Letter | The Palestinian people are victims of their own leaders

Had the Arab leaders not gone to war in the 1940s, the Arabs of Palestine could have gotten their first chance at self-rule seventy years ago.

Supporters of the Palestinian Fatah movement march with posters of late leader Yasser Arafat (L), Fatah chairman and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (R),and female militant Dalal al-Mughrabi during a rally marking the 55th foundation anniversary of the political party in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on January 1, 2020. (Photo by Musa AL SHAER / AFP) (Photo by MUSA AL SHAER/AFP via Getty Images) Image by Getty Images

By Toby F. Block April 23, 2020

Dear Editor,

I read Kefah Abukhdeir’s recent article “Fauda is our reality. We tried to tell you – but you called us anti-Semites.”

Actually, I consider Ms. Abukhdeir and her family victims of the Palestinian leaders and the leaders of the broader Arab world. Had the Arab leaders not gone to war in the 1940s, the Arabs of Palestine could have gotten their first chance at self-rule seventy years ago.

Had Palestinian leaders began working on building their economy and holding Final Status talks after the Oslo Accords were signed, the first-ever-to-exist Arab State of Palestine could have been born in the 1990s.

Had Yasser Arafat or Mahmoud Abbas negotiated in 2000/2001 or 2008, there might now be a Palestinian state sharing governance with Israel in parts of Jerusalem.

Had Palestinians in Gaza not voted for Hamas, and had Hamas not used the Israeli withdrawal to create a base for attacking Israeli population centers, Israelis might not be so worried about the possibility of a Palestinian state being established in Judaea and Samaria.

The way to stop Israeli patrols’ needing to investigate possible terrorist actions in the disputed territories is for the Palestinian leadership to stop calling for violent resistance to the “Occupation” and to stop diverting humanitarian aid to efforts to destroy the nation-state of the Jewish people. There would be no need for patrols if the Palestinian leaders were working on building a state willing to co-exist, peacefully, with Israel.

Sincerely,

Toby F. Block

Atlanta, Georgia

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO