bitterlemons-international.org
Middle East Roundtable /
Edition 3
A Palestinian View:
Undermining the peace camp
by Ghassan Khatib
[DEUTSCH]
Jerusalem has always been an enormously significant
component of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and is often at the center of
major developments in relations between the two sides. At the moment,
Jerusalem is one of the main issues threatening, in different ways, the
possibility of holding free and democratic Palestinian parliamentary
elections.
The issue of Jerusalem is at the top of the agenda of all Palestinian
candidates. The need to end the military occupation of East Jerusalem is
very much in the hearts and minds of the Palestinian public. Having reached
a point of no return in its preparations for elections, the Palestinian
Authority would face great difficulties if Israel should decide not to allow
elections in the city to proceed. Israel, which directly controls all
aspects of Palestinian life in Jerusalem, has been using this fact and its
power as leverage in order to pressure the Palestinian side.
The public reasons behind the Israeli threat to prevent elections in
Jerusalem are first, its position that East Jerusalem was annexed to Israel
and thus it refuses to accept the legal and internationally accepted
definition of East Jerusalem as being under military occupation; and second,
the fact that some of the candidates recognize neither Israel nor the peace
agreements between Israel and the Palestinian side.
The actual reason, however, is different. Israel, behind the scenes and
through third parties, has been using its leverage in order to indirectly
bargain with Hamas. Since Hamas is eager to take part in these elections,
and since some elements within the PA and Fateh might seize on the Israeli
position as an excuse to cancel or postpone elections, Israel has used this
as a bargaining chip to make Hamas stop launching rockets from Gaza.
Nevertheless, and in spite of Israel's recent declarations that it will
allow elections in Jerusalem, in practice, and until now, candidates and
campaigners, whether from Jerusalem or from other parts of the Palestinian
territory, haven't been allowed to campaign in East Jerusalem.
Non-Jerusalemite Palestinians, not only from Gaza but also from the West
Bank, are not allowed to even enter Jerusalem to campaign. In some cases,
Israel is also selective in dealing with Jerusalemite candidates in a way
that goes beyond discriminating only against Hamas candidates, prejudicial
as this is in the first place.
The irony here, which may or may not be understood by the political echelon
in Israel, is that its attitude and behavior on the issue of elections in
Jerusalem has been benefiting the Palestinian opposition and mainly Hamas.
First, discriminating against Hamas and opposition candidates or preventing
campaigning in Jerusalem because Hamas is taking part in elections simply
serves to single out Hamas and thus increase its public support. Second, the
fact that the PA hasn't been able to guarantee the right of its citizens to
participate in elections in Jerusalem has been portrayed as a sign of
weakness of the PA. One of the possible outcomes is a low turnout among the
general public in East Jerusalem. This can also be expected to be
unfavorable to moderate parties.
But this is consistent with Israeli positions and practices throughout last
year, which have negatively affected the public image of the PA and the
moderate leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. The shift in the balance of
power in favor of Hamas and the opposition that might be witnessed in the
results of the upcoming elections can at least partially be attributed to
Israeli policies. Whether intentionally or otherwise, these have steadily
been weakening and undermining the peace camp in Palestine.- Published
16/1/2006 © bitterlemons.org
Ghassan Khatib is coeditor of bitterlemons.org and
bitterlemons-international.org. He is the Palestinian Authority minister of
labor, acting minister of planning and has been a political analyst and
media contact for many years.
[DEUTSCH]
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 22-01-2006 |