Rashid Khalidi is from a family with deep roots in Jerusalem. His grandfather was an official in the Ottoman Empire, an uncle was Mayor of Jerusalem, and his father worked at the United Nations in New York. His career as an academic, writer and journalist, saw him supporting the Palestinian delegation at the Madrid Conference in the 1990s. He is now a professor of Arabic studies at Columbia University.
In this book – written before the terrible events of the past year – he draws on his family’s archive and direct experience to provide a unique perspective of the first hundred years of the settler colonisation of Palestine. First published in 2020, it has helped make the Palestinian case known to a new generation, with the current conflict making it a best seller (No 6 on the New York Times Non-Fiction list).
Starting under British imperialism
Growing antisemitism across Europe in the 19th century led to a Zionist project to establish a “Jewish Homeland” in Palestine. The project gathered momentum, funding and influence, culminating in WW1 when the goals of the project aligned with British interests in the Middle East, resulting in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This became the bedrock of British policy in the region, and is largely responsible for where the Palestinian people find themselves today. Then we read that ….
“At a dinner in Balfour’s home in 1922, three of the most prominent British statesmen of the era – Lloyd George, Balfour and Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill – assured [Chaim] Weizmann that by the term “Jewish national home” they “always meant an eventual Jewish state.” Lloyd George convinced the Zionist leader that for this reason Britain would never allow representative government in Palestine”
(p.25)
This gave Zionists a green light to colonise Palestine with the assurance of British protection. It also revealed the racism at the heart of the British establishment, by treating the Palestinians as the British and US had the indigenous peoples of North America. Towards the end of the Second World War, Churchill would play another crucial role by giving approval so that…
“a Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army was formed in 1944, providing the already considerable Zionist military forces with training and combat experience, offering a vital advantage in the conflict to come”
(p.59)
When the UN divided the land giving 56% to the smaller Jewish population, the well equipped and armed Zionists forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee for their lives, killing thousands. The Nakba unfolded into a humanitarian disaster. 750,000 Palestinians were displaced as 78% of the land was occupied. Israel’s declaration of independence was quickly recognised and supported by the US. Palestine ceased to exist with the remaining land being occupied by Egypt and Jordan.
Sustained by American imperialism
In the period after independence Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy all sought to get some concessions from Israel, such as the return of the refugees. Eisenhower forced Israel to retreat from the Sinai after the 1956 Suez War. Kennedy tried to stop Israel from becoming a nuclear power (p.102) but following his assassination there was a change and US Military Aid to Israel rose rapidly.
In 1967 President Johnston approved Israel’s attack on Syria, Egypt and Jordan. The air forces of those countries were destroyed on day one. Within six days Israel had captured the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights (p.97). While the war raged, the author watched from the public gallery of the Security Council when his father was present. When hostilities ceased, UN Security Council Resolution 242 effectively gave Israel control of the territory that had been captured (p.105). Yet even after this demonstration of overwhelming military superiority, the media ensured that
“Israel still retained its image as a beleaguered victim of Arab hostility”
(p.116)
In 1982 the author was working at the American University of Beirut as another devastating phase of the conflict erupted when Israel attacked Lebanon, targeting Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Some 120,000 troops invaded, and after 10 days of fighting the casualties were:
| Dead | Wounded | |
| Palestine and Lebanon | 19,000 | 30,000 |
| Israel | 364 | 2,400 |
Israel had convinced President Reagan that the PLO were terrorists aligned with the Soviets. As they continued their indiscriminate bombing, Begin, Israeli prime minister, told Reagan that any level of civilian casualties was acceptable to kill Arafat (p.148). The PLO’s plan to withdraw from Lebanon required guarantees of an international force to protect the Palestinian civilians when the PLO left. The US refused, insisting on monopolising Middle East diplomacy despite the French pressing for wider international involvement and warning of the risk to the Palestinians (p.166). When the last PLO fighters left, the US, French and Italian forces also withdrew, leaving the path clear for Israel to orchestrate the atrocity of Sabra and Shatila where 700-3,500 civilians were killed. None of the Israeli leaders responsible for these killings was prosecuted. Three would later become prime ministers of Israel.
“Sharon told Haig exactly what he was about to do in great detail, and Haig gave his endorsement, amounting to another US declaration of war on the Palestinians”
(p.161)
In 2006 Hamas won the Palestinian elections. Israel launched attacks in 2008, 2012 and 2014, and imposed a siege. We read (p.222-5) how the media largely ignored the disproportionality of this one-sided war. The Obama administration failed to act, perhaps fearing that more questions might be raised about how a 2,000lb bomb can ever be described as a defensive weapon and why their export should be banned under the Arms Export Act. The figures presented for 2014 are truly shaming.
4000 rocket attacks caused 5 deaths in Israel. In July-August 2014 Gaza was hit by 21 Kilotons of High Explosive from 6,000 Air attacks and 50,000 artillery shells (the Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of 20 Kilotons). 16,000 buildings were reduced to be uninhabitable. 40,000 other buildings were damaged including 277 schools, 17 Hospitals, and all 6 Universities. A 2,000 bomb leaves a crater 50ft wide and 35ft deep, sending lethal fragments ¼ mile. Its use in a populated area will cause civilian casualties.
| Casualties 2008-2014 Source UN OCHA | ||
| Dead | Wounded | |
| Palestine | 4,593 | 38,618 |
| Israel | 165 | 6,462 |
No Israeli commanders or political leaders were brought to account for their actions. In 2008 Gen Eizenkot explained The Dahiya Doctrine as ….
“What happened in the Dahiya quarter… will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on….. We will apply disproportionate force and cause great damage. From our standpoint these are not civilian villages, they are military bases. … This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved”
(p.225)
Conclusion
One of the author’s conclusions is the need to work on moving public opinion in the US to be more supportive of the Palestinian cause. Public opinion had already shifted by 2020 (p.240) and will have moved more during 2024. However, with the well organised and funded political lobbying by AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), US government policy is unlikely to change anytime soon.
To me it seems wrong that the suffering of Palestinian people must wait for a change in US policy. The conflict in Palestine, together with those in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Libya and in so many other places, has resulted in over 100 million people being displaced around the world. The failure of the United Nations to prevent wars and human suffering is clear for all to see. Had the UN been able to take action and press for ceasefires and the withdrawal of troops, many would still have homes and fewer would have perished seeking safety.
When the UN was founded, the danger of giving permanent seats on the Security Council to the five Imperial Powers and granting them the right of veto was known. These five nations have since used the UN to protect their own interests and and have obstructed the course of peace and justice in the world. Article 109 was included in the UN charter for this eventuality, allowing a simple majority of the Security Council and General Assembly to trigger the creation of a new charter. High on the list of reforms needed should be that the power to enforce international law should be independent of the political control of any of the member nations.
The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi, Profile Books 2020, 336 pages
Editor’s note: We continue with the Palestine theme. See also yesterday’s article from Malcolm Atkins
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