The palestinian #archipelago
This October, Sweden became the first western European nation to formally recognize Palestine as a state. Whilst other eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland have made the declaration much earlier, this first acknowledgment from western Europe signals an important step forward in bringing popular legitimacy to the notion of Palestinian statehood. Although Sweden’s announcement has been praised by Palestinian solidarity groups globally, the nation still appears to be condoning solutions which are at risk of becoming outdated.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said that the current situation “can only be solved with a two-state solution.” The call for a two-state solution is one which has been echoed by other Western governments since the 1947 UN partition plan, but can it still be considered a viable solution? In theory, the notion of partition into two separate states is an understandable step for the West to take, but lobbying nations fall short in that their focus is often on the reinstatement of Palestinian lands along the 1967 borders. This would result in Palestine taking the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
To explain why this may not be a viable option requires analysis of how the geopolitical landscape has changed since these proposals were initially put forward. The Palestinian political field has been polarized since the late 1980s with the emergence of Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority, with a distinct lack of coordination between these two parties. During this period of polarization, Israeli settlements have been expanding, with more and more Palestinian land being claimed and built upon by Jewish settlers. Israel’s “creeping” strategy is perhaps one of its most effective methods of increasing its territory.
▻http://www.warscapes.com/blog/palestinian-archipelago
#Palestine #Israël #cartographie #visualisation #cartographie_radicale
