The question becomes more puzzling, rather more mysterious, as to why the Palestinian leadership had never raised the issue at the UN during the last sixteen years since the Independence Declaration, nor they had behaved like an independent state, although they had been carrying on continuous struggle against the occupying Israeli forces to liberate the occupied territories, like a minority community struggling against a majority-dominated state! And they project their government as "Palestine Authority", instead of "Palestine government". And now after the sad and mysterious death of Yasser Arafat, America and Israel had come forward to offer a 'Palestine State to the Palestinian' leadership, provided they follow the dotted lines in the US-Israeli-brokered peace-map for the Middle East.

Israeli threats to Arafat
There seems to be a sign of relief in the Jewish circle, after the planned removal of the "main obstacle" to Middle East peace! Of late, Israel had been threatening repeatedly to 'remove' Arafat from political arena of Palestine, as if they were not happy after putting him under 'house arrest' at his Ramallah HQ for last three years or so. And strangely, there was not even a murmur of protest from either the Palestine leadership or the leaders of the Arab League member states.

The basic questions, therefore, stand out more clearly. Where lies the rut? Who is at fault -- the UN or the so-called 'Palestine Authority'? What prevents UN to admit Palestine as a member state as it had done in hundred such cases, including Israel? Who is putting the clog in the wheel? Is it the fault of the Palestine Authority, which on one hand, follows methodically a text-book procedure of having a democratically elected 'President', a 'Prime Minister', a 'cabinet', a 'Parliament' and even 'Ambassadors', and on the other, it does not call itself the "government of Palestine" or "state of Palestine" officially.

Never applied for UN membership?
It is unbelievable that the Palestine leadership didn't apply to UN for its membership. UN has an open record to show that Palestine never approached for UN membership since its declaration of independence by the PNC in 1988, for some reason or other. Who are then the "advisers" that prevented Palestine Authority, or the then newly independent 'Palestine government' (unfortunately, the term "Palestine government" is never used by the Palestine leadership) that prevented Palestine leadership not to fulfil the basic formality on the part of a new state for its admission in the UN as a member? Of course, there was a possibility of veto-wielding by some permanent members, particularly USA and UK. But that doesn't mean that Palestine leadership would not behave as representatives of an independent state.

Where Palestine stands to-day?
The present day Palestine had come a long way since 1947. Before secession by Israel as an independent state from mainland Palestine, the Palestinian Arabs were 66pc of its total population of two million of which Jews constituted 34pc. Now, as an irony of fate, it is the minority Jewish state which is dictating terms and conditions to guarantee the establishment of a Palestine state! Being then majority, the Palestine Arabs, assisted by some neighbouring Arab states, attacked on 15 May 1948 the newly declared state of Israel but it misfired. The Israelis were already better equipped, better armed and better trained to meet such a situation. So, the Palestine Arabs had to retreat with an additional burden of some 750,000 Palestine refugees, uprooted from Israel, after a ceasefire agreed upon by them. The Palestinians are still leaking their old wounds.

During the last five decades or so, the Palestinian-Israeli hostilities continued, erupting from time to time on bigger scales, particularly in 1953, 1967 and 1973. Of them, the 1967 Israeli attack became the most fatal and disastrous for Palestine when Israel occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip which Israel still continues to control, showing the worst contempt to relevant UN resolutions. Israel had built thousands of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and is now busy in constructing the 700-mile long so-called "separation barrier", or perhaps to be known in future as the "Great Israeli Wall". And Israel is doing this defying the recent World Court verdict, declaring the construction as "illegal", urging UN further action to "dismantle" it. What the UN will do is a foregone conclusion.

However, the Palestine authority should have raised the question of its admission in the UN during the last sixteen years, since it declared independence without fear or favour from any quarters. At least it would have exposed the evil intentions of some big powers that might have come forward to obstruct Palestine's admission in the UN, in order to protect the vested interests of Israel. Palestine would have also behaved like an independent state to face Israeli aggressions on its territory. It is a sad story that the Palestine leadership couldn't move even an inch the Israeli occupation forces from occupied territories during the last thirty-seven years since 1967 when Israel occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip although they had suffered immense loss of lives and properties. And the most shameful chapter of Palestinians' history of struggle against Israel is that they miserably failed to free their leader Yasser Arafat from the most humiliating confinement by the Israeli forces at his Ramallah headquarters for long three years till his mysterious death in November last.

What a Jewish journalist says
A former Jerusalem Bureau Chief of US weekly, Newsweek, Joshua Hammer, himself an American Jew, in one of his recent articles in the weekly, had said that whatever Sharon is doing in the name of peace in the Middle East, has the "blessings" of Bush administration. Referring to the much-hyped Israel's partial withdrawal of Israeli settlements from Gaza, Mr Hammer had exposed Sharon's new game, when he said that "Sharon plans to withdraw from Gaza only to focus on his real goal: permanent occupation of West Bank". Mr Hammer, further commenting on this shrewd game of Sharon, added: "Sharon promised military victory and it seems he has delivered it. The terrorist group Hammas has been driven underground and the old leadership destroyed". Does the new Palestine leadership get the messege about the shape of things to come?

However, the deck for Israel's fulfilment of Mid-East peace-mission seems to be now clear after the death of Arafat, and thus removal of the "main obstacle" to US-Israeli brokered peace plan. Will Israel get a walk-over? How long the UN, the Arab League and the OIC play deaf, dumb and blind to the grotesque scene of bleeding Palestine?

AMM Shahabuddin is a retired UN official.