Mustafa Barghouti calls for a united Palestinian front At a time when our efforts need to be directed towards reinforcing the victory we achieved as Palestinians at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, encouraging an international boycott to isolate Israel, rebuff its plan to turn the Gaza Strip into one big prison and oppose Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon's plan to continue to build the racist separation wall confiscating 58 per cent of the West Bank's territory and destroying the prospects of an independent Palestinian state, events in Gaza exposed the extent of the damage resulting from the security breakdown, the absence of a unified national leadership, the spread of corruption, property confiscation and mismanagement, and the absence of law enforcement or an effective judiciary. All these came along with political traps, set in order to portray the Palestinians as being violators of international law and hostile to the United Nations while at the same time easing Israel's isolation in the wake of the ICJ verdict. Such traps include the kidnapping of two French nationals whose only fault was coming to show their solidarity with the just struggle of the Palestinian people. The current security breakdown serves only the enemies of the Palestinian people, and those whose concern is personal or sectarian gain. What happened in Gaza expresses the narrowmindedness of those who are busy fighting over positions of power while power itself is in the hands of the Israelis. The power struggle in Gaza during current conditions is nothing but a fight for the policeman's role in a prison administered by the Israeli occupation. The fight in Gaza is being used to distract the Palestinians from their core battle against the separation wall, criminal incursions into Beit Hanoun and the razing of houses in Rafah, Khan Younis and other parts of the Gaza Strip. It is a mistake to base any calculations on Israel's alleged intention to withdraw from Gaza. What is taking place in Gaza is not a withdrawal, not even a preliminary one. It is a gradual reoccupation, similar to that inflicted on the West Bank. It is a methodical destruction of Palestinian institutions and an attempt to turn the Gaza Strip into a large "prison" surrounded on all sides, one in which a collaborationist government will rule. It is now urgent to emphasise national interests over personal and sectarian ones, and to form a unified national leadership that will head the national struggle with a single, comprehensive strategy. It will carry out broad domestic reforms, guarding against corruption, mismanagement, favoritism and the infringing of people's rights. It must be a leadership that holds accountable everyone who dares encroach on public interests and property. It should establish the rule of law and hold democratic and free elections. A unified national leadership is the only guarantee for a successful popular struggle against the Israeli separation wall and occupation, a wide international solidarity movement with the Palestinian people and domestic unity. Continuing to dismiss what the popular Intifada has created does not benefit the Palestinian people. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority should not rise above the national Palestinian movement, but must remain a part of it, working in its service towards higher national interests. In addition, reforming the security apparatus means non-interference on behalf of its leaders in political, economic and investment issues, its complete subjugation to the rule of law and its commitment to the personal safety of ordinary Palestinians and their property. The failure to form a national unified leadership, revive the Palestine Liberation Organisation and adopt democracy as the basis of organisation has led to the proliferation of conflicts in the PA, favouring personal and sectarian interests and opening the door for foreign enemies like Israel to exploit the situation to its own benefits. We urgently call -- before it is too late -- for the formation of a national unity leadership which includes the executive committee of the PLO and all other forces and institutions of civil society to lead the national struggle, to promise free and democratic elections and treat in an effective way all the manifestations of corruption, favouritism, etc, without loosing focus on the primary enemy and challenge, i.e. Israel.
