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Former Algerian Foreign Minister and UN envoy to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi discussed the events and ramifications of October 7 in a conversation hosted by the United States Institute of Peace on May 21, 2024. He said that he knows that some horrible things happened on October 7, but this was the first time Palestinians took the fight inside Israel and defeated the Israeli army for one day. Brahimi said that prior to October 7, the Israelis considered the Palestinians to be a nuisance and they did what they could to get rid of this nuisance, by killing a few of them and not allowing students who obtained scholarships abroad to return. However, October 7 changed this; now everyone understands that the "nuisance" is not going to go away.
Brahimi called for the UN to accept Palestine as a member state, and then Israel will be considered a state occupying another state. He said that this could be done if the "most important countries" in the United Nations live up to their responsibilities. The conversation was streamed live on the YouTube channel of the United States Institute of Peace.
Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi: "In Palestine – to be very, very blunt – the Israelis, and those who support them around the world, including in this country, or perhaps paramount in this country, had started to think of the Palestinians as a nuisance. But the Israelis were doing what is necessary to get rid of this nuisance: Kill a few, I don't know. If you get a scholarship to the United States, and come to study as a Palestinian – you are not sure to be able to come back. So this is what was happening until the seventh of October.
"For the first time – I know that there were some horrible things that have happened, but what has also happened is that Palestinians took the fight inside Israeli territory, and have defeated, for one day, the Israeli army. This has changed things throughout the world, not only for the Palestinians. So now, I think that people are starting to accept that the nuisance is not going to go away. The nuisance are people, who have rights. And they are not going to give up those rights. And the world is moving along with that nuisance that doesn't want to go away.
"In the Security Council, there was a draft resolution – by the way, introduced by Algeria, which is a non-permanent member of the Security Council – asking for the Palestinians to be a full member of the United Nations. In the Security Council, the United States was the only country that voted against this draft resolution. Two other countries abstained: the UK and Switzerland. And 12 countries voted for it. Then it went to the General Assembly, and 143 voted for, 25 abstained, and nine countries - the United States, Israel, and seven others – voted against the resolution. So things are changing.
"And, you know, 'From the River to the Sea,' which is the slogan that some people say is the horrible thing that says the Israelis are going to be thrown into the sea – not so. First of all, this is an Israeli slogan. And for the Palestinians and their supporters, it is a slogan. The Israelis are doing everything from the river to the sea for themselves, without the Palestinians. They are doing things every day. In Gaza, what they have been trying to do is to push at least half the population outside into Egypt. They have failed to do that, but at what cost to the Palestinians? Israelis and Palestinians, today – what a lot of people in the West say: 'Let them negotiate.' They have negotiated for 30 years."
Interviewer: "That's right."
Brahimi: "And if they negotiate, they will not be able to reach an acknowledgement. They need help. And that help can come only from a united international community. The United Nations. Accept the [Palestinian] state member. You will have the state of Israel occupying the state of Palestine. And you will need to help them arrive at arrangements between them. That is the way to go. It will not be done in one month or one year or even perhaps five years. But it can be done. And I think it will be done – if the most important countries in the United Nations live up to their responsibilities."
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