In focus: Don't undermine the PLO Hamas's suggestion of replacing the PLO would take the Palestinian struggle back to square one, writes Galal Nassar The first Intifada, launched on 9 October 1987, was a concerted effort carried out by all resistance groups acting under guidance from their umbrella organisation, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Less than two years after the Intifada broke out, a new group came onto the scene. It called itself the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. Since its inception, Hamas disassociated itself from the PLO, refusing to join it, declining to coordinate with it, and generally acting as if it wasn't there. It is no coincidence, therefore, that Hamas celebrates the Intifada on 8 October, not on 9 October as the rest of Palestinian groups do. Hamas sees itself as a group standing outside the mainstream of the resistance, with no obligation to the needs of Palestinian national unity. In fact, Hamas sees itself as an alternative to the mainstream, a force that should rise to the top, eventually replacing the PLO. In a nutshell, Hamas wants to create a new umbrella organisation, one based on the Muslim Brotherhood programme. This is not something Hamas says in public, but it is nevertheless true. Unfortunately, the PLO failed to grasp this threat, hoping that Hamas would moderate its stand in time. Hamas resented the Palestinian Authority (PA) since its creation in 1994. Hamas leaders have consistently maligned the Oslo Accords, the agreement that paved the way to the establishment of the PA. Not a group that shies from using force to make a point, Hamas engaged in military operations against Israel simply to confuse and embarrass both the PLO and the PA. Israel didn't waste time in exploiting this new phenomenon and employed various methods to deepen divisions in Palestinian ranks. At one point, however, Hamas turned completely around and ran for elections. It did so without joining the PLO or coming to terms with the legal status of the PA. Its surprising landslide victory was only the beginning of a new phase of trouble. Subsequently, Hamas ended up barricaded in Gaza, the PA frustrated and unable to respond. What Hamas wanted was more than just controlling the PA, or even creating a mini-caliphate in Gaza. Hamas wanted a new Islamic authority to emerge, not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but wherever Palestinians live, at home or in exile. Recently, the chief of Hamas's Political Bureau, Khaled Meshaal, lashed out at the PLO, calling for the creation of an alternative umbrella organisation for the Palestinians. The announcement came as a shock to many, but it was in keeping with what Hamas had in mind all along. Some say that the whole thing is a new manoeuvre on Hamas's part to gain leverage in its talks with the PLO. Others say that Hamas is trying to control, not wreck, the PLO. But whether the aim is to control or replace the PLO, it comes down to the same thing. One wonders if there is still a point in Cairo hosting another dialogue between Hamas and the PLO. One wonders, too, why Fatah failed for so long to launch the reform of the PLO everyone has been waiting for. The PLO has a national programme that has lasted for a few decades but is now under threat and it needs to find a way of revising and consolidating it. When it comes to bad timing, Hamas cannot be outdone. It triggered the recent war with Israel when every political party in Israel was eager for a fight that would boost its chances in the coming elections. And it had Meshaal pounce on the PLO even before the Gaza war was officially over. There is a ceasefire in Gaza now, but the saga is far from over. With just a week left for the current Israeli government, Israeli officials may not be able to resist another go, if just to improve their approval ratings a little bit more. The remaining week is not enough to settle any of the issues that came up before and after the war, including the truce Cairo was trying to mediate. The Israelis want the Palestinians to surrender fully in return for 18 months of calm during which the crossing points would be partly opened and the siege would remain in one form or another. This means that the suffering of Gaza is far from over. Despite the unilateral ceasefire it has announced, Israel is not done dividing the Palestinians. And Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak are all threatening to wreak more havoc on Gaza. Why not? The war has improved the standing of the Labour Party and gave Barak a shot at being Israel's next prime minister. Livni, a quick learner, is finding that extremism pays. One wonders how any of this will end. At what point exactly will the Israelis quit persecuting the Palestinians and the Palestinians quit bickering among themselves? The Palestinian people have sacrificed much. They have just experienced a brutal aggression, with perhaps more to come. For their sacrifices, the Palestinians deserve a united leadership. They deserve a leadership capable of acting upon clear goals and leading the nation closer to its aspirations. In fact, the Palestinians should use the recent tragedy to close ranks, not to turn against one another. The hope was that Arab-backed Egyptian mediation would lead to dialogue and eventually to a measure of unity. Such an outcome would have helped resolve some difficult issues, from how to end the blockade to how to start reconstruction. But any hopes were dashed when Meshaal declared in Doha his desire to form an umbrella organisation for all Palestinians at home and abroad. Although he didn't say the words, many interpreted his remarks as a call to discard the PLO, the internationally recognised representative of the Palestinian people. If implemented in any form, Meshaal's ideas would destroy the remaining achievements of the Palestinian struggle. For all its shortcomings, the PLO is the moral backbone of the Palestinian people. And with the Palestinians so divided, the PLO's voice is needed more than at anytime before. The PLO is the official face of the Palestinians, a face familiar to and recognised by 120 countries around the world -- no mean achievement by any account. Formed by an Arab summit decision in Cairo in 1965, the PLO lacked full Arab support until 1973, when it was declared the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. This was an achievement for which battles were fought and blood was shed. This was an issue on which the Arabs remained divided for long, until it was finally settled. To undermine the PLO now is to start again from scratch. This is the time for confidence building, not division. We need initiatives to revive dialogue and unity. It is clear that Israel is playing the Palestinians one against the other and trying to secure the secession of Gaza. Israel, which has never accepted the moderate views of the PLO, is not about to reconcile with the hardline Hamas. What Hamas is giving the Israelis is an opportunity to excuse themselves from all responsibilities. If the PLO were challenged by another organisation, the Israelis would immediately claim that they cannot find anyone to talk to, as both the PLO and the new organisation would be too weak to speak for all Palestinians.
