Prepared By: Hadeel Wahdan

The right to self-determination for the Palestinian people has a minimum territorial basis of the occupied territories, those territories of the former British mandate that were occupied by Israel in 1967. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions 1514 (XV), 2672 (XXV-1970), and 3236 (XXIV-1974) have endorsed such a right.

However, it remains a fact that the international norm of self-determination remains elusive due to a lack of clarity of the legal scope of self-determination, which undermines its application in practice. Furthermore, the right to self- determination can result in the emergence of a sovereign state, free association with an independent state, and integration with an independent state, or “any other political status freely determined”. Therefore, the exact outcome of a claim to self-determination must be determined by the wishes of the citizens of the occupied territories.

The agreements of the peace process have avoided explicit references to self-determination, although there is general reference to the fact that the process is bound by international standards of human rights, which of course include self-determination. The ambiguity of the agreements demonstrates the conflicting goals of negotiated settlement, the goal of Palestinian Statehood on the one hand and the much-reduced concept of Palestinian Authority (PA) on the other.

The demand for national self-determination to end the oppression, discrimination, and occupation of any given group, national or otherwise, represents a claim that is self-evident and universally valid. Thus, any political system which violates this right by means of occupation, censorship, or police repression must be resisted (resistance, including armed resistance, ought to be properly defined as self-defense, not “violence”). The basis of self-determination is, therefore, inextricably linked to the process of decolonization.

The concept of autonomy is hostile to the idea of self-determination, for history has shown that the more a people is given “internal self-determination”, the weaker the claim for “external self-determination.” That is, autonomy weakens the Palestinian people’s claim to self-determination. Consequently, self-determination depends on decolonization, and autonomy will never be sufficient.

This statement needs to be examined in light of the fact that sovereignty and the ability to control resources are and will be a fundamental issue. The focus on Palestinian statehood as the crucial issue is misplaced, and instead the issue of equity should receive emphasis. The illusion of a “state” (especially in the new international context of globalization, in which even the word “state” has bizarre connotations) leads to the marginalization of the fundamental issues – such as equity and justice - which lie behind the struggle for a Palestinian state. Without addressing these issues, there is unlikely to be a workable peace settlement.

Self-determination as an on-going process:

The right to self-determination is “a right to democracy and respect for human rights.” The concept places an emphasis on representative government and freedom from abuse of human rights. One election does not make a democracy. Democratization and state formation are progressive and successful to the extent that the government is responsive and accountable to the citizens and the international community.

At this critical stage of Palestinian self-determination, the undertaking of interim legislation and the training of officials based on international standards will confirm the commitment to human rights that Palestinians have long expressed in exile and under occupation.

Self-determination should be used to argue for a particular outcome and should be seen as an on-going process rather than an end in itself. Therefore, deficiencies in representation, deficiencies in accountability, and human rights abuses by Palestinian authorities are not only wrong in themselves, but can actually weaken the claim to self-determination and play into the hands of the occupying forces.

Citizenship and the Right to Self-Determination:

The right to self-determination has two components: individual and collective.

In the absence of a state, citizenship in Palestine, which is connected with the right to self-determination, developed into a relationship between the citizen and his homeland, not between the citizen and his government.

Since the occupation in 1967, along with the social aspects of citizenship and the right to self-determination, the tribal, family, and organic differences of the Palestinian people began to dissolve, as their internal ties grew stronger. The Intifada represented the climax of this integration process inside the occupied territories.

Current Status of Palestinian identity:

Today, some 7 million persons in the world are “Palestinians”. But only 2.5 million normally reside in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem.

• Inside the homeland: retention of Palestinian identity.

• West Bank Palestinians: Jordanian
• Gaza Palestinians: not identified

• In the Diaspora: combination between the upgrading and loss of their identity.

- Jordan and Western countries: granted Palestinians citizenship.

The denial of Palestinian identity and the imposition of alternative “identities” on the Palestinian people in Israel, Jordan and other countries contradicts with the right to self-determination, which identifies the right of people to choose their identity.

The best criteria on which to base Palestinian citizenship in a future independent state would be that of territorial origin in combination, on a subsidiary level, with the criteria of residence.