IN his Israeli TV interview Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas re-stated the long-established position of the Palestinian Authority — that it seeks to create a state for the Palestinian people based on the frontiers as they were before the fighting in 1967. That implies an acceptance of the territorial gains that Israel made in 1948 when it was created. His views were immediately denounced by Hamas which wants all Palestinian land back. The issue illustrates a deep division within Palestinian society. Every now and then it's useful to take a closer look at the nature of the ongoing struggle in Palestine, for it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. The general idea is simple. The Palestinians are fighting for a fully independent state on all the land occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem, and demanding recognition of the rights of Palestinian refugees. Like any good politician, Abbas is trying to get on his opponent's good side. He is reaching out to Israelis ahead of a trip to the UN where he will seek an upgraded status for Palestine at a General Assembly vote later this month which is opposed by Israel and the US. In his interview he also vowed to prevent another Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, like that of the last decade. To drive the point home, Abbas, who was born in the town of Safed, told Israeli TV he accepted that it was now part of Israel and that he would have no right of residency there. There is a limit to how far Abbas should go to appease Israel. The right to return to lost lands is a deeply cherished dream of Palestinians which Israel wants to quash. Tel Aviv argues that all refugees should relinquish any aspirations to return to what is now Israeli territory. But the fate of refugees who were forced to flee their homes in the wake of Israel's creation in 1948 is one of the most emotional issues at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict and cannot be wished away. Abbas' TV comment about the borders of a future Palestinian state — that the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem are Palestine and the rest is Israel — is a hugely painful and controversial concession in the eyes of many Palestinians and other Arabs. Israel, which wants to create a system of apartheid and domination, created itself by carving out a piece of Arab land. It has since been trying to get the Palestinians to accept a state with temporary borders, minus Jerusalem and other areas, and minus independence. A long-term transitional deal is what Israel wants. The Israelis want to force the Palestinians to give up large segments of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and abandon refugee rights as part of an interim solution. But such a solution is likely to be permanent, not temporary. The crucial point in all this is that Israel has been in illegal military occupation since 1967; it is the longest such occupation in history and the only one anywhere in the world today. This is the original and continuing violence which Abbas and others must never lose sight of.
