Political Question of Palestine Influenced Politics and Nationalism in the Wider Middle East - Essay Example

Topic: Political Question Palestinian nationalism is a national movement that was created by the Palestinians. It borrows some of its aspects from Syrian nationalism. It was created with the aim of rejecting colonial rule and replacing it with national independence and self governance.1 Contrary to the Pan Arabism that looked at the development of an arab rule, the main emphasis of the Palestinian Nationalism Movement was on the need of self-government of the Palestinian people. It clear on the rejection of the nonresidents rule right from the beginning regardless of whether the rulers in question were Arabs. The main instances when the nationalism manifested itself was during the rejection of the Egyptian rule in Gaza and Jordan. The paper will look at the development of the Palestinian Nationalism Movement and its effect on the other areas in the Middle East2. Development Of The Modern Nationalism Before the development of modern Palestinian nationalism, the loyalty of the people lay on a city or a leader. The movement acquired various aspects from other nationalist movements such as Pan Arabism or even Zionism. Some of the scholars on nationalism posit that nations have always been in existence.3 They claim that nationalism is the feeling that always been in the hearts of the people. The nationalists believe that supporters of Palestinian Nationalism were able to resist all conquests that were brought against them by retaining the feeling of nationalism in their hearts. The maintenance of the view that the people were united as one large community was the main cause of the success of the nation.4 This level of resilience that the people displayed was a major influence to all the people in the surrounding areas. The modern identity of the Palestinian people can be traced to various eras during which the people were under the control of the rulers. The domination over the Palestinians ranges from the times of the Roman domination to Ottoman Empire era and finally to the British occupation of Palestine in the 19th century. All the experiences of the Palestinians have shaped their culture on the premises of resilience and comebacks. The people believe that if they were able to resist the various foreign dominations, they would be able to conquer any other foreign domination that may seek to establish its rule in their country. The exclusivity of the Palestinian Nationalism Movement is vague or even impossible. This ideology is held by some of the nationalists that believe that there is no single way that the nation could have been able to rise without the influence of the Arabism and religion. However, the movement has been able to set itself apart from the other nationalist movement in the area since it was an original movement5. The movement is deemed to be the main source of the nationalistic movement in the Arabian region. Palestinian Nationalism sharpened after the demarcation of the Middle East into the modern nations as they are known today after the First World War. The movement was also affected by the Zionism. However,some of the people think that it is a mistake to identify the Palestinian Nationalism Movement with the Zionism. The British mandate took place when Palestine was seen as a nation that was composed of the people with overlapping identities. Most of the people acknowledged and pledged loyalties to the villages, regions and the projected nation of the Palestine, Syria, and Islam. The patriotism at the time could not be accurately described as a nationalism since the national outlook was hard to identify in a nation that was divided into micro affiliations6. The collapse of the dominant Ottoman Empire led to an urgency of the need to have an identity in the provinces of the Ottoman Empire that were predominantly made of Arabs. The Palestinian identity was also at stake alongside that of Lebanon and Syria. Arabians sought to find a new identity. This urge for the creation of a lasting image of the Arabs led to the widespread reformist agenda which is known as the awakening or the Arab Renaissance. People sought to develop cultural elements that would lead to their differentiation from the other people. This point marked the redefinition of the Arab cultural and political identity with the unifying element being same creed. The Palestinians have been the main sources of the resistance to the rules of the foreigners. The Palestinian Arab revolt was a major reference for the rest of the Arabian revolts. The Palestinian Arab revolt was caused by the heavy demands that the dominant rulers asked. The conscripts were so heavy that they would be like death sentences to the poor members of the community.7 The Palestinian revolt took the armed outlook with the rebels taking control of various cities such as Jerusalem, Nablus and Hebron. The ruling class sought to crash the revolt by use of force. Nationalists were rebelling against the increasing immigration of the Zionists. This was a departure from the norm whereby the other nationalistic movements such as Syrian nationalistic movement were keen on the resistance of the Ottoman rule.8 The creation of Tel Aviv in 1909 led to the development of conflicts over land that seemed to head in the direction of national rivalry. The ambition of the Zionists was mainly interpreted as a threat by the Palestinian leaders. The eviction of the peasants led to the aggravation of the issue since the people were now convinced that the Zionists were here to remove them from their areas of influence and finally push them to the point of oblivion. The anti-Zionist movement later came to be conjoined with the anti-British movement. This led to the creation of a nationalist movement that was quite different from the blanket Pan Arab trend. As the issue of the political and religious affiliations came into play, the Palestinian Nationalism Movement changed its face and it sought to combat the dominance of the nation by the Zionists who were more real than the other issues that had been dominating the nationalism clamour. The emergence of the PLO was a major mark of change in the nationalism. The PLO was mandated for the bringing of an order into the revolt. In the previous times, the rebels would organize themselves when the need arose9. However, the PLO was different since it sought to bring order in the way it was conducting the affairs of the revolution. The charter of the PLO stated that Palestine was supposed to exist in the way that it had been demarcated during the British dominance. It also sought to prohibit the activities and actual existence of the Zionists. The main ideology of the charter was the allocation of the right of return to the people of Palestine and according the Palestinians the right of self-determination. The above ideologies have been adopted by other leaders in the Arabian area whereby they have come to look at the Zionists as the major cause of their failures and problems. Yasser Arafat was one of the major leaders of the PLO who can be seen as the main force for the development of the nationalist movement. The attempt of the Arab states that were allied to Palestine to control Jerusalem, west bank of Jordan and Gaza strip and convert the region into a pure Arab territory were thwarted by the Israelis. The three areas mentioned above were taken by Israel in the six day war of 1967. Arafat stated that the battle for the dignity of the Palestinians was a win for his people and they had a reason to be jubilant. The statement made him a hero among the Palestinians since he had the courage to confront the Zionists who were strong by themselves and even stronger when one factored in the western allies. The ideological approach to fighting used by Arafat had a strong appeal to the people. He was seen as the leader that was willing to take the people to the Promised Land. This led to the development of a blind faith in his leadership and capabilities.10 The masses of youths were willing to leave their homes and join Fatah movement. The Fatah moved in and replaced the original leaders of the PLO whereby they turned the group from a mere voice to an action mechanism for the people. The Fatah engaged the Israeli forces in the regions that they had taken using guerilla tactics and artillery bombardment. This fighting led to the withdrawal of the Israel defence forces from the regions. This gave the Palestinian mobs a lot of confidence. This was the first defeat of the Israeli army. The Fatah sought to increase its popularity by engaging in communal projects. The battle of Karameh led to an increase in the strength of the PLO. The above elements of the Palestinian revolution have led to the development of a different outlook to the fighting in the entire region. As a result, nationalism in the Middle East assumes both a philosophical and militant approach whereby the philosophy is used in the recruitment of the fighting youth. The people feel that they are fighting for a cause. In the recent Arab spring, the nations in the Middle East and Egypt were combating a nationalism uprising that is similar to the Palestinian Nationalism Movement11. The rise of the people such as Osama and Sadam Hussein has also taken a similar path to the one followed by the Palestinian nationalist movements. The ideologies held by the nationalist movement in the other areas are also similar. The running theme in the uprising that have been witnessed in the Middle East is that the people ought to be reinstated to the previous position whereby they have the power of self determination12. The following that the leaders of the movements attract is also similar to the nationilst in the Palestinian nationalism have followed all along. Works cited Baumgarten, Helga. The Three Faces/Phases Of Palestinian Nationalism, 1948--2005. JSTOR (2005): n. pag. Print. Katz, Sheila H. Women And Gender In Early Jewish And Palestinian Nationalism. 1st ed. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2003. Print. Massad, Joseph. Conceiving The Masculine: Gender And Palestinian Nationalism. The Middle East Journal (1995): 467--483. Print. Muslih, Muhammad Y. The Origins Of Palestinian Nationalism. 1st ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. Print. Schulz, Helena Lindholm. The Reconstruction Of Palestinian Nationalism. 1st ed. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Print. Shemesh, Moshe. Arab Politics, Palestinian Nationalism And The Six Day War. 1st ed. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2008. Print. Read More