There was never any doubt about the Palestinian right and its essence, as President Nasser stated, that those who do not own (Britain) gave a promise to those who do not deserve (Israel) land that already contains Palestinians. It is one of the dozens of unjust issues that the colonial world has faced for two centuries. However, what urgently needs an answer is why the Israelis succeeded in unifying themselves globally into a state, while the Palestinians did not succeed despite the immense sacrifices made by the Palestinian people and which they continue to make.
The answer begins, of course, with the skills and capabilities of the Hebrew state and the tremendous support it received from leading powers in the international community. Yet the story is not complete without examining the failure of Palestinian leadership to manage a just cause. The division that began within the families of Al-Husseini and Al-Nashashibi in the 1930s has now extended into a cancerous growth, to the point that even China took pity on the cause, witnessing its people divided into 14 organizations that gathered in Beijing.
There has been absolutely no understanding that division, which may be politically natural, is not acceptable if it becomes ideological (Marxist, nationalist, religious, or a mixture of all) and armed against comrades at times with a force greater than that used against the adversary. Such a situation did not occur in Algeria (the Algerian Liberation Front) or Vietnam (the Viet Minh); nor did it happen in the American experience, which was initially divided among 13 states but united under George Washington until victory was achieved.
Then, it divided again during the constitutional drafting over the issue of slavery, leading "John Adams," the free rights advocate, to agree to include the matter in the constitution to prevent some states from seceding and to avoid the formation of new states that would contain slaves. The establishment of the state was more important than anything else, and when six decades had passed since the establishment of the state, "Abraham Lincoln" faced the Civil War not only to free the slaves but, more importantly, to preserve the state.
