Diana Buttu, a Canadian Palestinian who is legal counsel to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said on Tuesday that she believes Israelis and Palestinians may move toward equal citizenship rather than equal statehood. Sponsored by Students for Middle East Peace, Buttu spoke to over 50 students on the past, present and future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
According to Buttu, the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians do not desire equal citizenship, but she claimed that this possibility might become the most viable solution. Palestinians may see that equal statehood is not working and will begin to support equal citizenship instead, Buttu said.
“You can’t unscramble an egg that’s been scrambled,” she said, in reference to the convoluted situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the two areas that maintain Palestinian majorities.
But if the West Bank becomes a Palestinian state, there are creative solutions to deal with existing Israeli settlements there, Buttu said. Israelis could stay, be “incentivized” to return to Israel or become permanent residents with green cards, she suggested.
Buttu also advocated making Jerusalem an open city, allowing equal access to Israelis and Palestinians. She urged students to lobby their representatives in Congress about the Palestinian situation and participate in divestment campaigns to end U.S. aid to Israel.
Buttu voiced hope for a solution because she believes that people, rather than governments, are beginning to act. According to polls, the majority of Israelis do not support the occupation of land beyond the pre-1967 Israeli border, Buttu said.
“[Israelis] will begin to highlight that what’s going on is not being done in their name,” she said.
Students had mixed reactions to Buttu’s proposals.
Nir Hauser (CAS ‘03), an Israeli, said that Buttu ignored the issue of Palestinian terrorism.
He also described the equal citizenship option as a “non-starter” for Israelis.
Hauser claimed that due to demographic shifts, Israel will have a Palestinian majority within 20 years. Israel would never accept equal citizenship as an option because it desires a Jewish and a democratic state, which would be impossible with a Palestinian majority, Hauser said.
Nor could Israelis remain in a Palestinian state if one was created, Hauser claimed.
“It’s ridiculous to say settlers can stay in Palestinian country if no one’s protecting their safety ? No one really believes that Palestinians will protect any Israelis,” he said.
Omar Wahab (SFS ‘05), a member of Students for Middle East Peace who introduced Buttu, said that he felt her views on the movement for equality in Israel were accurate.
“She spoke very rationally and told it like it is. Her argument for equality completely made sense,” Wahab said.
Wahab said he thought that having speakers like Buttu on campus improved relations between Israeli and Palestinian students.
“We want to get people discussing. We want to foster a dialogue,” Wahab said.
