By Daoud Kuttab

Politicians holding down the floodgates against a public display of support for the state of Palestine were embarrassed in recent weeks. As soon as these political gatekeepers allowed their rank and file to express their positions, tremendous backing came for Palestine and its people. This happened in the British House of Commons, where an overwhelming number of MPs voted for Palestine, followed by Spain and, this week, by France. Other European countries are set to vote in the coming weeks, after it became unacceptable to deny the representatives of the people the right to say their word.

True, the votes recognizing the state of Palestine are not binding on the governments, but they send a powerful message and make it very difficult for these countries’ representatives at the UN Security Council to vote against a resolution that goes against what their own parliament voted for. The UK and France are permanent members; Spain will become a member of the prestigious UN Security Council on January 1, 2015.

France’s foreign minister is trying hard to avoid a UN Security Council vote; he has been trying hard to organize a peace conference in Paris that can bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Palestinians are clear that the time for negotiations is over, and only accept an end of the occupation. Talks to any other end would be a waste of time and an opportunity for Israel to obfuscate and delay. Of course, all the votes in favor of Palestine took place in Europe. The United States is a different story. Continue Reading »