Issue No. 605
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26 Sept. - 2 October 2002 Issue No. 605 Special |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Beyond negotiations
Long-time activist Haidar Abdel-Shafi was at the negotiating table in the Spanish capital in 1991 when Yasser Arafat was conducting secret talks that ultimately lead to the Oslo deal of 1993. Abdel-Shafi was one of the first to predict that the Oslo process would collapse.
When elections for the first Palestinian parliament were held in 1996, Abdel-Shafi easily won a seat, reflecting his popularity in Gaza, where he lives. Less than two years later, he resigned from parliament, saying that he did not feel it had any real power. He now heads the Red Crescent Society for Gaza Strip and is the commissioner-general of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen's Rights.
It's been two years since the Al-Aqsa Intifada began. How would you evaluate the uprising?
The Intifada is a genuine reaction of the people regarding what has been going on, and the negotiation process in particular. We know that Israel has been exploiting the negotiation process to expand its physical presence in the occupied territories -- that is, it has continued to establish more settlements under the cover of negotiations.
Does this mean that the achievements that came after Oslo have been erased?
Oslo did not really achieve anything. The agreement has been exploited to the benefit of Israeli aggression. The Intifada condemns this negotiating process and Oslo. It affirms the right of the Palestinians to fight in defence of their legitimate rights.
Israel claims that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat orchestrated the Intifada. The PA says the uprising was the natural result of Ariel Sharon's visit to Al-Aqsa mosque. Some analysts say that because the older generation that surrounded Arafat failed to achieve independence and good governance, Fatah's younger generation has taken up violence with the aim of forcing Israel to withdraw from Palestinian land as well as to weaken the older generation. What do you think?
Israel exploited the Oslo peace agreement to justify further aggression. The people see this, and of course, in the face of aggression, Palestinians will fight.
Owing to the Intifada, Palestinians are losing out when it comes to education, economic development, social problems and other areas. What do you think?
The Intifada is a spontaneous emotional reaction to the violations that are taking place on the ground under the cover of the negotiating process. This is obvious and reasonable, but the Intifada is, as I said, a spontaneous and unorganised action and, in this sense, it can make unnecessary mistakes. The leadership has a duty to organise the Intifada.
The leadership's failure to uphold this responsibility left the Intifada to proceed in a disorderly manner that played into Israel's hands. It provided a pretext for the brutality of the Israeli reaction against the Intifada. The parties that are making efforts in the context of the Intifada are various political organisations with distinct outlooks about how the Intifada should proceed. For this reason it is vital that all political forces come together to decide, in a democratic manner, on a unified position regarding the activities of the Intifada.
Unity has been repeatedly called for under the title of "The Necessity of National Unity Leadership". Such leadership would be responsible for decision-making with respect to the Intifada.
Because the PA did not take up this call, the Palestinians remain in evident disorder.
So, you blame Arafat's PA?
The PA is to blame for not realising the unity needed to organise the Intifada and for failing to attend to the needs of the people.
The latest polls show that more than two thirds of Palestinians continue to believe that armed confrontations have helped achieve Palestinian national rights in ways that negotiations could not. What do you think?
It's not possible to speak of any real achievements so far, and as I have said, the unorganised fighting in the context of the Intifada has been serving Israeli objectives.
I admit that in the effort to regain our rights, we need to fight; but I emphasise, again, the necessity of organising as a principle in whatever we do, whether peacefully or militarily.
What do you think of the attacks that target Israeli civilians?
I'm against these military attacks. First, they kill innocent people, and I claim that there are innocent people in Israel. More than that, though, there are Israelis who support our rights. Second, such actions deprive us the sympathy and support of the outside world. Third, such attacks provide the Israelis with reasons to unleash their military might against us in a very brutal and unrestricted manner.
Would you refer to these attacks as terrorist attacks?
I disagree with defining these acts as terrorist acts. In my opinion, the young person who commits these acts in which he sacrifices his or her life can't be condemned as a terrorist. A terrorist is someone who destroys the lives of others without exposing her- or himself to the possibility of death.
If there is any kind of Palestinian terrorism, then it was certainly preceded by Jewish terrorism that started in Palestine in the mid-1930s, with Jewish terrorists planting time-bombs in the markets of Jaffa, Haifa and other Palestinian cities.
Recent polls suggest that while support for political reform remains very high, it is less than it was last May, when support for such changes was 91 per cent. How would you explain the drop in the support for reform?
It's a bad sign, because I believe the need for reform is still there. Reform is imperative, and if there is less support for it now, I could only suggest that this means that people are becoming desperate about the possibility of achieving any reform.
When talking to people on the street, they stress one point: the American administration and the Israeli government are the ones pushing for reform for their own purposes. Palestinians feel they have been marginalised and doubt that such reform will lead to democracy.
Abdel-Shafi
Israeli and American talk about reform is immaterial. What the Palestinians need is strictly a Palestinian issue, and we can't tolerate any interference in this -- American, Israeli, or otherwise.
What do you think of the Palestinian Legislative Council's (PLC) open challenge to Arafat by forcing him to accept the resignation of his cabinet and to schedule presidential and parliamentary elections for January?
I consider it to be a good sign, and I hope it is an indication that the PLC has finally decided to attend to the responsibilities that it has neglected so far.
Why now, and not earlier? People are asking that question.
You ask them. There's no need to speculate why now; it's enough to express our satisfaction with this change.
You were the first and the only one to resign.
That was October 1997, because the council neglected and violated its responsibility as a legislating body and indirectly conceded that responsibility to Arafat.
Do you blame the PLC for not standing with you at that time?
I blame them for not standing earlier, too.
Hamas is gaining support. Ask university or high school students who they support, and they say "we support Hamas".
I don't want to comment on who is gaining or losing support. A unified Palestinian position remains the main requirement for the Palestinian cause. We should condemn this talk of factional strife, and we should put more emphasis on the necessity of unity.
Do you think that a civil war could break out here?
I hope not -- it would be a disaster. All responsible Palestinians must take every effort against internal civil strife.
Do you think a Palestinian state will be established?
If we organise better and are able to utilise our potential, we will certainly be on the road to achieving our national objective.
What roles do you think the American administration and the Arabs should play?
I'm against any American interference. We welcome all Arab support on the basis of consultation with the Palestinian leadership.
Israeli Defence Force Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon has said that he views the Palestinians as an invisible threat, like cancer. He said, "Some will say it's necessary to amputate organs but, at the moment, I'm applying chemotherapy." Do you think Israel will take even more stringent measures than it is currently pursuing?
What more can they do beyond the terrible brutality they are inflicting on the Palestinian people?
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