OPINION tuesday, january 17, 2017 7 FARID EL KHAZEN EDITORIAL It’s now The struggle for Syria goes on or never ver since the state was formed in the Nationalist and Communist Parties, against maintaining close ties with the Soviet Union. against infidels in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. 1920s, the struggle for Syria began. each other, a period elaborated in Patrick Following Assad’s death and the collapse For major powers, Syria’s open battle - Hinging on the ups and downs of Seale’s book “The Struggle for Syria.” of the Arab-Israeli peace talks in 2000, Syr - field was irresistible. For Russia, military This week Parliament is slated for Einternal and regional power politics, Following the 1956 Suez War, Gamal ia, now led by Assad’s son, Bashar, faced intervention in support of the regime was two legislative sessions to address the struggle for Syria unfolded in phases, the Abdel-Nasser rose to unprecedented heights new challenges. This time, it was the strug - an opportunity that could not be missed, a 47-item agenda full of pressing most recent the Arab Spring and its after - of popularity and influence in pan-Arab gle for Iraq and the New Middle East, especially following the Libyan debacle and math since 20 11. politics. In search of leadership and power, claimed by the George W. Bush administra - the clash between Moscow and Washington issues. However, despite being the On the borderline between the Ottoman Syria’s Baath Party joined ranks with him tion, that dominated regional politics in the and the European Union in Ukraine. West - main topic of political discussions Empire and Arab provinces, mobilized by and called for the merging of Syria and aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. ern powers had their own stake, first target - for months now, a new electoral the Arab revolt in 1916, Syria was a dis - Egypt in what became in 1958 the United invasion of Iraq in 2003 drastically altered ing the regime, then Islamist groups, fol - law will not make the list. puted land. The transition from Ottoman - Arab Republic. Three years later, this hasty the regional power equation. Apart from lowing terrorist attacks carried out in ism to Arabism took off, at a time when Union collapsed and deepened the divide Iraq, Syria was most affected and, specifi - Europe. The U.S., for its part, was content A law to replace the ailing and Syria witnessed the early stirrings of Ara - cally, Syrian-American relations, which to get chemical weapons out of Syria and rejected 1960 one has been moot - bism, then identified with the Hashemites. For major powers, Syria’s rapidly deteriorated. This was first mani - then carried out airstrikes targeting Daesh. ed by all corners for some time. Following World War I and the downfall fested in Lebanon, with the passing of The struggle for Syria is now globalized And every politician and his aunt of the Ottoman Empire, Syria, particularly open battlefield was UNSCR 1559 in 2004, calling upon Syria while retaining its internal anchor. A com - has promised a replacement that Damascus, was a disputed territory irresistible to withdraw from the country. mon platform recently emerged bringing between Arab nationalists and France seek - In 2011, the “Arab Spring” reached Syr - together improbable partners: Russia, will finally provide fair and truth - ing to establish mandatory rule in line with ia at the end of the rope. Unlike Tunisia, Turkey and Iran. An alternative to the ful representation for the Lebanese. the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement. France between Nasser and the Baathists. Another Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, the con - Geneva framework is currently in the mak - Such a law is necessary. It would took over following the battle of Maysa - split occurred within the Baath Party, after flict in Syria quickly turned into a regional ing, and no settlement is possible without give fresh hope to women, intel - loun in 1920 and the relocation of Sharif coming to power in Syria and Iraq in 1963. and international showdown. The overlap this trilateral entente, the success of which Hussein’s son, Emir Faisal, to Baghdad, Following years of instability and inter - between the internal and external dimen - will also depend on the position of the lectuals and the new generation, where a Hashemite monarchy was estab - nal feuding, Hafez Assad took over in sions of the conflict was too absorbing. Trump administration. giving them belief that their aspi - lished with British backing. 1970. Buttressed by the outcome of the This was yet another episode in the The struggle for Syria goes on. So does rations will no longer be ignored. The struggle for Syria continued after 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the Assad regime struggle for Syria. Regional and major the suffering of civilians trapped in the However, all indications show independence, following the 1948 Palestine gained legitimacy and power. The struggle powers intervened in pursuit of conflicting debris of destruction and war. Before mili - that reaching such an outcome war and the rise of Nasserism in the 1950s. for Syria turned inward, fomented by a agendas and interests: Iran backed the Syria tary operations end, no political settlement The hotbed of ideological politics, Syria violent clash between the regime and the regime, while Saudi Arabia and other Gulf seems possible. And any settlement may may not be as easy as many politi - was the scene of a power struggle between Muslim Brotherhood movement, crushed states supported opposition groups. Turkey, not necessarily be to the liking of all or cians would have us believe. Arab nationalism and Syrian nationalism- by the regime in the early 1980s. though a newcomer to the Arab scene, most parties – not unlike settlements in President Michel Aoun has insist - an ideology calling for Greater Syria, artic - Assad skillfully weathered the storm of backed the most radical Islamist groups Syria’s historical junctures since the 1920s. ed that there is no way elections ulated by Antoun Saadeh, the founder of regional politics, as Syria allied itself with and was most impatient to topple the Syri - the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in the Islamic Iran while keeping ties with Arab an regime while associating itself with Mus - Farid el Khazen is a member of Lebanon’s Parlia - would be held according to the 1930s. Subsequently, the struggle for Syria countries, notably Saudi Arabia. He also re- lim Brotherhood leaders, based in Istanbul. ment and a professor of politics at the American Uni - 1960 law, a sentiment echoed by the went on, pitting the Baath Party and its established diplomatic relations with the Meanwhile, Daesh (ISIS) and other armed versity of Beirut. He wrote this commentary for THE Lebanese Forces and Hezbollah. rivals in the 1950s, notably the Syrian United States after the 1973 war, while Islamist jihadi groups fought holy wars DAILY STAR. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, says that no agree - ment on the matter is in the air, and none of the 17 drafts put forward are getting even close. Against this backdrop Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk has strongly hinted that we’re coming to a point where it is imperative that elections are conducted on time, regardless of whether they are held under the old law or not. And, as if this were not a compli - cated mix already, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jum - blatt has made it clear that his par - ty and Druze sect categorically reject all laws proposed – be it propor - tional, mixed or any other formula. The logical outcome is that either elections will be conducted accord - ing to the 1960 law or not at all, with terrible consequences for the coun - try, its people and its reputation. The wise men of the country sug - gest conducting the polls according to the old law, with a few tweaks. At the same time, however, an independent committee made up of reputable men and women without political ties or designs should be formed to solve this thorny issue. With Saad Hariri in the premier - ship, who has the courage to cham - pion such a cause, Lebanon has the opportunity to put the vote law debacle to bed once and for all. LORENZO KAMEL UNSC Resolution 2334 on Israel: Why history matters n Dec. 23, 2016, the United The numerous archaeological expedi - pointed out that the Balfour Declaration question does not arise on the Mandate.” preted in very different ways by scholars. Nations Security Council adopt - tions carried out over decades in Ashkelon does “not contemplate that Palestine as a Also the assertion that Article 80 of the Yet, there is a clear consensus that pre - ed Resolution 2334, stating that – one of five ancient Philistine cities, whole should be converted into a Jewish U.N. Charter implicitly recognizes the ventive war is illegal under the modern OIsrael’s settlement activity consti - which today encompasses what was, until National Home, but that such a Home Mandate for Palestine is more complex framework of international law and that, tutes a “flagrant violation” of internation - 1948, the Palestinian village of Al-Majdal should be founded ‘in Palestine.’” than often claimed. One of the legal advis - in Allan Gerson’s words, Israel “never al law and has “no legal validity.” Plenty of – have confirmed that it has never been Furthermore, it stressed that the “Zion - ers to the Jewish Agency, Jacob Robinson, challenged the lawfulness of Jordan’s con - articles have discussed the early implica - conquered by the ancient Israelites. ist congress” that took place in Carlsbad published a book in 1947 that presented a trol of the West Bank.” tions of the resolution, the potential follow And even if one assumes that there was in September 1921 had officially accepted historical account of the Palestine Question In conclusion, the British Mandate for up steps at the UNSC, the “Trump factor,” a conquest, the occupation of an area for a that “the determination of the Jewish peo - and the U.N.