It’s A Bit Creepy How You Never Tire Of Our ‘Occupation’ Mantra

By Saeb Erekat, Palestinian Negotiator

It’s great to feel like the world has your back, it really is. International support has sustained the Palestinian cause for several generations now, and we appreciate it. But I must admit it’s a mite unsettling that without fail, whenever we put forth some grievance we have against the Occupation, no matter how absurd, you lap it up. We can do no wrong, and Israel can do no right. Not that we disagree with the sentiment, but it’s our cause, not yours. It gets creepy after a while. Like you’re stalking us or something.

Almost everyone enjoys positive attention. Solidarity is one of the most heartening phenomena in the world. But there’s a line, and not such a thin one, between solidarity and utter sycophantism. You crossed that line long ago, dear international community, and it’s starting to get awkward.

For example, it’s one thing for a Palestinian, or a Palestinian group, to reflexively blame Israel or misfortune. It’s in our culture, our history, and immediate experience. It’s another thing for you to parrot it uncritically, especially when you pile everything Israel says with reams of qualifiers: “allegedly,” “the army said,” “Israel claims.” I’m just trying to exploit the international media, not fuse my identity with it. You don’t need to continuously demonstrate your undying love and loyalty. We’re not lovers. Frankly, it’s kind of icky.

Remember when winter storms overwhelmed the Gaza Strip’s runoff and drainage systems, and someone decided Israel had opened dams bordering the Strip? I certainly do. I remember laughing at it, until I saw mainstream international media outlets repeating the allegations. It never occurred to anyone to check maps for these dams – not when Israel could be blamed. All those health, mortality, and violence statistics? No matter how favorably they compare with other countries, or with the rest of the Arab world, you’ll always blame the Occupation. Honor killings? It’s the Occupation that makes husbands and fathers lash out. Water mismanagement? It’s the Occupation that, uh, I don’t know, forces Palestinians to completely disregard all the advice and help they get from Israel? I’m sure you”ll think of something. You always do. You just have to make sure to leave out the part about Palestinians being better off than the rest of the neighborhood under that Occupation. Wouldn’t want the world to get mixed messages.

One gets the feeling, in fact, that for you, this isn’t even about us Palestinians. And that’s probably the Occupation’s fault, too.