Author: Ethan Weiss
The course of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has changed since the time this newspaper went to print. While both sides might seem more at odds than ever, everyone should agree on one thing: don’t cut funding to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.).
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Palestinian Authority took their desire for statehood to the United Nations Security Council. They went asking for full membership to the United Nations as a sovereign state of Palestine, which by all accounts means a state of Palestine along the borders established before the 1967 War. The United States vetoed the resolution as promised. While it seems as if everything is unfolding along a set script, there is a worrisome subplot developing within the U.S. Congress that threatens the security and stability of the West Bank and of Israel and the viability of the peace process as a whole.
There are several legislative efforts underway in the U.S. Congress to cut all U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority in retaliation for their action in the United Nations. As President of J Street U Occidental, and as a concerned individual, I cannot help but see the proposals as misguided, self-destructive and ultimately detrimental to the cause of a peaceful two-state solution that I, along with many others, take as our guiding principle.
The funding, approximately $520 million per year, builds roads to support a growing economy and schools to ensure that youths find productive ways of participating in civil society. The funding also supports Palestinian security forces, whose work makes both Israel and the West Bank safer places to live.
The Congressional action is the reason we have phrases like, “To cut off your nose to spite your face.”
By cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority, Congress would alienate Israel’s only real partner for peace. Mahmoud Abbas and Salaam Fayyad, President and Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, represent the most viable Palestinian leadership, having repeatedly participated in peace talks where other prominent Palestinian voices—Hamas comes to mind—have refused. The New York Times recently noted that cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority could “shift the political balance dangerously toward Hamas.” The survival of the Palestinian Authority means the continued existence of a critical negotiating partner.
Moreover, cutting the funding to the P.A. might mean a greater security risk for both Palestinians and Israelis. American and Israeli security experts, including members of Israel’s own internal security agency the Shin Bet, argue that slashing aid to the P.A. could be disastrous for the security positions of both sides. If we want peace, and if we want to minimize violence at all costs, we should support continued funding of the Palestinian Authority.
Fortunately, Congressmen David Price and Peter Welch have written a letter to their congressional colleagues in Congress and the Obama administration urging them to continue to fund the Palestinian Authority. We can help that cause by calling our members of Congress and asking them to sign the Price-Welch letter. On the Quad this week, J Street U will have a table with information on how you can do that.
However wise or unwise the Palestinian Authority was to take their statehood bid to the U.N., it is no excuse for the self-destructive behavior that has once again taken center stage in a conversation that needs, above all, pragmatic voices for two states for two peoples.
Ethan Weiss is a senior politics major. He can be reached at eweiss@oxy.edu.
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