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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 September 2000 Issue No. 498 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 September 2000 Issue No. 498
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Beyond a declaration
By Mustafa Al-Barghouti *Two deadlines coincide on 13 September, the date set for the declaration of a Palestinian state, as well as for the end of the interim phase of the Oslo accord. The interim period was scheduled to end in May 1999, but was extended under the Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement in the hope that the Israeli elections would succeed where six years of negotiations after Oslo had failed. The elections only complicated the situation further, however, giving rise to Barak's hard-line strategy and his arrogant miscalculation of the Palestinians' patience.
The significance of these twin deadlines should not be underestimated. Many Palestinian officials have begun to hint that the declaration of statehood should be deferred once again. They avoid mentioning the fact that the end of the interim phase of the Oslo accord, the provisions of which are so prejudicial to the Palestinian people, happens to fall on the same day that was set for the declaration of statehood. Those who advocate postponement base their arguments on the advice of the international community, fearful of a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis. However, postponement also carries a price, in view of the damage it does to the credibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
But there are other reasons why this option should not be considered lightly. For the Palestinian Central Council, the question of whether and when to declare a state should be more than a tactical negotiating weapon. Statehood for the Palestinians is a sacred goal. Over 33 years, the struggle towards this end has come to form the lifeblood of the people, the pulse of their social and political institutions and the inspiration behind every project down to the schools and clinics in Palestinian villages, cities and camps. Statehood embodies the dream for independence and human dignity, for freedom from decades of tyranny and oppression under Israeli occupation, for the inalienable right to self-determination enjoyed by most other peoples on earth.
Only with statehood will we be able to build a society unlike any that has existed in this region. The Palestinians will be able to prove to the world that Arabs, too, can meet the challenges of this age with dignity and honour, and create a model for a democratic developing nation that can emulated elsewhere. An independent state is the only way to safeguard peace, which the Palestinian people have come to accept, despite the injustice of the fact that a state covering all the territories occupied since 1967 represents only 22 per cent of the original land area of Palestine.
For these reasons, the PCC must absolve itself of all the obligations and restrictions under the interim agreement that prevent the establishment of a state and immediately begin to institutionalise the state on the ground. Practical measures, more than a mere declaration, will assert Palestine's independence from Israel and from all provisions of the Oslo accords that restrict the assertion of statehood. These measures entail putting the organic law into immediate effect, nullifying all restrictions on the legislative process, drawing up the national constitution and setting a date for its ratification, arranging for parliamentary elections, electing the members of the national council, setting a date for the municipal elections and beginning negotiations with neighbouring Arab nations over the definition of common borders.
Other measures will have both practical and symbolic importance. One is to revise the taxation structure and the value-added tax, and other such taboos under the Oslo accords. Another will be to remove the Israeli identity number from Palestinian passports and the humiliating term "travel document" from their covers. A third is for Palestinian authorities to issue building permits, particularly those that had been suspended, both within and outside "Area A," which in turn would entail opening ministerial offices in Jerusalem. No one could accuse the Palestinians of seeking a military confrontation with Israel if we undertook the above-mentioned actions.
The Israelis must realise that the Palestinians have other options, including the calculated precipitation of a crisis, and that we are no longer the captives of the interim agreements. If we settle for anything less, Israeli opinion polls will remain the terms of reference of the peace process. In the same spirit, negotiations must be a tool to serve the struggle for our rights, rather than the struggle being a tool to serve the Palestinian negotiating strategy.
The meeting of the PCC presents the opportunity to liberate the Palestinians from the prejudicial terms of the Oslo accords. The world will sympathise with any constructive measures we take.
Israel must understand that the creation of a Palestinian state will not remain captive to the results of negotiations. Indeed, that stance should strengthen the Palestinian negotiating position. To drive this point home, every day from 14 September onward should bring new practical developments in the establishment of the foundations of an independent Palestinian state, in everything from the promulgation of new laws to the construction of new roads.
The attention of the Palestinian leadership and all political forces must focus on the domestic front. All efforts must be made to encourage popular participation in the process of building the nation. Reforms are necessary to realise, among other things, the appropriate implementation of the Civil Service Law and the rule of law in general. It will also help when the people see that the leadership is actively engaged in the actual process of building their state, not just in negotiations over the declaration of statehood.
Ten years ago, the PLO and the Palestinian national movement were the targets of a conspiracy to isolate and destroy them. Intensive popular action on the land of Palestine thwarted that conspiracy and brought the PLO leadership out of its isolation. Today, we have more powerful means at our disposal and more extensive international sympathy than were available when the defenceless Palestinian people rose to alter the course of history in December 1987. Still, let us remember that the path to victory begins with the determination to win.
* The writer is a Palestinian civil society activist.
