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bitterlemons-international.org
Middle East Roundtable /
Edition 33
A Palestinian View:
International involvement more important than ever
by Ghassan Khatib
The end of the war in Lebanon will have a very strong
effect on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This effect goes over and beyond
the general and always correct observation that the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict and the continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land are at
the core of the hostile relations and problems between Israel and the Arab
world.
Many analysts, including some Palestinians, have tried to highlight possible
linkages between the Israeli-Lebanese escalation and the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict on the basis of the similarity between the Islamic Hamas and
Hizballah movements.
But in spite of these superficial similarities, there is actually little
substantial in common in the two cases. Although they are both part of the
Israel-Arab conflict, in the Palestinian case the escalation is simply a
continuity of a conflict that has been going on for a long time and is
characterized by being a legitimate struggle of an occupied people to get
rid of an illegal occupation. In Lebanon, the conflict is between two
independent and sovereign countries, a significant difference already, and
it includes strong regional factors and agendas that are not all genuinely
Lebanese.
On the immediate political level, there are several sometimes contradictory
consequences. The war in Lebanon detracted attention from the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the disadvantage of the Palestinians. The
war showed that the Hamas-led armed Palestinian resistance is much less
impressive than that of Hizballah. But at the same time, the lack of a
decisive Israeli victory in Lebanon and an end to the war that left the
fighting ability of Hizballah intact increased the Arab, especially the
Palestinian, public's support for armed resistance as the best approach to
deal with Israel, and for political Islam as the most promising ideology.
In other words, the way the war in Lebanon ended strengthened the support
for political Islamic movements and armed resistance among Palestinians, at
the expense of the public standing of the groups that call for non-violent
political and peaceful approaches for dealing with Israel and the
occupation. It would seem to contribute further to the trend of
radicalization that has been evident in Palestine in the last five to six
years.
On a more micro-analytical level, it is also evident that the war in Lebanon
shifted the trend in the balance of power within Hamas. Until the capture of
an Israeli soldier in Gaza and the war in Lebanon the more moderate and
realistic wing of Hamas in the ministries and parliament seemed to be in the
ascendancy. The way the war in Lebanon ended, coupled with the Israeli
arrests of relatively moderate members of the government, has played into
the hands of the more radical wing of Hamas that is based either outside
Palestine or functions outside the Palestinian Authority.
Two major developments can possibly reverse this trend. One would be
constructive negotiations to find a deal that would ensure the release of
the Israeli soldier in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners in
Israel in addition to settling some of the immediate outstanding issues.
These importantly would include the transfer of tax monies collected
according to the Oslo agreement by Israel on behalf of the PA, but which
Israel has refused to hand over, thus preventing the PA from functioning and
deepening the dependence of this government on money brought in from
different sources, but mainly from Iran.
The other necessary development is to activate a political process and bring
back international efforts to resume negotiations to end the occupation.
Such a development would create a situation conducive for a national unity
government that in turn would empower the peace camp led by President
Mahmoud Abbas.- Published 21/8/2006 © bitterlemons.org
Ghassan Khatib is coeditor of the bitterlemons family of internet
publications. He is the former Palestinian Authority minister of planning,
and has been a political analyst and media contact for many years.
Bitterlemons-international.org is an internet
forum for an array of world perspectives on the Middle East and its
specific concerns. It aspires to engender greater understanding about
the Middle East region and open a new common space for world thinkers
and political leaders to present their viewpoints and initiatives on the
region. Editors Ghassan Khatib and Yossi Alpher can be reached at
ghassan@bitterlemons-international.org
and
yossi@bitterlemons-international.org, respectively.
hagalil.com 22-08-2006 |
