Whenever George Bush wants to attack a country he, or his spokesman Tony Blair, say something about a Palestinian State, in the hope that such statement will make it easier, if not to get support for his war, but at least to soften up opposition to such war from the Arab states. But this is not a totally empty promise, as some tend to believe. There is some substance in this promise of a Palestinian State. And behind the smokescreen of the Iraq war, such state is taking shape and, at a moment convenient to the American administration and the Israelis, might even be unveiled and proclaimed with due pomp and ceremony.
So, what is this Palestinian State?
The Palestinian State, that is now emerging, is an area of the West Bank surrounded by a high security perimeter wall, complete with watch‐towers, guards, and high security gates.
As practically all the Palestinian industry and whatever there was of agriculture was destroyed by the Israelis, to relieve the humanitarian disaster, some kind of “work‐for‐food” program will need to be run by the Israelis, who might even set up some workshops where the inmates of this state will work for the Israelis in exchange for being fed.
Sounds like a concentration camp? You might say so, but it would be a state with a flag and an anthem, as well as full Israeli sovereignty. And since it is a state, Bush and Blair will have fulfilled their promises to the Palestinian people. Should the Palestinians expect more than that?