Palestine : Is it just a piece of land?

Palestine had to wait for 65 years to gain international recognition. For these 65 years was it just a piece of land? Why international recognition matters? Who constitute international community? How can they decide over the lives of Palestinians? Finally after 65 years of struggle it gained the status of a non-member observer state. 

“State”, the word means a lot of Palestinians. Traditionally a state is consisted of 5 major components. Territorial Sovereignty, a Government, Permanent Population, a Defined Territory and International Recognition are the main components that form a state. Palestine lacked the latter component. So, for that they had to suffer for years. It was considered as a “piece of land” that does not require recognition or protection under Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law.

Palestine was the testing ground of Israel weapons as it was just a piece of land. Any activity committed against them did not matter. 

I remember when we were asked to give a definition to the term “Defined Territory” in Sinhala we said it is “Bhumiya” or land. Our lecturer who was an expert of Sinhala said that it is a wrong interpretation. We can use the term “land” even for a land consisted of 5 perches or 50 acres. But states are totally different from this criterion. He stated that we should use the word “Bhoumikadikaraya”. Of course it made sense. This lecturer I mentioned was none other than Prof. Samantha Herath who has coined meaningful Sinhala words for many English terms. So Palestine had to wait to gain “Bhoumikadikaraya” –supreme control of their piece of land. 

Palestine was not a piece of land that we can buy from a land sale. It was a vast territory occupied by a Permanent Population. Thus the word “State” means a lot for them. It was a moment to rejoice.

It is important to note who in UN decide granting this recognition. Many countries opposed considering Palestine an entity. Yet, a few decided that it should not be a state. It provided a rationale for Israel to exclude them from following the basic rules of International Humanitarian Law, it prevented Palestine from filing a case against International Criminal Court. So we have a question whether “United Nations” is truly an organization of united nations and International Criminal Court a truly international body. Are not they quasi-international bodies if they cannot protect a particular state? I am Confused.