Though legitimate, the taking of an Israeli soldier hostage leaves the Palestinians in a political quandary that only a national unity government, or crisis committee, can negotiate, writes Ibrahim Nafie Hardly have the leaders of Palestinian factions put their signature on the Prisoners' Document, than Israel sent its tanks into Gaza for another round of killing and mayhem. The Israeli military offensive came following an attack by three Palestinian factions on an Israeli army post near the checkpoint of Kerem Shalom, also known as Karm Abu Salem. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack and a fourth was captured. The three factions said they would release the soldier if Israel releases all the Palestinian women and children it is holding, a request Israel has rejected. Occupation forces detained eight ministers and 24 parliamentarians, as well as numerous municipal officials, all of whom are members of Hamas. Israeli planes began strafing Gaza neighbourhoods, as officials threatened to reoccupy the entire Strip. Meanwhile, the US administration claims the Israelis are acting in "self-defence". I beg to differ. Regardless of any political assessment of the Kerem Shalom operation, this was a classic act of resistance sanctioned by international law. Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni admitted as much. She said that those who attack soldiers and settlers could not be described as terrorists. In my opinion, the current government of Ehud Olmert doesn't want to open talks with the Palestinians. All it wants to do is implement the convergence plan, the scheme of unilateral redeployment Olmert discussed in Herzliya early this year. Olmert has used the success of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections to claim that he cannot find a Palestinian partner for peace, and the US and Europe seem to agree. Olmert also made capital of Hamas's rejection of the Quartet's call for the movement to forswear violence and recognise Israel and all existing agreements. Bickering between Fatah and Hamas gave Israel another excuse to forget about talks. That was when Egypt stepped in to end the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas and bring all Palestinian factions together. As a result of Egypt's intervention, the Prisoners' Document was approved with a few alterations. Meanwhile, the Israeli government tried to undermine the Hamas-Fatah rapprochement by way of attacks on civilians. Although the Kerem Shalom operation was a legitimate one, I believe that it lacked political insight and that its aftermath was poorly handled by the Palestinians; that it gave Israel the pretext it needed to attack Gaza and arrest members of the government and cabinet. This view was voiced by former Israeli education minister Shulamit Aloni who said: "those who fire the Qassam rockets are ignorant because they give the Israeli army a pretext to continue to sow death and destruction in Gaza... Israel's constant efforts to stop Abu Mazen (Abbas) from sitting at the negotiations table need to be exposed." The same ideas were repeated by Yehuda Lankri in an article published in Maariv 28 June under the headline, "There are people to negotiate with". He said therein: "Abu Mazen has stated that terrorism is a crime and then denounced terrorist attacks. This should be sufficient to convince Olmert that there is a Palestinian partner in peace." Other Israeli writers have suggested that the attacks waged by Palestinian armed groups are a natural reaction to the policies of the Israeli prime minister and his defence minister. It is clear from the above that some Israelis are beginning to question the wisdom of the current attacks on the Palestinians and call for talks with President Abbas. These same people are coming to the conclusion that Olmert lacks the political vision needed to tackle the current situation. Olmert, they say, is fixated on the convergence plan, refusing to consider other options, and unable to make use of openings that come along. I believe that the Palestinian side, now that it has agreed on the Prisoners' Document, should formulate a consensual political view and begin addressing the current situation. I believe that this can be done through an agreement among all Palestinian factions to form a working group, a mini-national reconciliation government so to speak. This group should then cooperate with Egypt in reaching an acceptable formula for dealing with the crisis of the captured soldier. The Palestinians need to rise above factional views. Just as the Israelis act with a plan, the Palestinians need to rise above the desire for immediate reprisals. They should keep their eyes on the ultimate goal of the struggle; namely, the liberation of the land.
