Third world politics in
Prael's "homelands"
AS SOON AS HE RETURNED TO GAZAl Yasser Arafat initiated Palestine (DFLP) and declared their support for the "peace his favourite game — working to divide the various political forces of the Palestinian opposition, and creating other parties under his own control. All these new parties were Arafat has also managed to encourage a split in the People's created with the explicit authorisation of Yasser Arafat. This Party, already closer to the new power elite.
suggests that the Palestinian Authority will demand that all political parties seek official authorisation for their activities. SUSPENSION OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE?
This seems to be confirmed by Arafat's statement, three months ago, that Hamas could participate in the The Islamic Jihad Movement denies it, but they seem to have forthcoming elections, if it transformed itself into a political agreed to suspend all military activity in the Gaza strip until party and agreed to support the "peace process". May 1996, date set for the direct negotiations on the final status of the occupied and autonomous territories. The
The formation of these political currents is intended to guarantee the existence of a
Arafat's goal is the elimination of the old political formations and their replacement by new ones. This is the meaning behind the creation of the Palestinian Peace Movement, and of his recent promise to a delegation of the Socialist International2 that he would support the creation of a Palestinian political party susceptible to join this social-democratic
Rank and file militants in Arafat's own Fatah party say that the repression currently directed against Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement will be followed by the liquidation of Fatah itself, and its replacement by new parties. These militants suspect that such a process is already under way. The liquidation of Fatah would take place on two levels. On Israeli border guards beat a Palestinian demonstrator in East Jerusalem, while others run to hide inside the Orient the one hand, part of the leadership would be House (in the background). Israeli police beat and wounded 10 demonstrators and four photographers with rubber bullets and made several arrests during the demonstration. Photo by A. Awad, reproduced from News from Within integrated into the state apparatus, and employed at the moment of creation of the Palestinian media has reported extensively on the divergence within this
Authority, and has become increasingly important since. At current, resulting in contradictory declarations by its leaders, the same time, all opposition to Arafat inside Fatah would be both in the territories and in exile. For example, when he was released from prison Abd Allah Al Chami declared that Oslo
Following a meeting with Arafat in May 1995, thirteen "has become a reality", with which one must come to terms.
cadres abandoned the Democratic Front for the Liberation of He later accused the media of having distorted his statement.
4 International Viewpoint n° 271 — November 1995
"loyal opposition".
international regrouping.
offered senior posts. This tactic systematically and directly liquidated.
Palestine by Walid Salem
Jerusalem process".
was
Hamas also promised to stop all military activity in the zone of autonomy, and put pressure on the more radical Al Qassem units to make them too respect this promise. This pressure was followed by a direct repression of Al Quassem, and their disarmament by force. The PFLP has promised to suspend all military action in the territory under PA control, and to act in accordance with the legal regulations in force within these zones. In exchange, Arafat has legalised the PFLP's newspaper, allowed them to re-open their office, and ensured the release of those of their cadre who were imprisoned. Four months have passed since this agreement, and the PFLP has hardly stepped outside the new regulations. The PFLP has never experienced a serious confrontation with the Palestinian Authority (unlike Hamas, Islamic Jihad and, to a lesser extent, the DFLP). This is partly because the movement has renounced the armed struggle and avoided any provocative actions. Eleven militants were recently arrested by the Palestinian authorities following a PFLP action against Israeli colonists and soldiers, but were released two days later. GAZA TODAY The campaign for the disarmament of the different formations continues, with a daily ration of searches and confiscations. The Palestinian Authority's apparatus is now made up ot 53,000 civil servants, 18-20,000 of whom are employed by one of the various security services. There are an estimated 20,000 informers among the civilian population. The monthly salary costs of this bureaucracy are $30 m3. Of an estimated $440 m. received by the Palestinian Authority, over half have been allocated to salary costs 4 The high number of civil servants, particularly in the security services, illustrates the role which Israel has allocated to the Palestinian Authority. One image of this role is the PA's newly-established State Security Court. The address of this organ is secret, and it meets to pronounce sentence at one o'clock in the morning. Lawyers for the defence are not allowed to be present at any of the proceedings. The Supreme Court in Gaza illustrates another aspect of the power structure. Supposedly supreme, this court is a mere formal instance. Its decisions onlv take effect when approved by Arafat. All the political forces in Gaza live in fear and expectation. The Human Rights Foundation recently refused to denounce the arrest of three young militants of the PFLP. The PA imposes a very strict control on the media, including the Arab media in East Jerusalem. There have been severe reprisals and numerous banning orders 5 The PA is trying to consolidate the power of its Preventative Security Force in all the towns of the Gaza strip. And 150 PSA agents are employed in Jerusalem, answering to the Palestinian Authority, but under the benevolent regard of the Israeli security services. As well as breaking the will of the political parties and persecuting newspapers and journalists, the Palestinian Authority is also trying to extend its control over the whole society. One tactic is to build links with traditional leaders and tribal chiefs (particularly in Gaza and Jericco). Another tactic is to impose a number of regulations and supervision mechanisms on non-governmental organisations, and to persecute all those who refuse to comply. NEGOTIATIONS BLOCKED Arafat's negotiations with Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been blocked for months now. Both organisations say they will come back to the negotiating table only when more of their prisoners are freed and when the PA's State Security Court is abolished. Negotiations with the other parties seemed for some time to be progressing, but have now broken down after a common delegation including Haydar Abd Al Chafi and Abd Allah Al Hourani failed to convince Arafat to accept these same two conditions as the basis for any real dialogue. THE LEFT ALTERNATIVE The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine needs to build two kinds of alliance: a regrouping of democratic forces, particularly the FDLP, the People's Party and independent personalities inside the territories, and a wider alliance among the ten formations which opposed the Oslo accords. Within this wider alliance it is essential that the democratic bloc plays an important role. Unfortunately, the PFLP has not yet really implemented such a strategy. The construction of the Democratic Patriotic Alliance, the framework accepted by both fronts for developing their cooperation, is very uneven in policy and membership across the various territories. In Naplus, Hamas does not participate, despite the recent negotiations between local DPA leader Bassam Al Shaka and all ten of the anti-Oslo parties during his visit to Damascus. In Ramallah, the People's Party has agreed to join the DPA -on the basis of a common platform condemning the colonisation and affirming our attachment to Jerusalem. Rather than condemning the Oslo accords, the Ramallah DPA text speaks of " going further" and "changing" them. In Bethlehem and Hebron discussion is still underway about the possibility of forming some alliance between the two fronts and a number of independent personalities which sympathise with them.
International Viewpoint n° 271 — November 1995 5
"from the Jordan to the sea"
Israel's parliament approved Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's peace deal with the PLO on 6 October 1995 by 61 votes to 59. Rabin donned his general's hat for the debate to try to outflank right-wingers who accuse him of wanting to return
Israel to its pre-1967 borders. "The borders of the state of Israel under the permanent agreement will exceed the borders that existed prior to the Six Day
War. We will not return to the lines of June 4th 1967," said Rabin, Israeli army chief of staff during the 1967 Middle East war. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel had conceded nothing. "From the sea to the Jordan River and from the Jordan to the sea, there will be no other army but the Israeli Defense
More than 20,000 Israelis lined the streets of central Jerusalem on the eve of the vote to protest against the deal, later surrounding the parliament building.
The 1993 agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organisation passed by a vote of 61-50. Since then, Rabin's coalition has shrunk and maverick legislators have crossed lines on the peace issue. Two members of the ruling Labour party voted against this latest plan.