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TITLE: Towards a New Strategy for the Intifada |
AUTHOR: |
ORG: FATEH |
DATE: January 15, 2001 |
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Although US President Clinton's plan has clearly failed, it will continue to affect Palestinian/Israeli negotiations until February 6, when Israelis go to the polls to elect a new prime minister. Meanwhile, the government of Ehud Barak continues to consider the negotiations as part of its campaign to re-elect their current leader. This explains the enthusiasm that ministers like Shlomo Ben Ami and Shimon Peres express on the subject of further meetings with Palestinians. No one should forget Barak's tendencies to maneuver and deceive. Chameleon-like, the man is able to change his colors several times a day. When he was a member of the Israeli opposition party, he opposed the Wye River Memorandum. He did not implement the Sharm el-Sheikh accord, which he himself signed. It was Barak who refused to hand over the villages of Abu Dis, Anata, and el-Aizariya after he had sought and gained the approval of the Knesset to do just that. What is interesting at this point, however, is not Barak's past, but the enthusiasm he currently shows for negotiations, as he tries to persuade the world that the peace process is ongoing. Despite the Intifada, negotiations will continue as long as they serve the aims of Barak's election campaign. Of more concern than Israeli attempts to make it appear the negotiations are continuing, are the statements of our own negotiators, who insist that 'the gaps [between the two sides] are wide'. Our negotiators must know that they are no longer seeking compromises on interim issues. They have compromised, in the past, all there was to compromise. At this point, instead, they are negotiating final status issues, in which there is no more room for Palestinian concessions. Solutions to all remaining issues 'Jerusalem, borders, refugees, and settlements' have been clearly delineated in international law - in the Geneva and Hague Conventions and in numerous United Nations resolutions. Insistence on these existing solutions is the only way to ensure that the Palestinian people will obtain their rights. Our people are still concerned, also, about the implications of the Clinton proposal, as articulated by Dennis Ross, Barak, and the rest of the US/Israeli team. Our people rejected the proposals, along with the biased stand of the US, sponsor and supposed 'honest broker' in the peace process. Our people emphasized, too, their refusal to accept any resolution not in accordance with the principles of international law. The Israelis are well aware that we cannot accept the US proposal. They understand fully the violation of our rights involved in these proposals, not least those related to Jerusalem and refugees. Israeli attempts to make us back down from our stand were only too evident when Sharon and his military entourage strutted into al-Haram al-Sharif last fall. During the months since this 'visit', Israelis have kept up their pressure on us by enacting particularly brutal measures against the civilian populations of the West Bank and Gaza. To this day, Israel carries out an aggressive terror campaign, blatantly violating Palestinians' human rights before the eyes of the world. All this is done by Barak's government to push us into accepting the plan which Israelis bill as a 'golden opportunity', one they warn us will be lost forever if Ariel Sharon wins the election next week. Then, according to the threat, not only will we suffer consequences too awful to describe, but also we will be responsible for bringing them about. We should prepare ourselves for the worst. A re-elected Barak would be worse than the Barak we have now. Even as he now claims to promote Clinton's proposal, so, after re-election, he would refuse it. As for the possibility of Sharon as Israel's prime minister, the whole world worries. Preparing ourselves for a future even uglier than our present reality, no matter what the outcome of the Israeli election, requires that we refine the strategy built during the current Intifada and adopted by the leadership. Our new strategy should involve supporting the Palestinian people in all spheres, to ensure a revolution equipped with all the necessary tools. Our strategy must seek, as well, to maintain the support we now have from the Arab world and the broader international community, who stand by us in our determination to bring about the full implementation of international law. Certain measures, therefore, should be taken as soon as possible. Intifada actions must escalate to ensure that Israelis will have to return to the polls within six months to a year, to change the composition of the Knesset. The most important of our immediate efforts, which should be made clear to our people, is to step up our campaign to halt Israeli aggression against us, by augmenting our calls for international protection. Such a development would involve the United Nations in bringing about a just settlement, as well as help protect Palestinian lives and improve the intolerable conditions which our people suffer under Israeli occupation. We must increase our pressure to activate the commission appointed to investigate the situation of recent months. Already, the work of the commission has been blocked by Israel and a number of its US supporters. Work must be done at the following levels: The Palestinian Level Efforts of Palestinians, both here and in the Diaspora, complement each other at the following areas: The Palestinian Political Position Principles which have been articulated by the PLO Central Council include:
National Unity All national and religious forces must come together to decide a political program that informs the strategy and tactics of the Intifada. Such a consensus, while not depriving any Palestinian faction of its right to adhere to its own ideology, will reflect positively on the activities of Palestinian civil society. Organization of Activities Related to the Intifada Increased co-ordination of activities being carried out by different organizations, both here and in the Diaspora, will increase our effectiveness and ensure the participation of any marginalized groups. Efforts to further cooperation among public unions and federations, NGOs, local governmental institutions, and other organizations will ensure both that the Intifada continues and that its burdens are fairly distributed. Relation between the roles of national/religious forces, on the one hand, and of the Palestinian National Authority and its security apparatus, on the other Both groups must shoulder their responsibilities in providing for the daily needs of our people, including our individual and collective security. Health care, education, cultural activity, basic commodities, and jobs must be provided, if our people are to remain strong and committed in their struggle.
The Arab and Islamic Level The massive demonstrations of support undertaken by Arabs and Muslims throughout the world at the beginning of the Intifada paved the way for last fall's Arab summit conference, which was held despite US efforts to prevent it. In the face of US pressure, Arab and Muslim nations showed their solidarity with both Palestine and Iraq. Lately, though, Arab and Muslim support has been less visible, from governments and people. Even the financial support promised by Arab governments is dwindling. This development cannot help but frustrate our people and undermine their sense of solidarity with the broader Arab and Muslim societies. We call, therefore, on Palestinians living abroad, and especially in Arab countries, to form solidarity committees to solicit financial and moral support for our people, and to pressure Arab regimes to fulfill the commitments they made to our struggle.
The International Level The Palestinian position of adherence to the principles of international legality strengthens our bonds with the peace-loving nations of the world. All institutions, public and private; political, economic, and social, need to reach out to their counterparts around the world in order to give the world a true picture of our struggle for freedom. These efforts will counteract the efforts of Israelis who seek to distort the truth of how we are living and what we are fighting for. Islamic and national forces, including Fateh, need to take responsibility for activating our strategy in a way that makes clear the tasks to be carried out at each level. Existing committees must meet, and new committees must be created, in order to strengthen our struggle in all its dimensions. Revolution until Victory! END |