Arab member of Knesset: Peace with Israel an 'illusion'

An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset calls on Palestinians to revolt against security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Tel Aviv. 

Haneen Zoabi praised Palestinians for leaving "the illusion of the existence of an Israeli peace partner" and called for young Palestinians trying to lead a "new line" to rely on themselves.

In remarks quoted by  the al-Quds news site, she cited “the Palestinian espousal of a sober attitude towards Israel, after they understand that Israel is not a partner for peace.”

The lawmaker further called for change to the Palestinian Authority leadership, questioning its functioning and its security cooperation with Israel.

Zoabi said the Palestinian Authority is acting as a bully and is oppressing the Palestinian people, preventing them from expressing protest even on Facebook. 

The Palestinian leadership is “aggressively foiling the creation of any alternative to the status quo" because it benefits from the current situation, she added.

By sticking to the status quo, Zoabi said, the Palestinian Authority facilitates the oppression of the Palestinian people.

“The question is how would we revolt against this authority? How would we change it?” she asked.

Zoabi said the Palestinians “must consult with Israeli-Arabs in deciding how to struggle against the Israeli occupation.”

A new poll released on Monday showed the majority of Palestinian youths believe so-called peace talks will not end their conflict with Israel.

The poll revealed that 67% of the young Arabs living under the Palestinian Authority say the talks are incapable of ending the conflict.

Just 23.5% believes the talks will lead to a solution to the conflict, the survey conducted by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Center showed.

The number of young Palestinian Arabs who support the so-called two-state solution has also declined, according to the poll.

It found that only 42.8% of Palestinian Arabs of all ages prefer the solution compared to 69% last month.

The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle to efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlement colonies built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

The UN and most countries regard Israeli settlements as illegal. Palestinians want the West Bank as part of its future independent state, with East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.

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