News, September 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
The potential to regain the initiative
Hassan A. Barari
Jordan Times, Tuesday, September 30, 2003
NO SOONER had Ahmad Qureia announced the formation of the long-awaited Palestinian government than some key Palestinian politicians began to cast doubt on the prospects of this new government to succeed. It is not certain yet what the future holds for this Cabinet, and therefore it is bound to fail as long as conditions that led to the breakdown of the preceding government prevail, said outgoing minister, Mohammad Dahlan.
Interestingly, some Palestinian intellectuals are not moved by the idea of a new government, regardless of the personality leading the Cabinet. I had an interesting discussion with two Palestinian intellectuals last week in London on how the Palestinians should tackle the political quandary amid the new wave of Israeli escalation. Notwithstanding the differences in our viewpoints, the discussion was so enlightening that it inspired this article.
They made the case that the Israeli government's policies have been designed to achieve one main goal: wrecking the peace process to the point of no return. Israeli right-wing politicians and writers never failed to express this position in words and deeds. Although I concur with their argument, I decided to play the devil's advocate in order to elicit their reactions. I argued that Yasser Arafat subordinated the Palestinian cause to his immediate interest of political survival and to his concerns for domestic political balances. Hence, I argued, had it not been for Arafat's uncalculated moves, Ariel Sharon would have been held responsible for the current crisis by the international community. Unsurprisingly, they agreed with me on this point and added that Sharon's ill-advised decision to eliminate Arafat helped the latter reverse a nosedive in his popularity among the Palestinians.
Asked what should be done, Nawaf Tamimi, a Palestinian journalist based in London, floated the idea that the presence of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has only relieved Israel of its responsibilities as a widely recognised occupying power in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Thus, dissolving the PNA would create a positive dynamic in the region. Israel would then have to bow to international pressure and to run the daily lives of the Palestinians, a step that no single Israeli is willing to take. Needless to say, this view reflects profound mistrust in the roadmap generated by the American biased position.
This seems to be a groundbreaking idea designed to push the international community to interfere instead of keeping a standby position. According to this reasoning, dissolving the PNA would place Israel in an unenviable position and would pose rather different questions on the Israeli society, that Sharon and his right-wing partners would not be able to answer.
Ahmed Saadat, the secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, wrote an article in the Arab daily Al Sharq Al Awsat last week echoing the same idea, albeit for a different reason. Explicit in his argument was the idea that the PNA was not the project of the Palestinian majority and that it is being transformed to suppress rather than to help the Palestinians. He made his position clear that the PNA is not an end in itself except for those who see in it as a framework to realise their narrow, parochial interests.
While this idea of dissolving the PNA is not within the mainstream Palestinian position, it is worth further discussion, but with some caveats, argued Mohammed Masharqa, a Palestinian journalist based in London. The main concern remains whether the Israelis manage to capitalise on any unseen drawbacks. The Palestinians might be regarded by the international community as incapable of setting up a state and it is no secret anymore that some right-wing circle within Israel has started floating the idea that Israel would be better off if it sought to sideline the Palestinian factor and bring in Egypt and Jordan to play a key role in the peace-making as envisioned by Israel.
More troubling though is the implication of such a step on the configuration of political forces within the Palestinian body politic. Anarchy might be the result and Palestinians might end up fighting each other, a scenario whose destructive capacity on their cause is certain. In case the PNA is dissolved, there seems to be no mechanism that could help wield the Palestinians together. Given the regional and international conditions and the Israeli-American understanding, the Palestine Liberation Organisation is not expected to effectively guide the new mode of resistance. Therefore, genuine reform and decentralisation in Palestinian politics have the potential to regain the initiative.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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