Conspiracy with foreign powers is the main story behind the current crisis in Palestine, writes Curtis Doebbler* The recent bloodshed in Palestine appears to be the consequence of internal violence, but it is anything but an internal problem. The violence is the result of the international community's policy towards the Palestinian people. The resolution of this problem is, however, in the hands of the Palestinians who must rise above the examples of hatred and bias provided by Europe and the United States and the examples of partiality and impotence of the United Nations to resolve their own problems. Outside interference in Palestine is more vividly clear. There are dozens of UN decisions documenting it, including the famous advisory opinion of the UN's principal judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, condemning the wall Israel is building to ensure it can continue its occupation. This opinion followed the many UN resolutions that unambiguously condemn Israel's foreign and oppressive occupation of the Palestine as illegal and call for the right of return of the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, despite these clear statements about the illegality of the situation nothing has been done to end it. Israel continues to maim and kill Palestinians at will and with impunity. Israel continues to arbitrarily destroy Palestinian property and detain Palestinians. Israel continues to build new settlements and transfer its population to the occupied territories in clear contravention of international law. In short, Israel continues to violate international law in every way it can think of and the international community does nothing. The United States has led the international community's acquiescence with Israel's unlawfulness by providing Israel all the weapons it needs to kill Palestinians and all the diplomatic support it needs to prevent the international community from stopping Israel's butchery. The United States is one-fourth of the International Quartet, the self-anointed broker of Middle East peace. Instead of brokering peace, however, the Quartet has encouraged internal divisions within Palestine by supporting one Palestinian faction over the other. It has taken this effort so far in contradiction of its own basic principles, of which "democracy" is alleged to be a significant one, as to urge the dissolution of the elected Palestinian government that the West 'did not like'. And as if to highlight its bias, the US House of Representatives, the largest body of the US Congress, recent passed Resolution 152 on 5 June 2007 congratulating Israel for its forcible "reunification of Jerusalem" and its occupation of Palestine. The European Union, another fourth of the Quartet, although represented by three states, has kowtowed to the US line. The EU failed to speak up when Israel stole millions of Euros worth of customs duties from the Palestinians, supported the US-led boycott of the democratically elected Palestinian National Authority government since early 2006, and is now supporting the boycott of Gaza in a way that ensures continued instability and increases opportunities for violence. The international community's ineffectiveness and bias was recognized by the UN's chief Middle East special envoy who recently admitted in a 52-page report dated May 2007, in strikingly honest terms, that the UN was biased towards Israel and the United States and too cowardly to stand up to them. He unabashedly acknowledged "that even-handedness has been pummelled into submission in an unprecedented way" that has had "devastating consequences" for the Palestinian people. The former UN special envoy's conclusion that the Quartet "has become a sideshow," was not surprising. Palestinians have been claiming this for some time. They cite the Quartet as one of the worst examples of outside meddling that supports the continued foreign and oppressive occupation. Even the most optimistic Palestinians see the Quartet merely as a waste of time to which they must respond even when they realise nothing will be accomplished through it. While the largest share of the blame for the recent violence in Palestine can be squarely placed on Israel and those states that support Israel, the Palestinians themselves are, of course, not free from blame, especially their political leaders. Fed-up with the corruption and self-aggrandisement in which Fatah-led Palestinian governments had indulged while the Palestinian people suffered, the Palestinian people made their voice heard at the polls in early 2006. They voted Fatah out of power in a resounding landslide vote that even surprised the Hamas politicians who were taking part in elections as a political party for the first time. Fatah officials who had fostered Western influence and were supported by Western financial backing lost to Hamas officials who relied on grassroots campaigning and their provision of social services for the people. After the euphoria of the election victory wore off, however, Hamas set about governing in the same way it had run its grassroots opposition movement. It refused to compromise on principles such as the recognition of Israel until or unless Israel recognised Palestine, it clung to the right of return for Palestinian refugees when earlier governments had sent signals that it was negotiable, and it demanded its right to oppose the foreign and oppressive occupation by Israel with all necessary meansa right that is unambiguously granted people fighting for self-determination under international law. Hamas, however, was never able to grasp the necessity of managing the outside influences. Instead, the Hamas-led government attempted to govern based on 'principles' and relying on their integrity as a leading civil society actor that often provided government services that the Fatah-led Palestinian government did not. Hamas failed to recognize that the Palestinian government does not function like an ordinary government. Well-intentioned and principled internal policies are not sufficient to protect the Palestinian people. Hamas also needs to come to grips with the outside pressures that can strangle even the best intentions. While Western pressure increased on Palestine, the Fatah old-guard refused to assist Hamas. Instead of recognising that the people of Palestine had dealt the old-guard a resounding vote of 'no-confidence' and replaced it with a neophyte government that had no experience in power, Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, refused to give up its privileges. Ignoring the election results, Fatah almost immediately launched a fight for its survival utilising the international community to alienate the Hamas-led Palestinian National Authority. This campaign included the non-cooperation of Palestinian representatives around the world with the new Hamas-led government, encouraging international pressure on Hamas, failing to fight to break the embargo on the democratically elected government of Hamas, and continuing to 'run' a Ramallah-based government in parallel to the elected Hamas-led government that was imprisoned by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Even more damaging to the Palestinian people, the Fatah old-guard strategy included several sell-outs to the international community, and even to the foreign and oppressive occupier, Israel. An example of the latter is the decision in the last week of May 2007 by the Fatah-led parallel government to sell Palestinian natural gas to Israel. While Hamas strongly opposed this deal as one tantamount to selling the fuel to Israel used to kill Palestinians, the Fatah-led government supported it. Ominously, the finance minister, who recently became the Fatah-presidentially-decreed prime minister, most certainly had to give his approval to this deal. More telling is that the US-educated prime-minister-by-decree, Mr Salam Fayad, had become finance minister in the coalition government because of outside pressure. And if that was not enough, he travelled around the world seeking financial support for Palestine with American money. It looks very much that Mr Fayyad has been made, bought, and paid for by the United States. He is also another indication that the Fatah-led government that has been forced upon the Palestinian people by presidential decree has still not learned the lesson the voters tried to teach it in 2006. Fatah's non-cooperation with the elected government of the Palestinian people was indeed founded on its contacts abroad. During the past year, Palestinian ambassadors abroad frequently emphasised that they represented the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the organisation of the Fatah old-guard, and not the elected Palestinian National Authority. These same ambassadors often refused to promote the policies of the elected government and sometimes even worked against these policies. One of the most prominent Palestinian ambassadors even refused to invite any members of the Hamas-led government to international meetings in which the future of Palestine was being discussed. At the same time, the Fatah-presidency of Mr Mahmoud Abbas continued to bow to international pressure, refusing to take notice of the message that had been sent to it by the Palestinian people in fair and free elections. This pressure continued even as the Hamas-led government agreed to form a coalition government. To any objective observer this situation would appear incredible: a government elected by a landslide agreeing to form a coalition with the losing party. Nevertheless, Hamas, perhaps out of inexperience or perhaps as a majestically reconciliatory gesture, agreed to form a coalition government and to include election-routed Fatah ministers in this government. Despite this gesture the non-cooperation continued until the Hamas-led government responded to the Fatah's yearlong "coup by non-cooperation" by resorting to the use of force to stem the growing violence in the Gaza Strip. In turn this reactionespecially with the inability to explain it to the international publichas provided Fatah and the international community the excuse it needs to allow even more Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. The Israeli violence comes in the form of both stranglehold sanctions and overt threats of military force against Palestinians in Gaza. The new Fatah-led presidentially-decreed government, continues to use Western propaganda to cajole the international community into supporting its action. But it has yet to be shown that Palestinian people who live the reality of the occupation everyday can be fooled by Western propaganda. The alluring alternative of new elections might dig an even deeper grave for the Fatah party if it continues to trade Palestinian rights for its own benefit and does little to resolve the real problems of the Palestinian people. But what are the alternatives? The best interests of the Palestinian people demand a solution that is Palestinian and not imposed by outsiders. Both Fatah and Hamas need to show the world that they are united against Israel and willing to stand up to Western pressure. They could do this by suspending cooperation with Israel and the United States, as both are the enemies of the Palestinian people. Could any one imagine the United States entering into a trade agreement with Osama Bin Laden? For Palestine, cooperation with Israel and the United States is even more dangerous. Both Hamas and Fatah could also show the Palestinian people that they have their best interest at heart if each agreed to recognise the other's de facto jurisdiction over areas they control until a new election is held under conditions and at a date to which both parties agree. In the meantime, Hamas should also ensure that it has adequate foreign representation as the elected Palestinian government. PLO-Fatah representatives abroad should facilitate this by working with Hamas-appointed people to ensure that they are able to function. If they do not Hamas should appoint its own foreign representatives. And perhaps most importantly, policies should be made with the agreement of both the Fatah and Hamas political factions in a loose coalition government. Many countries have coalition governments, and they can strengthen democracy. Whatever government is formed it must be one of the Palestinian people and not foreign powers. The 40th anniversary this year of the ongoing occupation of Palestine is a stark reminder of both the suffering behind them and the struggle ahead for the Palestinian people. These 40 years will be lost time if they have not brought the Palestinian people together to fight against the occupation, rather than among themselves. * The writer is an international human rights lawyer who has in the past advised both the Fatah-led and the Hamas-led governments in Palestine.
