United they stand? By Zeina Khodr Palestinian groups opposed to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus this week to reaffirm their commitment to the anti-Israel clauses in the PLO charter. The meeting concluded one day before US President Bill Clinton's visit to Palestinian self-rule areas, during which members of the Palestinian National and Legislative Councils and other public figures annuled those clauses as part of the Wye River Memorandum signed in Washington last October. Although participants in the Damascus meeting were united in their opposition to Arafat's policies, the Oslo peace accord and the Wye River Memorandum, there were divisions over whether or not to create a parallel organisation to the PLO. "The annulment of the Palestinian charter is tantamount to the annulment of the PLO and destroys the unity of the Palestinian people," the Palestinian National General Congress said in a statement after a two-day conference, which ended on Sunday. "The meetings in Gaza on Thursday [the Central Council meeting] and Monday [in Clinton's presence] do not reflect the will of the Palestinian people. Those who carried out the annulment are illegitimate leaders and represent only themselves." The head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command, Ahmed Jibril, told the Weekly, "This conference is important. It is a message to Clinton and the world that Arafat does not represent the Palestinian people or their expectations." According to Ghazi Al-Assadi, a member of the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Lebanon, this was the first time all Palestinian parties and factions -- moderates, hardliners and independents -- as well as Islamic groups, representatives of Palestinian camps and Arab officials gathered. "They all agreed the annulment was in effect the funeral of the Palestinian cause," Al-Assadi said. Participants stressed the need to put the past behind them and unite ranks. "Palestine will never be liberated if every faction works and fights alone. All of you here must work for a common national goal and not individual interests," said Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Lebanon's Hizbullah. The Damascus meeting may have been the first serious attempt to challenge Arafat's legitimacy, but it was marred by divisions between the factions. Hardliners and moderates, for example, disagreed over a suggestion to break with the mainstream PLO. The final statement reflected the views of all parties present but a consensus was not reached on all points. "We are not a single party, there are disagreements, no one here can speak for the whole opposition," the head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh, said on the first day of the meeting. "This conference should not be the only one recognised. We need to recognise the opposition meetings held in Gaza and the West Bank," he said. Hawatameh was referring to two simultaneous meetings held last Saturday in Gaza and Ramallah, and chaired respectively by Dr Haydar Abdel-Shafie and Abdel-Jawad Saleh, also to protest the annulment of the PLO's charter. Hawatmeh's reluctance to declare the Damascus meeting as representative of the whole of the Palestinian opposition was explained by sources close to the meeting as an attempt by him to hang on to whatever influence he believes he has in the Occupied Territories. Indeed many observers noticed that both the DFLP and the PFLP were apprehensive about setting up a rival organisation to the PLO, arguing that it would lead to a permanent split between the Palestinians in the territories and the diaspora. "We won't allow anyone to split this conference. Those who are pro-Arafat can just leave," Jibril said, referring to Hawatmeh. "No one can put one foot here and the other in Gaza. Our cause is in danger and this conference is an important beginning for us. We have decided to join ranks to face the challenges." Abu Khaled Al-Amli, under-secretary-general of the opposition Fatah faction, believes Hawatmeh's comments were part of a move to pave the way for his return to Gaza. The lack of consensus highlighted the difficulty the opposition groups are having burying their differences. But Amli was optimistic: "We realise the difficulties ahead, the road is long," he told the Weekly. "But yes, yes, yes, the factions are serious this time about overcoming their differences." The conference called for the creation of a follow-up committee to be made up of representatives of Palestinian groups and independents, whose task would be to draft a future policy for the Palestinian opposition. Abu Nedal Al-Ashkar, the secretary-general of Palestine Liberation Front, said at the beginning of the conference that a follow-up committee would pave the way for the creation of a new Palestine National Council. "This will take months but I hope we will succeed," he said. "The committee will study future options and alternatives," Mohammed Nazzal, member of Hamas's political bureau said. But will this committee be the nucleus of a new PLO? "We must look into the matter. To establish a new organisation will take generations. In our opinion, Arafat killed the PLO and it will take time to revive it." The two main Islamic factions, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have never been part of the PLO, are now part of the Damascus-based Alliance of Palestinian Forces, which includes 10 opposition groups. The final statement of the meeting reaffirmed the Palestinian people's sacred right to resist occupation. It called on Arabs and Islamic nations to withdraw their support for Arafat and for the Wye River agreement, which Syria strongly opposes. It was no coincidence that the conference was being held in Damascus, which participants referred to as the "capital of the Arab struggle." "We realise we need Arab support," Nazzal said. "Look what Jordan did. It prohibited many Palestinian National Congress officials from attending the conference." News reports said Jordanian authorities prevented more than 60 Palestinian opposition figures from crossing to Syria to take part in the conference. "Hopefully we agree on a mechanism and a new command will be created to represent the Palestinian people," Colonel Munir Makdah, head of a splinter Fatah group in the Ain Al-Helweh camp in south Lebanon, told the Weekly. "The fact that Palestinians throughout the Arab world demonstrated and held general strikes to coincide with the annulment of the charter shows the people are against Arafat's authority." Despite the differences over the mechanism and the future course, the conference could signal the beginning of a new Palestinian movement. "The very fact that it was held despite international pressure is an achievement," Al-Assadi said. PLO splinter groups represented at the meeting have around 100 representatives in the Palestine National Council. It was an unprecedented gathering, but only time will tell whether the Palestinian opposition will be able to rise up to the challenge united.
