Mid East Exam 3

Ghazal Sawez 5. What is the Palestinian authority? When was it established, how has it functioned and why has it failed to produce any measure of independence for Palestinians?

It is difficult to discuss Palestinian authority because it is currently split in two. Fatah governs over the west bank while Hamas is in Gaza. While the land is not very large to begin with, the two areas are governed completely different. Hamas and Fatah are not very fond of each other, this of course being because of their different opinions in how to rule over the land. Hamas being a more religious right wing Islamic party while Fatah is socialist and secular. The two groups have different origins and are run differently, but they both together represent the Palestinian authority today. The Palestinian Liberation Organization or the PLO is the long lasting official authority in Palestine. It was founded in 1964 as an attempt to represent the Palestinian people. In 1974 it received observer status at the United Nations. Later in 1993 Israel accepted the PLO as being the authority of the Palestinians. Yasser Arafat became the Chairman of the PLO soon after its start in 1969. In 1982 after the Israelis invaded Lebanon, many of the PLO members were forced out of the country. “For the next decade, the members of the organization were dispersed in many Arab nations, while they continued to build diplomatic ties throughout the world and again emerged as the sole remaining political symbol for Palestine.” (Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 104) The PLO was comprised of 18 members that were elected into their positions. Their goal was to

defend the Palestinians struggle for independence and they started with the hope to remain a secular organization. The PLO is made up of 10 different factions; of these Fatah is the largest. Fatah is a faction of the PLO that is considered to be left wing nationalist party. They originally stated their goal as being to “complete the liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military, and cultural existence” however Arafat was said to have wanted the last part of that remark removed from their charter. Yasser Arafat was one of the founders of Fatah, which became a member of the PLO in 1967. He continued to head Fatah and be the chairman of the PLO up until his death in 2004. After his death there was an election in which “The Carter Center was asked to observe the process, with the National Democratic Institute as a partner.” (Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 169) In the end Mahmoud Abbas was elected as the leader of the Fatah faction of the PLO. Hamas was founded in 1987 by the Palestinian side of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood; this was during the first intifada, this “sustained, independent, and forceful action of young Palestinians surprised both the Israelis and the PLO.”(Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 105) They have been linked to a history of violence and have been referred to as a terrorist organization by much of the International community. A first chain of attacks on Israel took place in 1993, and Hamas has since been accused of dozens of other attacks. Yet to the surprise of many, Hamas won 2/3 of the seats in the Palestinian parliament in 2006. This meant that Hamas now had more seats than Fatah, but after much conflict between the two groups Fatah regained power

over the West Bank while Hamas took control of Gaza. While Hamas has mentioned that their goal is to create an Islamic state over the land that is currently Israel, however Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, stated in June 2009 that they would “have not problem with a sovereign Palestinian state over al lands within the 1967 borders” (Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 203). Since Hamas has come into rule in Gaza, there has been no motivation to start any type of negotiations from Israel’s side because they refuse to deal with a violent terrorist group. This would mean that the creation of Hamas has actually made it easier for Israel to refuse to negotiate. There are many reasons as to why the Palestinian people have suffered as a result of their unstable government. Perhaps the biggest is the image that the Palestinian authority holds in the international community. Throughout the years one thing has been certain about the Palestinian government, it’s instability. While the region has conflicts within itself over who should be the voice of the Palestinians, the rest of the world’s credibility of a future Palestinian state is dropping. While Israel seems to come prepared to any negotiation or meeting, Palestine can barely manage to decide who their leader is. This view only contributes to the backward image that much of the international community already has about Palestine. Also while the instability within the Palestinian government exists, Israel does not have to be expected to negotiate some type of deal with them. Another problem with the constant struggle over power in Palestine is that while these parties are fighting each other it becomes too difficult for them to fight for the rights of the Palestinian people. This instability has also discouraged many qualified candidates to participate in the Palestinians

parliament and try to resolve its issues. Many of the members of the PLO dropped out during times of conflict between Hamas and Fatah, but many of them rejoined later. The Palestinian people have become frustrated after not being heard for so long, even with democratic elections their votes do not seem to have much effect. Many feel this is how Hamas won so many seats in the 2006 election in the first, because the Palestinian people were ready to try something different after years of not getting any results from Fatah. Once Hamas still was not allowed to rule the West Bank, despite the votes of the people moral feel a bit from people of all parties. What is the point of an election, if someone overrules the decision? At this point the Palestinian people have began to lose faith in their own government, making it even harder for them to gain their independence. In order for the Palestinian people to have their voices heard I feel it is crucial that there be some kind of grass roots movements, much like those that formed during the first intifada. Without this type of organization to portray the ideas of the people we may never see stability with the Palestinian authority. Currently Mahmoud Abbas has cooperated in discussions with President Obama over the conflict with Israel, yet he has said from the beginning that he refuses to begin negotiating with Israel until construction of the settlements has come to an end. After many attempts at negotiating some type of solution to the Middle East conflict one thing is clear, that the Palestinian people are certainly at a disadvantage. This is due to the fact that their authority has not been stable from the beginning of the PLO’s existence and they cannot compete with Israel’s extremely organized and stable government. This has been clear from

experiences such as the Camp David talks with President Clinton. Until the Palestinian people unit and try to achieve a unified stable government their chances at peace and independence are put on hold. Of course it is difficult for the Palestinians alone to express their concerns and wishes, which is why it is also important that other Arab countries form some type of pact with the Palestinian people for this is another “possible form or independence for Palestine and as being in the interests of the Arab states themselves.” (Buber, Arab-Jewish Unity, 14) One of the major political powers in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia; it certainly has the means to assist the Palestinian authority in efforts to end the violence in the region. “The leaders of Saudi Arabia can be a crucial and beneficial force in the Middle East whenever their influence might make the difference in bringing peace and stability to the region as an alternative to war and continuing political turmoil.” (Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 102)