In Abbas’ Court

Zuheir Kseibati     Al-Hayat     2003/08/26

Jibril Rajoub, once again, stands to the left of President Yasser Arafat. This time, as General. Between the President and the General there is a reconciliation, which scores a shot in the goal of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Minister of Security Affairs Mohamad Dahlan. Back to the situation of polarization then, in what appears to be a conflict over appointing a Minister of Interior who would have control over all the Palestinian security forces in order to control the street, "restrain" or suppress the operations of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. As well as disarming the resistance in order to implement the Roadmap, which would require depriving Israel of all the pretexts it uses to pursue its sabotages, maneuvers and assassinations. This would also impose disarming Israel of the 'resistance card,' which it uses to hold the Palestinian Authority hostage.

It is obvious that the unchanging vision of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and even of that of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, will remain unchanged after the failed experience of the truce. This vision is based on the assumption that Sharon's government doesn't need any excuses to pursue its assassinations and maintain its pressure on the Palestinian Authority, to which Israel deceitfully implied it gave a chance; especially to Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in order for him to start dismantling the armed factions under the banner of saving the chance of peace.

Now, after the collapse of the truce, which Sharon destroyed by assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab, Arafat is back to the decision-making position - in spite of his siege - with Rajoub as his Security Affairs Advisor. It is as if the Palestinian President got the message when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell "called for his help" to save Abbas from Sharon's pressures on the one hand, to launch a war against the resistance factions, and the pressure of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades on the other hand to force him to resist the Israeli-American objectives.

The question that arises following Arafat's return to control the rules of the "game," is whether the Authority's dire situation allows reverting to power struggles within the two-headed Authority. Between Arafat, who manages to sneak out of the house arrest to politically confront the Israeli goals, and Abbas, who seeks to strip all the security cards from Arafat. Abbas no longer fares better than the President, despite all the American efforts to isolate the latter and Sharon's desire to end his role.

Some say that the Palestinian President successfully chose the right moment to regain power, but there is no doubt that the heightened tension between Arafat and Abbas carries the seeds of disunity and dismantlement of the Authority, even before the first step to dismantle the factions was taken. Given that the Israeli assassinations will certainly renew the cycle of violence, the circumstances seem right for the factions to regain control over the course of events. This could even spare them from a bloody confrontation with the Abbas government, but wouldn't spare any Palestinian party from the "negative" possibilities that Sharon's gang is talking about, the first being a widespread invasion of Gaza or parts of it, and targeting the major "heads" of the Authority (Arafat's "wing") and of Hamas. This is not a charade attempting to understand the ambitions of the Israeli Premier, who is still failing to realize his ultimate goal, which is to eliminate the resistance through the Palestinian Authority, and then eliminate the Authority itself.      

As for the threat to hunt down the Hamas leaders to "eradicate" them, even in Syria, it comes as no surprise since the Jewish state informed the U.S. National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, that the time had come to launch an open war against Palestinian "terrorism." Rice responded with the false pretext of the Roadmap, and striking at its opponents.

While it is easy to understand Arafat's boredom with his house arrest and his efforts to resist the elimination of all his roles, there is no doubt that by placing Rajoub to his left to confront the Abbas-Dahlan axis, this will incite Sharon to step up the violence and revive the "terrorists authority," after he gave Abbas a void chance. More importantly, some major U.S. Congressmen are convinced of the need to save the Israeli Prime Minister, who has yet to accomplish the mission of "eradicating the terrorists."

Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the U.S. Senate, is encouraging a repeat of Washington's experience with the Iraqis (!), and if his speech and that of other Congressmen came as a surprise when he mentioned a U.S. or U.S.-Atlantic military intervention in the Middle East for the sake of what he considers as peace, it is only a sample of the coming period, which will be driven by the goal of securing Israel's stability, after Sharon wasted all chances to dismantle the resistance once and for all.