Introduction and forward of my book State of Palestine NOW
Two days after Hamas’s October 7th, 2023, cross border attack that caused hundreds of Israeli military and civilian deaths, and hundreds taken hostage, I wrote an op-ed article in the Washington Post October 9th.
I tried to explain the fact that the explosion that occurred was not without context, pointing out to 75 years that Palestinian refugees (more than half of the residents of Gaza) have been waiting for the fulfillment of their right of return as mandated by UN Resolution 194. I also pointed out the fact that 57 years since the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza has been under Israeli occupation in June 1967 and that the Gaza Strip itself has been under an illegal siege for 17 years.
But what I most focused on in the article was the fact that for years the constant Palestinian political cry repeated to all has been the absence of a political horizon. In fact, when US President Joe Biden visited Bethlehem to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas, the US leader told Palestinians that “the time was not ripe” for an independent state alongside Israel.
In 2024 alone, important new states including Spain, Ireland and Norway as well as the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados have joined many around the world who have recognized the state of Palestine.
In fact, 146 out of the 190 UN member states have now recognized the state of Palestine, but three permanent members of the UN security council: the US, the UK, and France have yet to do so and at least one, the United States, has hampered the UN Security Council in its efforts to accept the recommendations of the UN General Assembly that had overwhelmingly supported Palestinian statehood.
This book will trace the post-colonial Palestinian aspiration since the beginnings of the 20th century and will provide the arguments for the immediate need for the realization of the state of Palestine NOW.
Jerusalem, Palestine, November 2024
Forward by Dr. Varsen Aghabekian Shahin
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, State of Palestine
I was excited to read the manuscript of Daoud Kuttab’s State of Palestine NOW. The book was an-easy-to-read, and the arguments for Palestinian statehood were well explained.
Daoud Kuttab is an accomplished journalist from Jerusalem whose international coverage of the two intifadas was exceptional.
This book full of personal anecdotes, humanizes the Palestinian narrative. It puts it in the right perspective of our people’s struggle for their basic rights, the foremost of which is the right of self-determination. An independent Palestinian state on the June 4th, 1967, lines is the key to peace in the Middle East. Every proposal, initiative, or plan that has not included the rights of Palestinians has been doomed.
State of Palestine NOW is not a theoretical book but a practical guide. It provides a road map for countries and leaders worldwide that talks about the two-state solution but do little to translate their words into policy.
The number of world powers that have recognized the state of Palestine has reached three-quarters of the UN member states. Unfortunately, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are still hesitant to turn their own public positions of supporting a Palestinian state alongside Israel into the simple but important act of officially recognizing the Palestinian state.
I urge all to read this important book and more importantly, call on all countries to recognize Palestine and for those who already have recognized Palestine, to work with us to ensure that an independent pluralistic and democratic state of Palestinian can emerge as a peaceful and contributing member of the international community. We deserve our potential to be unleashed to focus on materializing the State of Palestine rather than struggling against an emboldened occupation, and to look forward for a better future to all, where justice prevails, and people enjoy peace, security, and stability.
Ramallah, Palestine, December 2024
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