Friday, February 09, 2007

Make-or-break point for casue

February 9. 2007

Make-or-break point for casue

REPORTS coming out of the Makkah talks between Fatah and Hamas leaders have so far been very encouraging since they indicate a realisation on both sides that the current phase could make or break the Palestinian struggle for independence and statehood.
Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, who are heading the talks under Saudi auspices, have vowed that they would not leave Makkah without a deal.
The two sides have reached agreeement on the composition of a Palestinian national unity cabinet. The next issue is to what degree the new Islamist-nationalist government would recognise previous peace agreements with Israel.
An accord on these issues is hoped to have an immediate impact. It would end the deadly fighting that has killed more than 90 Palestinians since December.
Hopes are also heard that it could also lead to lifting of an international blockade of the current Hamas-led government. The blockade has led to untold suffering for the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and they are anxiously looking forward to a Hamas-Fatah compromise that would see the resumption of the flow of aid, both Arab and international, as well as Israel releasing hundreds of millions of dollars of Palestinian tax money it has kept in abeyance since early 2006.
The composition of a unity cabinet should not pose a problem at all, but only if enough trust and confidence is built in each other by Fatah and Hamas.
If Hamas adopts a suspicious view that Fatah would seek to use cabinet positions to undermine the Islamists — or vice-versa — then things would not work out. In order to sort this out, there has to be a firm foundation for the two groups to work with each other and invite other Palestinian factions to join the coalition.
The second question that was being addressed on Thursday was the extent to which Hamas would agree to respect the agreements signed with Israel by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). This issue is central to prospects for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations (that is, if the Jewish state is willing to let go of its demand that Hamas should immediately recognise it and renounce armed resistance).
As both sides indicated on Thursday, a compromise was being worked out in this respect.
So far so good.
However, the crucial question is whether a Palestinian national unity government that emerges from the Makkah negotiations will be accepted by the United States and Israel.
Fatah has dealt with Israel and the Jewish state should but be aware that the collapse of earlier peace talks was its own making because of refusal by its political leaders to steer away from seeking to impose their own version of a peace accord that falls far short of the minimum demands of the Palestinians. Therefore, Israel should not have a serious problem dealing with Fatah.
Israel is deeply suspicious of Hamas, which in turn does not believe that the Israeli political establishment is prepared to enter a fair and just peace agreement with the Palestinians. Hamas will continue to hold out with the demand that Israel should ndertake that it is ready to accept the legitimate demands of the Palestinians and this undertaking is guaranteed by the international community.
Israel, which has never considered the Palestinians as equal negotiating partners, is highly unlikely to offer any undertaking. It would argue that this would be pre-determining the outcome of negotiations at a stage when there is little sign even of resumption of peace talks. In any event, Israel could not be expected to make any gesture that deviates from its campaign to exact a deal from the Palestinians that would serve its interests of expansionism and regional domination.
That is where Fatah and Hamas face the biggest challenge. They have to come up with a unified Palestinian strategy that pre-empts all Israeli arguments. Forcing the Jewish state into a corner might not be possible, given the staunch alliance it has with the US and the support it enjoys among some of the key European countries.
Indeed, the Makkah meeting is a make-or-break point for the Palestinian struggle, and it is up to Abbas and Meshaal to ensure that they take the bull by the horns and subdue it in a manner that serves the central Palestinian cause and interests. The whole world is waiting for them to straighten out the Palestinian cause of liberation from occupation, independent statehood and life in dignity.