“The Arc” The embodiment of salvation for the Palestinian people or a cynical distraction from colonial reality?

Well, now that this unfortunate little problem in Palestine-Israel has been solved, I think im going to go home. I can sleep easily in the knowledge that Palestine no longer needs internationals because an American corporate think tank has solved all the issues in one stroke. Maybe though – before I leave – I should share the genius, solve all solution with the readers of the Bethlehem Ghetto so that you can be as relieved as me. (Sarcasm ends here so as to not over do it.) Here’s a brief on the latest preposterously outrageous plan put forward by the west to ‘save Palestine’.

It’s called ‘The Arc’. At first I thought it was a plan to put two people from each religion on a huge boat, flood the whole of Israel-Palestine and start again –however the ‘solution’ put forward by the Rand corporation, at a cost of $2m, is considerably more ridiculous. At the center of the ‘comprehensive’ plans presented at the World Economic forum in Jordan is a 130mile long ‘infrastructure corridor’ which will link all the major Palestinian cities of the West Bank with a newly regenerated International Airport and seaport in Gaza.

That’s not all however. The Arc will single handedly solve the water problem by including a 130mile long aqueduct. It will solve the refugee problem by including ‘planned boulevards’ which will link each station to the heart of each west bank city – neighborhoods large enough to incorporate millions of returnees. Huge fiber-optic lines for the latest in telecommunications. Also power cables, a freight tole road, a high speed rail line and, last but not least, it will be surrounded on both sides by a huge national park which will develop into a paradise for hiking tourists. The full plans can be accessed at; http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG146.pdf. if you want to have a giggle.

Meanwhile, this is all taking place whilst the Israelis are building their colonies and infrastructure in the west bank at an accelerated pace, in order to ensure than no Palestinian state could ever be possible. So why on earth would the United States bother to sponsor such an audacious plan in the first place? The answer is simple.

During the 1990’s the new Palestinian authority had to be presented with a dream in order to keep it co-operative and in denial about the continued colonization. It worked nicely. By letting the Authority think that they were going to be the leaders of a Palestinian state (albeit with large territorial reductions) the authority kept on cooperating during a decade when the settlements in the west bank doubled in size. Only when this dream became so far from reality that it could not possibly be sold to the Palestinian people any longer was there a second revolt. By then it was too late, Palestine had been ghettoized, bypass roads now created a nation on top of a nation and two states began to appear totally impossible.

Now in 2005, with Abbas as president and a new ‘cease fire’ in place, the west needs a new dream to make the mouths of the PA’s capitalist elite water for long enough to keep them playing the game. The two state solution just doesn’t do it any more, so now we have ‘The Arc’. How can we be sure that this plan is nothing more than a new and tantalizing distraction? We can be sure because of the following reasons;
• The settlements are still under rapid construction. As is the wall, the settlement roads, the water siphoning plants and all the other infrastructure. All of this indicates that the peace process is false, but it also points to the need for a new bribe or ‘dream’ for the PA’s capitalists to keep them cooperating in the face of the obvious facts – aka the Olso period.
• The plans provide the PA with a refugee offer which might help them win more support amongst those who still claim the right of return. ‘Why return to a field in Israel when you can have a free house right at the middle of a new Palestinian civilization?’ A ploy designed to gain more refugee support than the ‘two state solution’ ever managed to do on its own.
• It plays on the Palestinians dreams of freedom of movement by suggesting that it would be possible to get from Jenin to Gaza (a trip which is totally impossible today) in less than 90minuets!
• It also appeals to the rural nature of Palestinian culture by promising a huge national park stretching the length of the country to protect their land and heritage. The emotionally loaded image of a back packer hiking through an olive grove is even included in the ‘projection.’
• Finally it appeals personally to the capitalist elite in the PA with an image of one of the most dynamic and sophisticated pieces of trade infrastructure in the world.
• The final piece of evidence which suggests that all this is designed to keep the PA cooperative, is the reaction which the document received. The deputy planning minister, Jihad al-Wazir, was reported as so over come by emotion that he had ‘tears in his eyes’ upon hearing the plan.

This plan is loaded with dozens of emotional appeals and dreams which aim at, not only guarantying the PA a strong support base for continuing ‘negotiation’, but also letting them know that even if the plan is not successful, its going to involve millions of dollars. Dollars which they may well see a share of – they are only human after all.

On the other hand, the politicians may think, if on an outside chance the plan is successful then Palestine will become one of the most highly developed Capitalist havens in the Arab world. In either case, money is involved in a huge way.

To all those people out there who support the Palestinian struggle for freedom – I urge you to do what you can to publicise these massive flaws and not let ‘the arc’ dream become yet another lie which allows Palestine to be colonized still further. A campaign must be formed around exposing this plan for what it is.