Resolution 2803: A Danger or an Opportunity?

The overwhelming majority of Palestinians agree that UN Security Council Resolution 2803 significantly undermines the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, posing a danger and a threat to the national project that tears apart the political unity of the envisioned Palestinian state, imposing American international guardianship over the Palestinian people and their authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and they are right, as this is an undeniable reality.

However, on the other hand, this resolution opens up many "benefits" to mitigate the existential threat contained in it; such as stopping the Israeli war and murder lurking over the Palestinians in Gaza, reviving life in the Gaza Strip – albeit in a limited way – reconstruction, halting displacement, and opening crossings including the Rafah crossing under the supervision of the international entities established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2803.

This resolution also grants Palestinians an opportunity to return as a transitional phase to correct their situations, and hope for rebuilding their institutions and reforming their authoritative bases in line with their own capacity and the international support they have received; the two years prescribed for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2803 represent a decisive factor - if they manage their affairs well - for Palestinians to return to the international community's table and to be among its ranks rather than behind it.

In my opinion, benefiting from the opportunity provided by the Security Council resolution; "to pave a reliable path toward self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state" requires reaching a consensual formula within the framework of the state and its commitments so that the disputes among social forces and political parties are based on governmental policies rather than on the goals of states and their commitments first. Secondly, it necessitates setting a clear and publicly announced political reform roadmap that can definitively measure the progress in it, agreed upon with the international community by presenting it to the Security Council with the assistance of the Arab League, France, and other countries; in order to create effective and accountable governance institutions that enjoy popular legitimacy through free and fair elections, supporting the existence of institutional states, the rule of law, and social justice.

Thirdly, it requires strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian community in the West Bank and Gaza by developing national struggle tools of "popular resistance" capable of confronting and protecting people and land; so that it becomes a way of life for the Palestinians, and its enforcement, even by force, to prevent deviation from it, ensuring broader popular participation and expanding international solidarity while increasing the cost of occupation.

O Palestinians, where is the escape? Israel is in front of you, and America is behind you. You have no choice but to work, persevere, be patient, and take care to reform the authoritative institutions; to ensure popular legitimacy and liberation from the occupation, and to break free from the impending American guardianship, by turning the danger of UN Security Council Resolution 2803 into an opportunity.