Pan-Arabism on display through Arab flags over the years

As The Pan-Arabist Vision Fades, So Do The Prospects For A State Called Palestine

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Emanuel Engelmayer
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The Palestinian dream is fading fast, and it has nothing to do with Israel succeeding in quelling militants in Samaria and everything to do with the new reality of the Arab nations that created and funded the Palestinians for over 60 years. During the British Mandatory period in the region, there were few to no Arabs who would have called themselves Palestinians. According to newspaper articles, interviews, and books, most of the Arabs within Palestine identified as Syrian or Egyptian and based on their surnames, their ancestors most probably were.

However, there is no denying that there was a prominent Arab population in the land that Lord Balfour promised to Lord Rothschild. What can be proven wrong is that the Arab population in Palestine was part of a broader 'Palestinian' civilization with a rich, homogenous, and shared heritage. The notion of an Arab-Palestinian nation was a construct of the broader Arab civilization that, at the time, believed in a philosophy that from its inception, was the original colonial project in the Middle East. 

The proof of this is in the Basic Law of Palestine and the acting constitution of the Palestinian Liberation Organization which are both in line with most Arab-identifying states. Last revised in 2005, the constitution includes 121 articles of basic law and fundamental elements of a future Palestinian State, including the standard democratic values and Sharia law taken from Islam. On top of all the controversial articles and statements written in the document like Jerusalem (in its entirety) is and has been the capital of Palestine, there is one, perhaps, even more, intriguing element within the very first article.

“Palestine is part of the larger Arab world, and the Palestinian people are part of the Arab nation. Arab unity is an objective that the Palestinian people shall work to achieve.” The Arab nation, Arab world, and Arab unity are all part of the very first article embedded into the Palestinian nationalist ambition.

The very first association that comes to mind when reading this article is Pan-Arabism; the xenophobic colonial ideology of a multi-continental Arab nation that spans from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf. With its roots dating back to the mid-late nineteenth century, Pan-Arabism is still the goal of the current Palestinian government led by the Palestinian Authority - a subset of the PLO. Every nationalist aspect of Palestine, including symbols like its flag, are evidence of the pursuit of a Pan-Arab society. One can easily see the remnants of Pan-Arabism as well as its progress of it in the flags of Arab nations past and present. 

Now, to be sure, it is not that Pan-Arabism being the foundation of Palestine is surprising, but rather bizarre in the twenty-first century. The philosophy of one Arab nation from the Maghreb to Persia was all part of the Arab enlightenment era that spanned from the 1870s through the mid-1900s. Acting as a form of a renaissance in Arab thought, the idea was bolstered after WW1 when the Ottoman caliphate was defeated and new European borders were formed in the Middle East and in predominantly Muslim lands in Africa. One Arab nation and people, a new caliphate similar to the concept of an Islamist “Ummah”, was the rallying cry of many localized movements that later became the governments of modern Arab League nations. 

It should have only been expected that countries like Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq all begin their constitutions with Pan-Arab declarations, considering that precise movement was the driving motive behind their independence from the Europeans who had moved in to fill the colonial void left after the Ottoman Empire fell. Therefore, when the concept of an Arab-Palestinian nationalist movement began to take form with the PLO’s foundation in the mid-1960s, the reasons for the movement's existence, to begin with, had to be included in line with the PLO's Arab League sponsors. Decades have passed since, civil wars, revolutions and peace agreements took place. What is now left of this once prideful pan-national movement are hollowed “amendments” and diplomatic annual public affair events. 

The Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, was the last Middle Eastern sovereignty announcement that based itself on Pan-Arab philosophy. Unfortunately and without the knowledge of the PLO, Arab unity was already crumbling in many aspects, and the 21st century would completely destroy it. The Palestinian constitution that would be finalized in 2005 was also not aligned with the realities of individual nationalist statehood. The stately attitude towards Pan-Arabism has not yet faded, but fiscal considerations and individual parliamentary decisions are slowly leading Arab League states to act separately and as the Abraham Accords prove, against the interest of a Pan-Arabism philosophy. 

The prioritization of “clean energy” and new emerging industries of interest with non-Arab Europeans and Israelis is the latest dagger swiped at the Pan-Arab dream, the same dream that 'Palestinian Nationalism' relies on solely for oxygen. In addition to economics and environmental issues, the Sunni Arab fear of a hegemonic Shiite rise is a key factor in the recent pivot of Arab states to Israel. 

Although no Arab nation has outright admitted to it just yet, their actions clearly indicate aspirations of personal statehood success rather than inclusive Arab gain. It may not be intentional, but with each new multinational alliance forged, including the economically driven normalization with Israel, the Arab world is abandoning the Palestinian cause their predecessors created in order to further their Pan-Arab dreams. 

It is hard to imagine a reality in which a Palestinian state exists without all-inclusive Arab support and predicting what will happen post-Pan-Arabism is close to impossible. Additionally, it seems as if the days of Abu-Mazen’s rule are in sync and fading as well, meaning the PLO is facing both internal power struggles along with external fears of abandonment. Nobody can predict the future accurately, even the near future, but a safe bet would be that whatever unfolds in the Palestinian world will be bloody and end in a catastrophe for the PLO’s strong arm over the West Bank.

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