How serious is the PA about reform? The case of detained PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat is viewed by many Palestinians as a litmus test. Sherine Bahaa reports Click to view caption Ahmed Saadat, known among his comrades as Abu Ghassan, used to say that it was only natural for the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to be a wanted man. When he said that, Saadat of course meant "wanted" by the Israeli forces; it had probably never crossed his mind that he would one day be detained by Palestinian Authority (PA) security bodies. Saadat was arrested on 15 January after he was summoned to the office of the head of Palestinian intelligence at Yasser Arafat's presidential compound in Ramallah. Israel insisted that Saadat was involved in the plot to assassinate extremist Israeli Tourism Minister Rehevam Zeevi, who was killed last October. The PFLP had claimed responsibility for Zeevi's killing in revenge for the assassination of its leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, who was killed by Israeli missiles while in his office in Ramallah nearly a year ago. After Israel's reoccupation of Ramallah on 29 March, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted he would not lift the siege imposed on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's headquarters until Saadat, four PFLP members suspected of directly planning and carrying out Zeevi's killing and a top Palestinian officer allegedly involved in coordinating an arms shipment to the PA, were handed over to Israel. To break the deadlock, the six were transferred to a Palestinian prison in Jericho where they remain under the supervision of US and British officers. While the four involved in Zeevi's killing were convicted by a Palestinian court and received prison terms ranging between one and 18 years, Arafat said that it was up to the Palestinian judiciary to decide the fate of Saadat and the other officer, Fouad Shobaki. In a brief session held earlier this month, the High Court of Justice in Gaza ordered Saadat's release because there was no evidence against him, but the PA refrained from implementing the ruling due to US and Israeli pressure. "They said it is for security reasons," Saadat's wife, Abla, told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview. However, on her way from Ramallah to Jericho to visit her husband, Abla said that she was worried about her husband's safety in Jericho. "The presidential compound in Jericho [where Saadat is being held] is not far from Israeli security camps." This week, Amnesty International called on the PA to respect the decision of the High Court and free Saadat without any further delay. The London-based human rights organisation also called on Israel to publicly guarantee that Saadat will not be subjected to any extra-judicial measures, including assassination. "It is not that easy. Saadat's release necessitates the taking of certain measures. There have to be guarantees from the PA itself for his safety. Even if the PFLP ensures Saadat's safe transport from Jericho to Ramallah, for him that would be unacceptable. The guarantees should be given by the PA," reiterated Abla. Israeli government officials threatened unspecified steps if Saadat were to be released. Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin warned that if Saadat "is not brought to justice, we will bring justice to him". The US also rejected the Palestinian court decision. "We expect the Palestinians to work with the Israelis rather than take unilateral steps," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told journalists immediately after the decision was announced. "The decision by the High Court came to correct an incorrect situation. Saadat's detention was a mistake, politically, nationally and legally," Gamil Megdallawi, member of the political bureau of the PFLP in Gaza told the Weekly. "Saadat's detention is very serious. It is a sinful crime which will have a negative impact on the Palestinians," Maher El- Taher, spokesman of the PFLP told the Weekly in a telephone interview from his office in Damascus. PFLP members and other opposition figures warned that the arrest of Saadat -- the highest ranking opposition figure in the PLO's second largest faction after Arafat's Fatah -- was tantamount to "crossing all the red lines" in terms of maintaining a national consensus. According to El-Taher, the deal that Arafat reached with the Israelis to end the siege of his compound was not accompanied by any guarantees. "I even believe that the fate of the PFLP leader is no longer in the hands of the PA." Abla said that while her husband was under siege with Arafat in Ramallah, he felt that plans were being made for him and his comrades. "As a head of the PFLP, he has the right to know how negotiations were proceeding, but he was denied access to Arafat on vague pretexts until few minutes before the implementation of the deal. Arafat has still not revealed the actual terms of the agreement with the Americans," Abla said. While all Palestinian factions are dismayed by the inability of the PA to implement the High Court decision, political parties, human rights groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have appealed to the PA to uphold the rule of law and stand firm against US and Israeli pressures. "Yielding to US and Israeli blackmailing in matters of politics and security is totally unacceptable to us," declared Megdallawi. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza had also issued a statement expressing its dismay over what it believes to be the pressure exerted on the PA to violate human rights and democratic norms as seen in Saadat's case. The centre criticised the deal reached by Arafat to end the siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem by deporting 13 Palestinians to several European countries as another example of a major violation of Palestinians' human rights. For PFLP leaders, Saadat's case is a litmus test for the seriousness of the political reforms that Arafat has recently declared. After the lifting of the Israeli siege on the Church of the Nativity in early May, Arafat signed a law confirming the independence of judiciary in Palestine and the necessity of respecting its decisions. However, "even a 10-year-old child would be disappointed by the emptiness of the slogans," said Abla. For El-Taher, any serious reforms should start with a general evaluation of the Palestinian position and performance over the past period. "The latest incursions into our territories should be seen as an occasion to reassess the role of every institution and authority. We should know who fought for us and who did not. But there is a total rejection of evaluation or even asking questions. Consequently, no real reform will take place," El-Taher said.
