Abstract
Diplomacy and diplomatic relations have been covered heavily in the international relations literature, but paradiplomacy of national liberation movements has not received enough attention. The aim of this chapter is to shed more lights on Palestinian paradiplomacy, its emergence and evolution since the mid-1960s. What did it achieve, and what were the main constraints and obstacles?
Palestinian paradiplomacy has met many successes and failures. The most important success was the PLO’s adoption of the Ten Point Program in 1974 which led to dramatic recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians. This recognition enabled the PLO to formally establish relations with many countries. PLO chairman Yasser Arafat was acknowledged and greeted by the UN and many world leaders. The second most important success was the recognition of Palestine as an observer non-member state at the UNGA in 2012 under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinians have utilized armed resistance and paradiplomacy, but they have not succeeded so far to put an end to the Israeli occupation and achieve their political rights. Palestinian paradiplomacy has confronted many constraints and obstacles. However, the international community is also to be blamed for its dysfunctional resolutions and double-standards policies toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
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Notes
- 1.
Ahmad Shuqairi convened the Palestinian Conference in Jerusalem with support from President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. Shuqairi became the first chairman of the PLO until his resignation in December 1967.
- 2.
The Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights were occupied by Israel in the 1967 War.
- 3.
Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950 in the aftermath of the Palestinian Nakba in 1948. The West Bank which includes East Jerusalem is the home of the third holiest shrine in Islam, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the home of many Christian (Church of Resurrection) and Jewish holy places. Jordan had competed with the PLO on the political representation of the Palestinians until 1988.
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Abusada, M. (2023). The Evolution of Palestine’s Paradiplomacy: Causes and Constraints. In: Gürbey, G., Hofmann, S., Ibrahim Seyder, F. (eds) Between Diplomacy and Non-Diplomacy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09756-0_3
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