This morning ABC Newsradio dedicated a block of time to discussing a speech delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The thrust of
the speech seems to be that Israel is prepared to accept a "two state solution" to its conflict with Palestine so long as a future Palestinian state satisfies a swag of conditions related to Israeli security.
I'm not going to analyse the speech nor take sides on the conflict. Some say the speech is a positive move, others say it is counterproductive. As usual.
One thing did catch my attention, though. Mr Netanyahu mentioned that a future Palestinian state would have its own flag, its own national anthem, and so on. All the trappings of a real state. At the same time, though, it would be "demilitarised". It would look like a state but it would not possess the power that states ordinarily possess.
This talk of flags and anthems reminds me of James Ferguson's discussion of Bantustans in South Africa last century.* Ferguson talks of the creation of pseudo-states, each with its own flag and coat of arms. In reality, the formation of ethnic "homelands" for South Africans was little more than an attempt to herd undesirables into areas where they could be contained, supposedly content with the illusion of independence. The pseudo states had no real power. The experiment failed.
So it's little wonder that some Palestinians see this as a dodgy offer. I'm tempted to think that these conditions were included in the knowledge that no Palestinian politician will be able to accept them. If Mr Netanyahu is serious about long term peace with Palestine, he'll need to have a good think about this issue before writing his next landmark speech.
* Ferguson, J. 2006, Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order, Duke University Press, Durham and London, pp. 50-68.
