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Don't call Abu Mazen a collaborator
The attempt to present Abu Mazen's actions as an achievement resulting from Israeli pressure has negative, possibly destructive implications for the entire process. Abu Mazen is not an Israeli collaborator, and should not be seen as such.
Israel's threats against Mahmoud Abbas seemed to have achieved their purpose. That's certainly how it appears to Israel: It presented the three military options at its disposal - a limited operation, a broader operation or an overall operation, and the security cabinet approved in principle a plan to take over the areas in northern Gaza from where the Qassams are launched - if the Palestinian Authority chairman did not move quickly to end the shooting at the Israeli settlements. And then the new leader of the Palestinian people pulled himself together and did everything he could to satisfy Israel: He deployed police, threatened the various factions and ordered the police to stop any shooting at Israeli settlements, even if it means shooting.
But the truth is there is no greater illusion.
Abu Mazen is known for his clear and decisive position not only against the Qassams but against any use of violence in the struggle against Israel. His position on the matter has been known since the start of the intifada, and he did not hesitate to express it in public. The position was not derived then - or now - from naivete but rather from a sober reading of the situation and an awareness that the armed struggle no longer serves the Palestinian interests and out of consideration toward the people of Israel - but irrespective of the actions of the Israeli government and its threats.
Abu Mazen's acquaintances in Israel, on the right and left, can testify that in the last 20 years, he has led a new and brave political line that has directly influenced Palestinian thought and behavior. He discovered another Israel, which wants peace; he follows all the events in Israel, reads translations of the Hebrew press and studies the conclusions of the public opinion polls done in Israel. As a pragmatic leader, he made the conscious decision to choose the path of peace with the goal being to liberate his people from the yoke of occupation and to achieve a political agreement that will guarantee his people's legitimate rights in an independent state. And when he encountered obstacles placed by Israel, he did not give up and not for a moment changed his positions. Even when he was forced to resign as prime minister, when he was suffering the bitterest criticism, when his house was fired upon in Ramallah, he continued to stick to positions that have become principles.
Now, after winning the presidency in a model of Palestinian democratic elections, his new position grants him a platform and the strength with which to advance his principles. Indeed, he did not delay a minute and began operating immediately. But he did so his way, and just as the prime minister of Israel makes controversial decisions and tries to pass them without driving Israeli society into civil war and bloodshed, so is Abu Mazen, as a responsible, balanced leader, trying to take a path that will not split the Palestinian people and achieve its goals without bloodshed. Needless to say, this will only strengthen him in the Palestinian public.
But the Israeli government decided that what the Palestinian leader was doing had better look like an Israeli achievement. Maybe because of an inflated ego, maybe because of domestic political considerations and maybe because of a desire to foil the man who is leading his people in a manner that inspires international admiration and which for some reason is not wanted in Jerusalem.
In any case, the attempt to present Abu Mazen's actions as an achievement resulting from Israeli pressure has negative, possibly destructive implications for the entire process. Abu Mazen is not an Israeli collaborator, and should not be seen as such. He is a leader who has accepted the historic role to try to settle the conflict between the two peoples, and he is doing so with a deep understanding of the mood in the Palestinian street and without ignoring the needs of Israel. Therefore, he is a partner who should not be forsaken nor embarrassed nor harassed and of course, not threatened. His success is an Israeli interest no less than a Palestinian one. And the same is true for his failure.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/531445.html
But the truth is there is no greater illusion.
Abu Mazen is known for his clear and decisive position not only against the Qassams but against any use of violence in the struggle against Israel. His position on the matter has been known since the start of the intifada, and he did not hesitate to express it in public. The position was not derived then - or now - from naivete but rather from a sober reading of the situation and an awareness that the armed struggle no longer serves the Palestinian interests and out of consideration toward the people of Israel - but irrespective of the actions of the Israeli government and its threats.
Abu Mazen's acquaintances in Israel, on the right and left, can testify that in the last 20 years, he has led a new and brave political line that has directly influenced Palestinian thought and behavior. He discovered another Israel, which wants peace; he follows all the events in Israel, reads translations of the Hebrew press and studies the conclusions of the public opinion polls done in Israel. As a pragmatic leader, he made the conscious decision to choose the path of peace with the goal being to liberate his people from the yoke of occupation and to achieve a political agreement that will guarantee his people's legitimate rights in an independent state. And when he encountered obstacles placed by Israel, he did not give up and not for a moment changed his positions. Even when he was forced to resign as prime minister, when he was suffering the bitterest criticism, when his house was fired upon in Ramallah, he continued to stick to positions that have become principles.
Now, after winning the presidency in a model of Palestinian democratic elections, his new position grants him a platform and the strength with which to advance his principles. Indeed, he did not delay a minute and began operating immediately. But he did so his way, and just as the prime minister of Israel makes controversial decisions and tries to pass them without driving Israeli society into civil war and bloodshed, so is Abu Mazen, as a responsible, balanced leader, trying to take a path that will not split the Palestinian people and achieve its goals without bloodshed. Needless to say, this will only strengthen him in the Palestinian public.
But the Israeli government decided that what the Palestinian leader was doing had better look like an Israeli achievement. Maybe because of an inflated ego, maybe because of domestic political considerations and maybe because of a desire to foil the man who is leading his people in a manner that inspires international admiration and which for some reason is not wanted in Jerusalem.
In any case, the attempt to present Abu Mazen's actions as an achievement resulting from Israeli pressure has negative, possibly destructive implications for the entire process. Abu Mazen is not an Israeli collaborator, and should not be seen as such. He is a leader who has accepted the historic role to try to settle the conflict between the two peoples, and he is doing so with a deep understanding of the mood in the Palestinian street and without ignoring the needs of Israel. Therefore, he is a partner who should not be forsaken nor embarrassed nor harassed and of course, not threatened. His success is an Israeli interest no less than a Palestinian one. And the same is true for his failure.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/531445.html
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JERUSALEM - The signs have been so surprisingly positive that they elicited upbeat assessments even from some of Israel's more circumspect leaders. "We are witness to the beginning of positive developments on the Palestinian side," Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, said over the weekend.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz added Sunday that "the year 2005 may be a turning point in which there will no longer be any soldiers" in the Gaza Strip or the cities of the West Bank.
The unusually optimistic remarks were the result of the deployment Friday of hundreds of Palestinian policemen in the northern Gaza Strip to stop militants firing rockets at Israel. The order by newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas follows the renewal of security coordination between the sides, and has raised hopes that calm might finally prevail after more than four years of bloodshed.
There was more promising news Sunday, with Abbas saying he was close to reaching a ceasefire deal with militant Palestinian groups for an end to attacks on Israelis, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon telling his cabinet that if calm prevailed he would halt Israeli military actions in the occupied territories. Militants have said they will not lay down their weapons unless Israel ceases its operations, including the assassination of their leaders.
"As long as there is quiet, there is no reason why we should act, certainly not while Abu Mazen [Abbas] is taking his first steps," Mofaz said.
The number of attacks has declined dramatically since Abbas headed for Gaza last Tuesday following several days of rocket fire by militants at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, and threats by Israel to launch an extensive raid in response.
In northern Gaza – the area from which the makeshift rockets have been launched – Palestinian security forces fanned out over the weekend and began patrolling in pickup trucks and searching cars for weapons. Officers said they had received orders to take control of the area. They were told they could use their guns to stop the rocket fire.
During the Intifada, the name given to militant Palestinian struggle, Palestinian policemen disappeared from the streets. As the confrontation intensified, Israel targeted police positions, and many members of the security forces joined armed groups like the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Abbas' ruling Fatah party.
Developments on the ground in Gaza in recent days are "the start of a fundamental change," Yochanan Tzoreff, senior research scholar in Palestinian affairs at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya near Tel Aviv told IPS. "Soon, we will be able to get a sense of the full dimensions. Abu Mazen [Abbas] went to Gaza, banged on the table, and demanded that the rocket fire stop."
Gazans have viewed the firing of the Qassam rockets, as they have been dubbed by Hamas, with mixed feelings. Hopelessly outmatched otherwise, Palestinian militants have found in these rockets an effective weapon, both because Israel has failed to halt the rocket attacks and because the missiles have spread fear among Israelis who live in areas where they have landed.
But the launches have carried a high price tag. They have resulted in fierce Israeli military raids into towns in the northern part of Gaza that have disrupted life there and resulted in extensive damage to houses and infrastructure.
Now, the new Palestinian leader is hoping the intense fatigue and economic distress among his people after more than four years of fighting will help him convince them and the armed groups, at least for now, that violence has undermined the Palestinian national interest, not promoted it.
"What we are witnessing is the beginnings of a ceasefire," says Tzoreff. "Things are still very fragile, but the Palestinian opposition groups realize that in the elections the public gave Abu Mazen a mandate to follow his line against violence. The Palestinian public realizes that the rocket fire does them more harm than good [because of Israel's military response]. Now, Israel must act with restraint – that will help Abu Mazen."
Abbas is hoping he can confound the many skeptics – on both sides – who believe him when he says he wants to end the violence, but do not think he can, and who know he is serious about returning to the negotiating table, but are doubtful Sharon will meet him there.
The Palestinian leader believes that if he can end the violence, the Israeli prime minister will face intense domestic and international pressure to start talking about the issues at the heart of the conflict – borders, refugees, and the future of Jerusalem. Sharon has said he is ready to coordinate with the Palestinians his plan to withdraw from Gaza in the summer, but he does not believe it possible to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement in the foreseeable future, and so does not want to discuss substantive issues.
If Abbas fails to get Sharon to the negotiating table, his people will ultimately lose patience with him. To do so, he will need the Americans. He will have been listening intently last Thursday to U.S. President George W. Bush's inauguration speech, particularly the declaration that "liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands."
If Abbas can emerge as the leader of something resembling a democratic society, then allegiances may begin to shift and the almost unequivocal support Israel has enjoyed from Bush during the Intifada will erode. What greater prize could there be for a president who has declared his intention to spread democracy to the Middle East, but who has become bogged down in Iraq, than an emergent Arab democracy?
Both sides know that the sudden optimism in recent days could be instantly extinguished by a fatal Palestinian attack or an Israeli assassination of a senior militant. Abbas' efforts to get armed groups to agree to a ceasefire would be complicated by Israeli military actions, like the ones that resulted in the deaths in shooting Thursday of two 12-year-old Palestinian boys, one in Gaza and one in the West Bank.
And if the rocket fire resumes – a 17-year-old Israeli girl injured in a recent Qassam attack died Friday of her wounds – Sharon will be under pressure again to send the military into Gaza.
(Inter Press Service)
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/hirschberg.php?articleid=4543