The crisis within Fatah is extending ever more to the Palestinian Authority, reports Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank With Israel consolidating its grip on the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem, and with relations with Hamas and Fatah's younger leadership turning sour, an increasingly forlorn Palestinian Authority (PA) is facing probably its toughest period since its creation in 1993. This week, the Israeli government decided to complete the construction of the gigantic concrete wall around East Jerusalem, thus ghettoising the city Palestinians consider their would-be future capital. Israel hopes that by cutting off East Jerusalemites from their human, social, cultural and especially economic connections in the West Bank -- which will be on the other side of the wall -- many will be forced, sooner or later, to leave the city. It is an established fact among most analysts, both Arab and Israeli, that this has been Israel's strategic goal since 1967, namely the Judaisation and de-Arabisation of East Jerusalem. This is also the goal of the incessant Israeli drive to purchase, expropriate, confiscate and seize Arab property in East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, at least 100,000 Jerusalemite Arabs will be consigned to the West Bank side, effectively cut off from jobs, schools and hospitals in East Jerusalem and surrounding areas. It is not clear how Israel will deal with this problem as these Palestinians carry Israeli "blue cards", meaning they have full residency rights in Jerusalem. Some Israeli officials have suggested that Israel will provide "alternative services" to these residents. However, it is sufficiently safe to assume that Israel will eventually disengage from these "burdensome Arabs" as the wall gradually acquires the semblance of a de facto "border". On Tuesday, the PA expressed mounting frustration at the international community's inaction vis-à-vis Israel, most especially the utter failure to act upon the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion last year that judged the wall illegal. "We want to see some concrete measures," said Nasser Al-Qidwa, Palestinian foreign minister. "We are proposing complete punitive measures against entities and individuals that contribute to the construction of the wall, and other illegal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories." Al-Qidwa told reporters in Ramallah that such measures might include UN member states refusing to issue visas or work contracts to companies linked to the wall. "The world must understand that this is the time to act. This ugly structure will destroy the present and future of the Palestinian people. Israel can't talk peace while continuing to colonise Palestinian land," he said. Indeed, this is the message the PA will seek to communicate to a number of foreign visitors, including a number of foreign ministers, who will come to Palestine to encourage both Israel and the Palestinians to work out a successful withdrawal from Gaza. Some foreign notables like Javier Solana -- effectively the EU foreign minister -- have advised the Palestinians to "keep silent" until after the Israeli withdrawal. German Foreign Minister Joskha Feicher is also to tell PA leaders the same message when he visits Ramallah on Wednesday. This, however, could only deepen and exacerbate Palestinian frustration as the encirclement of Jerusalem continues unabated. The ruling echelons of the PA -- Fatah's old guard -- hope the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will herald a new beginning towards the implementation of the roadmap, which would put the PA and the ruling Fatah Party in a better position vis-à-vis Hamas and reform-minded Fatah leaders in the West Bank. However, such hopes have a conspicuous element of wishful thinking as they hedge on the willingness of the Bush administration to get Israel to undo the wall and reverse its settlement expansion policy. This is the fear of many Fatah leaders in the West Bank who have accused the PA leadership of "destroying Fatah from within and clinging to power at any price". Some "rebellious" Fatah leaders, such as Mohamed Hourani, Hatem Abdul-Qader and Qaddura Fares have been lambasting the Abbas-Qurei leadership for the "Amman fiasco"; a reference to the apparently failed convention of the Fatah executive committee. Abdul-Qader told Al-Ahram Weekly that it was time "to save Fatah from itself". Likewise, Marwan Kanafani, another Fatah lawmaker, lashed out at the PA, blaming it for "rampant chaos and lawlessness", while "the leadership behaves as if everything is alright." Kanafani submitted his resignation from the Legislative Council earlier this week, arguing that he couldn't be a false witness to what is happening throughout the homeland. Meanwhile, Hamas is increasingly looking askance at the PA as the latter continues to refuse to designate a new date for postponed legislative elections which were due to take place on 17 July. This week, Hamas's spokesman in Gaza, Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, said Hamas had already lost confidence in Abbas's leadership, pointing to "many" unfulfilled promises and understandings reached with him. "How can we trust them any longer? We reached agreements with them in Cairo, but they didn't honour these agreements. We agreed to coordinate in all matters, but they are acting unilaterally and are refusing even to consult with us," an embittered Al-Zahhar said. Other Hamas leaders in the West Bank accused the PA leadership of "apparently being answerable to the US and Israel more than to the Palestinian masses". Hassan Youssef, Hamas's spokesman in the West Bank, struck a more moderate tone, underlining Hamas's "desire to work with President Abbas for the common good of the Palestinian people". Nonetheless, it is clear that the aftermath of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will present all parties concerned -- including the PA, Fatah and Hamas -- with a real test, stemming from the inescapable question: what next? Forging a common answer is vital since it will mean the difference between the resumption of violence and bloodshed and the honest implementation of the roadmap.
