The Israeli Mission

So this week, lots of mission offered us briefings to attend if we were interested. The Palestinian observer mission offered a session, and so did the Italian one, the Danish one and the Israeli one.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Palestinian one! But I did manage to get on the list for both the Danish and the Israel Mission briefings.

The Danish one was… Danish! EARLY in the morning, nice, and they provided croissants, coffee and tea. It was all nice, except for the past where I could not eat any of it since it was fasting and all. Deputy Permanent Representative himself was nice enough to take to us about the Danish involvement in the Unites Nations and answer several questions about Danish and international issues and topics.

If there is one thing I took away from the brief presentation is the fact that Denmark is highly involved in humanitarian aid and energy. Also, he highlighted the Nordic cooperation, its limits at time, but also its vast benefits.

The big one was the Israeli Mission on Friday Morning. That one was the anticipated one, I could not wait to see what the Deputy permanent representative had to say about the current issues and the Palestinians issue.

Shortly after the start of the briefing, one could tell that the man speaking to us, was a seasoned diplomat.  He spoke in a way that portrayed confidence to an arrogance level.  He was preemptive in bringing up topics that he know would come up, the 1967 borders, refugees, flotilla.

As frustrating as it was, it was certainly interesting hearing the other side, the Israeli side trying to defend outrageous policies and practices that have been going on for decades and violating every Palestinian right imaginable!

I have to say that it was one of the most frustrating things I has to live through, sitting there having a thousand things to say! Due to the nature of the meeting, seeing that it was a mere briefing, the only appropriate thing asking questions and not commenting of the country’s policies.

The other frustrating thing was that the criticism he directed toward the Palestinian and the Arab countries in the region was legitimate. He spoke of the Palestinian divided line and internal struggle and lack on unified leadership, he also spoke of the Syrian  oppression of human rights, the corruption throughout the Arab Regimes.

I had the opportunity to ask him two questions. He answered one of them very directly, and dodged the other one. He very quickly identified my accent in pronouncing Palestinian names as Arabic and later asked where I was from.

The first question, which he answered very directly was about Jerusalem. I asked him about the status of the city as a capital of a future Palestinian state. He claimed Jerusalem to be the capital of the Israel state and Israel refusal to admit as a Palestinian capital.

In that same context, I asked him about Israeli position on Palestinian movement toward full candidacy  in the United Nations. He was also very clear to state that it is a unilateral move that should not be taken by Mahmoud Abbas, instead Palestinians should go back to the negotiation table. Furthermore, he stated that it would not change the situation on the ground at all!

My other question was concerning Turkish relation and the recent tension between  Tal Aviv and Ankara. He was very sneaky to dodge Turkish demands for an official apology, and only said that Israel-Turkish relations are well, and some tension is normal.

It was mind blowing to see how he managed to portray Israel as a peaceful country who is a victim of regional hatred and violence!! It was truly INSANE.

One of the funniest things he said was how Israel is a ‘vibrant democracy’ and  ‘an example to follow’ forgetting, or more like omitting Israeli oppressive policies against Arab Israelis and anything Arab or Muslim in sight!

This experience has certainly been enriching as well as frustrating!!

This tale of my visit to the Israeli mission has only motivated me to be more active and involved in everything promoting the Palestinian cause an Palestinian rights.

Hopefully, come September, the State of Palestine will be a permanent member of the United Nations and will gain recognition by countries worldwide, consequently, (hopefully) strengthening their position in the bilateral negotiations. With that I hope that Palestinian leadership comes together with all participating members and parties.

Free Palestine

--Elmo