The Palestinian leadership is being forced to come to grips with political reform and corruption, writes Lamis Andoni A continued drama of internal bickering, power struggles -- both real and staged reconciliation -- and grassroots resistance, the most recent example being the prisoner hunger strike, is steadily setting the agenda of Palestinian confrontation with Israel. The drama is overshadowing and more accurately compensating for the Palestinian leadership role. This phenomenon is itself an indication of a weak Palestinian leadership. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's public admission of "mistakes" and promises for political reform only reinforces his willful impotence. His act is reduced to sideshow in the bigger picture of an emerging, systemic Palestinian disobedience. The disconnect between the leadership's meetings and moves on the street is also a sign of a Palestinian leadership failure to recognise the threat of the Palestinian people recapturing the initiative and taking the struggle into their hands. The events of last week again confirmed how mired the leadership has become in its own internal mess. This assessment in no away underestimates the need for reforms or addressing rampant corruption, but neither Arafat's speech nor the reaction of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) promised concrete changes. At face value Arafat made bold confessions, but promised few concrete, let alone binding, steps to address the problems. PLC member Abdul-Jawad Saleh challenged him: "But you are protecting [corrupt officials]". Arafat retorted with denials and his usual sarcastic "astonishment". The PLC reaction, barring that of some individuals, was equally disappointing. Instead of using their own powers to enact binding legislation for implementing reforms and ensuring accountability, the legislators allowed Arafat to absolve himself by asking to turn his promises into "a presidential decree". Arafat typically rebuffed the request as insulting to his own "credibility' and rebuked the legislators. The sad scene, which mirrored the wide gap between popular resistance initiatives and the Palestinian establishment's inefficacy, is indicative of how even elected PLC members are reluctant to assert any of their powers amid the uncertainty of the political future of the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile Arafat seized a moment of "triumph" over a potentially very volatile political rebellion backed by former security chief Mohamed Dahlan to reassert his prowess at internal political manoeuvering. Yet while Dahlan may have shot himself in the foot by appearing to promote his credentials, not only to the Palestinian public, but also to the United States and Israel, the young leader has also given a huge boost to demands for political and financial reforms. By amplifying complaints against corruption, Dahlan may have not won wide support as a political leader. But he has certainly increased the pressure on Arafat to contain the corruption of top officials. In the process, Dahlan inadvertently focused the light on his own shady record that was hitherto the subject of gossip, grumbling and household anecdotes in Gaza. It has now spread far and beyond to the West Bank and abroad. The fact that Dahlan resides in the elegant house of the late Mayor of Gaza Haj Rashad Shawa -- the aristocrat of the Strip -- is now frequently cited against him. His residence has become symbolic of both his ambition and his disassociation from his roots as a refugee sharing the hardships and the pain of his people. It is also true that the Dahlan "associated reform movement" has encouraged 10 people to go ahead in filing a suit against all Palestinian companies who sold imported Egyptian cement to Israel. The cement has been reportedly used in constructing Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the apartheid separation wall that has gobbled up Palestinian land and displaced many Palestinians. But in an ironic twist in the case led by two members of the PLC, Saleh Mouaweyah Sufian, whose lands were damaged or confiscated for the wall, has given way to rife claims about Dahlan's own implication. Dahlan is now accused by many within and outside the leadership of some form of association with Al-Baraka -- one of the culprit companies. The widespread allegations strongly suggest that Arafat is encouraging such claims to further destroy Dahlan's credibility. According to one official, when Dahlan tried to ease the impact of his scathing criticism of Arafat by publicly declaring "I am a sword in Arafat's hands," Arafat retorted "he is a sword in my back". Nevertheless, Arafat is expected to reconcile with Dahlan, if only, as many officials think, to "kick him upstairs" into a powerless official position. Reconciliation between former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Arafat is also in the making, but not one based on an agreement that would solve the two men's political conflict. For in spite of reported mutual "warm messages", Abbas still insists that Arafat give up control over security -- something that Arafat believes would be a prelude to his removal. Thus, while reconciliation may be crucial to prevent internal strife, leaders so far are more involved in the power struggle; they have been swept into an American-sponsored "competition" to meet the declared "qualifications" of acceptable Palestinians leaders. Meanwhile, hungry prisoners behinds Israeli bars are drawing on the real leadership of the street in confrontation with Israel.
