Palestine: A Democratic Achievement…What Next?
Maher Othman Al-Hayat - 28/01/06//
The international and local observers attested to the integrity of the Palestinian legislative elections, which took place in a peaceful and organized atmosphere. The event represented a major achievement for the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, in Gaza Strip liberated from the occupation, and for the President of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas. Despite the defeat of his party "Fateh", Abbas stressed on respecting the results of the elections.
But the victory of "Hamas" was a strong shake that triggered a rift among the members of "Fateh" movement, which led the Palestinian struggle for several decades and remained the PA's ruling party from 1996 till today. The shock was hard on Fateh by its gravity. Although "Fateh's" second position, after "Hamas", in the legislative council does not represent in any case a fatal political blow, but rather represent a valuable favor in the sense that it allows to draw lessons from the afflicting disaster. It is irrefutable that the Palestinian political scene has undergone a sudden fundamental change that will not be easy to scrutinize, especially on the level of the relations between the forces and the Palestinian factions, as well as on the level of the Palestinian-Israeli relations. The latter are basically still restricted to relations between an occupation force and a people that is under occupation, prone to lose its territories, rights, and ability to move freely. In addition, the international reactions are ongoing and materializing despite the fact that some of them, especially the ones expressed by the EU countries and the US, have defined perspectives. No one will engage any dialogue with "Hamas" if it does not recognize Israel and change its charter in conformity with this recognition. It should also set aside its arms, since this armed status is inconsistent with its presence in the legislative council and at the helm of the PA later and soon.
Although an speculation over what will happen on the level of the Palestinian cause is now difficult since the elections ended just hours ago, some issues have become clear or quasi clear, namely:
- On the Palestinian level, "Fateh" was shocked because it was driven out of the authority by the people's will. It is clear that two main factors contributed to its defeat. The first is that Israel did not give the PA's party, since President Abbas took over the presidency succeeding to the late Yasser Arafat, anything that it can offer to its people as an achievement; such as heading towards an acceptable settlement in the near future. Moreover, the US President George Bush walked away from the Palestinians and was occupied by the repercussions of the war on Iraq. He remained a strong ally of Israel despite its violation of the international resolutions, thus, failing to keep his promises to Abbas. As for the second factor, the corruption in the PA's party was continuously coupled with a deterioration of the standards of the living.
While "Fateh" announced that it refuses to be partner in the government with "Hamas", probably as part of its desire to see it stumbling alone as a ruler incapable of sustaining a dialogue with the Israelis and other international parties. During the first hours after the elections, "Hamas" seemed as though shocked by the victory. The shock was even greater when Hamas realized the moment of truth at this juncture, coupled with the burdens of governance and negotiations, which will only take place in light of strict conditions imposed by the US, Israel, and Europe.
On the Israeli level, despite the fact that the government of Ehud Olmert felt confused and shocked by the rise of Hamas to the rule, Israel is still determined to avoid dealing with the Islamic movement. It announced yesterday that it will call for halting the financial assistance granted to the PA and will not negotiate therewith. Thus, the way is now wide open for Israel to take more unilateral moves. It will probably continue to draw its borders by biting into more Palestinian territories, under the same old fictional pretext "No partner on the other side."
After all, there was no peace process initially. Moreover, during the last few years, the US was not serious about striving to achieve a settlement. "Hamas" victory in the elections according to the highest democratic standards is a source of pride for the Palestinian people. However, it is a victory requiring from "Hamas" itself, "Fateh," and the international parties to really adjust to the requirements of moving ahead to reach a settlement and solve the oldest struggle in the modern world.
Yesterday, "Hamas" partisans made a mistake by raising the flag of their movement at the Palestinian legislative council in Ramallah instead of the Palestinian flag. It was not a good start.
|
