arab countries, of course; they have a major role to play in this – im- plements UN resolutions 242 and 338, that call for a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. We are not asking for anything that is not our right. It is basical- ly our land; and it is our right to fight for it… Coming back to your earlier point, that 'this is not a conflict between Hamas and Israel': it is nonetheless true that Hamas has fired numerous rockets in- to Israel, in response to the Is- raeli aggression you described. Doesn't this also give Israel the automatic excuse that it is 'act- ing in self-defence'? And if so: aren't Hamas's actions really hurting the Palestinian cause, more than aiding it? We have to understand that Hamas is part of the Palestinian people. They are not outsiders who came to Palestine. That is the Israeli story: they [Israel] are comparing Hamas to other fac- tions, who are not really part of the struggle. But Hamas are part of us. Hamas is part of our polit- ical system… … yet the last time Hamas ac- tually won an election was in 2006; and that mandate has never been renewed. Is the organization really represent- ative of the Palestinian people today? We were supposed to have elections this year; but due to the Israelis' refusal to hold elections in Jerusalem, unfortunately the President has decided to post- pone elections until it is allowed in Jerusalem. But this doesn't change the fact that Hamas is an integral part of Palestinian society. They are not only present in Gaza; they have supporters all over, inside and outside of Palestine. There are 13.6 million Palestinians: some of them support Hamas; some support Fatah; some support PFLP [Popular Front for the Lib- eration of Palestine]; others sup- port other factions. So you cannot have a war against only one Palestinian fac- tion, because they are basically all defending [the Palestinians'] right of freedom. What Hamas is doing, and the way they are do- ing it, is their right of expressing their fight for freedom. We are still under occupation. The in- ternational community needs to understand this: we are a people under occupation. It is the occupiers' responsibil- ity to secure our safety; not to evict us from our lands; to grant us access to our places of wor- ship. It is the occupiers' respon- sibility to defend us, according to international humanitarian law. It is not us who are provok- ing wars; it is the Israelis who should stop their aggression to- wards the Palestinians. But yes: I understand that the media uses double standards, when it comes to presenting the Israeli/Palestinian problem. We are frustrated about this. We are trying to explain our story every- where. Here in Malta, I am trying to do it with the politicians, with the media, and with everyone: in order for people to understand the reality on the ground. We don't have much control over the media. But we are trying to get the real story across. All that we want, from the in- ternational community, is to stop the illegal occupation. Your stated objective – an in- dependent State of Palestine – depends on the enactment of a UN resolution, passed in 1974, calling for a 'two-state solu- tion'. In reality, however, this has consistently proved impos- sible to achieve in practice, in almost 50 years; and today, the prospect seems farther than ev- er from becoming a reality. Do you still believe that a two-state solution is a viable option? I do believe that the two-state solution is a viable solution, yes. In fact, it is the only viable solu- tion. We have already agreed to live in only 22% of the historical Pal- estine, in order to achieve peace. But this right – to have a state of our own – is something we will never give up on. Nor will we ev- er give up on the right of return of Palestinian refugees: of whom there are around 6.5 million, worldwide. People have a right to return to their land; they still hold their keys, hoping to one day be able to return to their homes… from generation to generation, they still pass down the message that it is their right to go and live in their own land. So the only option is the two- state solution. And I am against all those people who say that the land is 'too small' to have two states. That is not at all true; absolutely not. Palestini- ans are capable of building their own State. We have been very successful outside of Palestine – there are many, many success- ful Palestinian business-peo- ple… artists… poets… scattered all across the world… even here in Malta. We have been successful in the Gulf states; or in Chile, for example: where we have a com- munity of over half a million Palestinians… more than the population of Malta. Some of them have become Congress- men… Chile's foreign minister was Palestinian; as was the for- mer president of Honduras, of El Salvador… We are very powerful in Latin America; because these people were integrated into the local societies. So we do have the expertise, to build a successful Palestinian state. And all those people are willing to come back, and invest in its creation. But the reality is that – in our own homeland – we don't have control over the economy, unfortunately. So right now, it is impossible. It is now time to bring all those people back, and to build a suc- cessful, independent state in which the Palestinians can live freely, and in dignity. This, at the end of the day, is all we are ask- ing for… Hamas are part of the Palestinian people. They are defending the Palestinians' right of freedom. But the problem that started between the Palestinian people and Israel is not about Hamas. It's about East Jerusalem