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Israeli Policy Makers Also Want Arafat
By Dina Rashed
08/05/2001
A major shift in official Israeli rhetoric was evident during Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres' meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other policy makers in Washington, D.C.
last week. In acknowledging Arafat as a partner, Peres may be attempting to save his own people.
Peres' statements come in contrast to the long line of attacks of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat and his role in inciting the violence over the past few months in the occupied territories - now on the rise since the election of Ariel Sharon as the Israeli Premier. For several months, his government has adopted an extreme position - placing all
blame for the ongoing violence on the Palestinian side, and absolving itself of any responsibility for its excessive use of force against the revolt, and the mounting number of casualties.
Arafat has been referred to as dishonest, corrupt, manipulative and unable - even unwilling - to lead his people to a peaceful coexistence with the Israelis. Palestinian leaders have been spoken of as demagogues - blood thirsty, violent Arabs whose sole aim is to exterminate the Jewish people. Practically no consideration has been given of the circumstances of those living under Israeli occupation.
However, donning a dovish gown during his recent visit to the U.S., Peres referred to Arafat as "our partner," and went so far as to acknowledge the Palestinians' sufferings and tragedies. "We don't demonize the Palestinians, who have gone through tragedies," said Peres.
Aside from reforming the international image of Israel, which has been condemned by several Western countries for the way it has handled the Palestinian uprising, Peres is probably trying to preserve Arafat as a negotiating partner - one whom the Israelis may not necessarily like, but would rather deal with than perhaps a more radical figure from the Islamic right or the national Arab left. After all, Arafat is well known to them as having few tricks and no surprises. Peres' new policy is more than likely prompted by the belief behind the saying, "The devil that you know is better than the one that you don't."
Several voices within Israeli society, particularly from the left, have been calling for easing the confrontation with the Palestinians - arguing that if they are pushed further, they will have little left to lose by escalating their attacks even more so. In that scenario, Arafat would hardly be able to control the situation, and his people might opt for a more confrontational leader.
Meanwhile, some Palestinian observers are saying that Palestinian society is on the verge of chaos, and are warning of the consequences of its lack of competent, qualified political leadership.
To about the same extent that Israeli opinion is backing Sharon's hardening position towards the conflict, on the other side there is a growing shift in Palestinian public opinion towards continuing the fight for freedom and independence - no matter how high a price they must pay. Groups like the Islamic Jihad and Hamas have their own perceptions of the situation within the occupied territories, and do not share Arafat's position on continuing negotiations and talks. Not to mention, they are not under his control.
A recent survey conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center indicates a rise in the Palestinian support of the suicide bombings of Israeli civilians, and the belief of more Palestinian youth that this is the only way to liberate their land, with some considering it a form of Jihad.
But a most alarming incident was the demonstration in the southern Gaza Strip by over 400 Palestinians last Tuesday, mostly Fateh members belonging to armed groups accused of shooting mortars and setting off bomb blasts at Israeli targets, against the orders of Arafat and the PA to disband and stop their mortar shelling. Some media reports have said that several members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad joined the protest.
Apparently, there is more than one force leading the Palestinian masses; there is the PA, under the control of Arafat and his inner circle; there are commanders within Fateh who are increasingly dissatisfied with Arafat's communication and negotiations skills and hold him responsible for the failure and consequences of the Oslo agreement; and, finally, the Islamic forces, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, whose members share the frustration of the Palestinian people and are critical of both Arafat's negotiating techniques and the moral and financial corruption of some of his close aides.
Therefore, Peres' public admission that dissident Palestinian groups are acting on their own without Arafat's knowledge can be clearly read as a move to rescue the old partner who, for the first time since the outbreak of the Intifadah, is facing protest from within.The change of direction towards supporting Arafat, unilaterally declaring an ease in the transportation restrictions of the Palestinian workforce to and from their jobs in Israel, agreeing to discuss the terms offered through the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative that call for an immediate cease fire, reallocating the financial revenues of the PA currently being blocked by the Israeli government, and resuming the peace negotiations all point to the fact that the Israeli government is moving preemptively to prevent Arafat's fall and the collapse of the PA as they know it.
Whether both Peres and the Israeli Prime Minister will align their positions regarding dealing with the PA is still unclear. Till now, Sharon is still wearing his war vest and counting on public opinion in support of his tough handed policies.
However, he may soon discover that his position is not one likely to win. His massive destructiveness against Palestine's cities and villages is only instigating more and more desperate actions on the part of Palestinian civilians.
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