Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 19 - 25 October 2000 Issue No. 504
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Point of no return

By Sherine Bahaa

Mustafa Al-Barghouti, president of the Union of Medical Relief Committees, is one of several hundred Palestinian public figures who have petitioned the Palestinian Authority to withdraw from the Oslo process, demanding the institution of democracy in the Palestinian decision-making process.

How do you assess the outcome of the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit?

We view the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit as a failure because it did not meet the requirements of the Palestinian people. The closing statement made by US President Bill Clinton was very weak. In trying to equate the concerns of both the oppressor and the oppressed, the statement did not respond to the prevailing situation in the Middle East.

What particularly shocked everybody was the summit's failure to address the Palestinians' need for international protection. Palestinians are being attacked by the Israeli army, and by Israeli settlers, who have most recently killed two people and injured several farmers. We perceived Clinton's statement as an effort to bypass the implementation of UN resolutions calling for the set-up of an inquiry mission. The statement referred instead to a fact-finding mission. Basically, the United States managed, once again, to cater to Israel's will.

In calling for a return to the situation prior to 28 September, the statement failed to recognise how volatile the situation is in the Middle East. How can we revert to the very situation that led to this crisis? This latest summit, as with Camp David, failed to recognise that there can only be one solution: a new international framework, one which will deal with the issue as it is, with Israel as an occupying force in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

You called for an end to Oslo. What is the alternative?

Oslo is dead. The interim agreements imposed by it and the security arrangements set up between the Palestinian Authority and Israel were killed by the Israeli army's bullets and missiles.

We have been waiting for seven years for the Oslo process to produce peace, yet all we have seen is an expansion of settlements, the imprisonment of Palestinians, and Israel's endless quest to impose its own facts on the ground.

Now, we are in a qualitatively new situation. It is in the interest of Israel to revert to the situation that existed prior to the uprising. However, there is a public feeling that we should not allow the uprising and the sacrifices made by Palestinians to have been for nothing. We must not allow ourselves to harbour once again the illusion of Oslo, which has led to these drastic results.

As the crisis intensified without let-up, Cairo thrust ahead with preparations for the 21-22 October extraordinary Arab summit which it will host. Mubarak said that "there is no more pressing a time than this to hold an Arab summit." Pinning much hope on the outcome of the summit, the president was able within a few days to whip up consensus among Arab leaders, who have not met since 1996. But he was unyielding to calls in Arab ranks for tough decisions of economic boycott or even war against Israel. "It won't be a matter of muscle-flexing," he said in response to Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi's suggestion to declare war on Israel at the summit. "No one should pre-impose decisions on the summit," noted Mubarak. "We have to take decisions based on what the foreign ministers will discuss ahead of the summit."

How long can the Palestinians afford to remain steadfast, especially since there are reports that Palestinians will run out of their basic needs in the coming two days?

It is going to be difficult in terms of economy, health, and medical services, which are on the edge of collapse because Israel is not allowing ambulances to move, medical equipment to be delivered to health care centres, and patients to reach hospitals. We have already lost many lives because of these dire conditions. It is a very harsh situation, but what can we do?

There comes a time in people's lives when they can no longer endure injustice and this time has come in Palestine. This is why they are ready to sustain the Intifada. And we hope that Arab countries and Arab people will heed our calls for help. It remains to be seen whether the international community will tolerate the perpetuation of Israel's criminal acts against the Palestinian people.

What is the potential of a Palestinian democratic state according to your petition?

I think that the PA should reconsider the highly-centralised manner in which it has been taking decisions. If we want to sustain the Intifada, there must be more collective participation in the decision-making process.

We need to democratise the country. One of the most effective ways to defeat Israeli propaganda is to show the world that Palestinians are a democratic society. And, in order to prove to the world we are serious, we should organise municipal elections. I know it is very difficult to talk of elections while we are still under siege, but I think that an announcement should be made to this effect, nevertheless.

We must express our desire for the UN to come in and allow us to conduct free elections.

Palestinians on both sides of the green line are united in their struggle. Does this bring back the idea of a bi-national state?

Palestinians are now struggling for separation from Israel, for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem within the boundaries of 1967. If Israel refuses to consider this, then we will resort to the other option, which is the establishment of a bi-national state. But a bi-national state means that Israel would cease to exist as a Jewish state, and become a Jewish/Arab state. I think that the Israelis are the ones rejecting this option, which was originally presented by the Palestinians. In my opinion, Israel must consider this possibility, if they will continue to destroy the prospects of establishing a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has failed utterly as a political leader, since he and his group are behaving as military generals. Israel now has the most militarised political structure ever in its history. The prime minister is a military general. Coming soon to the coalition is Ariel Sharon, well known for his war crimes when he was chief of staff. All the important government posts are occupied by army generals and the Israeli political elite has become practically marginalised.

What Oslo planned to do was to divide the Palestinians, cut them into pieces. Contrary to Israeli expectations, what ensued over the past few days was an evolution of a fantastic unity among Palestinians. Another unexpected tour de force is the explicit show of Arab solidarity vis-à-vis the Palestinian cause.

In your petition, you wanted the Palestinians to prevent the US from monopolising the peace process. Do you think this is possible?

By now it is clear that the US is not the honest broker it would have us believe. While the US President is trying to play the role of mediator, the US Congress is preparing a resolution against the Palestinians.

For the sake of peace, there must be a more balanced international framework, with US participation as well as the participation of others, such as the United Nations, Europe and the Arab world. All participants should work toward a framework that accepts one very basic principle: the implementation of UN resolutions.

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Related stories:
The real stakes 12 - 18 October 2000
'We will not be bullied' 12 - 18 October 2000
Summit call 5 - 11 October 2000
See also Intifada in focus 12 - 18 October 2000

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