To the Palestinians I Say ..

When I contemplate how the Palestinian-Zionist conflict has unfolded over the years, from the time of the Basle Conference in 1897 to the present day, I am filled with a deep sense of depression. For rarely have I seen more mistakes and missed opportunities than those in the actions, decisions and choices of some Palestinians since the beginning of the conflict up to the present. A major contribution to the long list of mistakes and missed opportunities, and possibly the most self-defeating of all, is the way some of the Palestinian factions have been acting in the recent period.

Resistance is not an end in itself; it can only be seen as such by those suffering from infantile disorder or by hooligans with no sense of responsibility and an anarchistic turn of mind. As far as any sane, sensible and responsible person with a conscience is concerned, resistance is only a means to an end.

Rather than place themselves under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority, some Palestinian factions are trying to retain their autonomous character and set themselves up as parallel leaderships side by side with the legitimate leadership as personified by Mahmoud Abbas. In this they are displaying symptoms of the same aberrations we have mentioned: infantile disorder, irresponsibility, hooliganism and anarchism.

No rational person who sees himself as part of humanity and civilization and who believes in the rule of law and in legitimacy can fail to recognize the validity of two irrefutable truths: one, that resistance is a means to an end, and, two, that any attempt by organizations with no legitimacy to place themselves on an equal footing with the legitimate leadership will inevitably lead to chaos.

And yet that is exactly what some Palestinian factions, notably Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been doing over the last few weeks. Their stance is wholly without merit. They have arranged their priorities in such a way as to run counter not only to logic and common sense, but also to Palestinian interests and welfare.

The idea that Palestinian decision-making should be shared out between the legitimate leadership and factions with no claim to legitimacy, or that Palestinian weapons should not be handed over to the legitimate leadership is unacceptable to all but persons who are either of bad faith or who, at best, suffer from emotional and intellectual immaturity that renders them incapable of understanding the very concept of legitimacy.

Just as logic, wisdom and national interest made it incumbent on Palestinians to accept the late President Sadat's invitation to attend the Mena House Conference over a quarter of a century ago, the same considerations make it incumbent on every Palestinian today to realize that the recent actions of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are detrimental to the Palestinian cause and contrary to all aspects of the Palestinian equation. These actions, which come on the eve of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, are designed to obstruct the withdrawal and depict it as a victory for the guns of the resistance, not as a political achievement. In trying to claim credit for Israel's decision to pull out of Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad clearly believe that glory for the Palestinian armed resistance is more important than a political victory for the Palestinians.

This is a typical case of ranking priorities in the wrong order. The latest in a long list of blunders on the part of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are a clear indication that the main concern of their leaderships is that they, and not the Palestinian Authority, should wield control over Gaza after the Israeli pullout.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas has stated in no uncertain terms that he would stop any rockets fired at Israeli settlements by the Palestinian factions, whatever it took and no matter how high the cost. In making this statement, he showed statesmanship and courage and established his credentials as a great nationalist in the mould of Sadat, unlike the political dilettantes who have no political vision or formation but are driven only by primal urges.

As to those Palestinians who believe they can successfully and effectively pursue a policy whose ultimate objective is the elimination of Israel, in defiance of the initiative unanimously adopted at the Arab League Conference held in Beirut two years ago as well as of the line now followed by the legitimate Palestinian leadership, they are living in a fool’s paradise. In setting their sights on what is an unrealistic and unattainable goal, they are not only deluding themselves but doing irreparable harm to the interests of the Palestinian people. To spurn the possible for the sake of what is clearly impossible is ill-advised and self-defeating.

The broad strata of the Palestinian middle class, whether in the West Bank, Gaza or in the Diaspora, as well as the Israeli Arabs, are on the side of the legitimate Palestinian leadership, not of the forces of chaos. I call on them to raise their voices in unison against these forces, to tell those deluding themselves that they are acting in the best interests of the Palestinian people that their actions are in fact highly detrimental to those interests. They must also tell these renegade forces that no one has done more to serve the forces of extremism on the other side of the confrontation line than they themselves. The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad surely know that they are playing into the hands of Israeli extremists, who can only marvel at the opportunities handed to them these days, whether by the rockets of the Al-Qassam brigade or by the sporadic attacks launched by other rejectionist forces.

I say to the symbol of legitimate Palestinian leadership, Mahmoud Abbas, that he must not be deflected from his determination to guarantee stability for his people, which is contingent on making good on his recent pledge not to tolerate lawlessness in whatever form and at whatever cost. But that is easier said than done. The seeds of chaos were planted by his predecessor to ensure that subsequent leaderships would never enjoy stability. To Abbas I also say that politics is the art of the possible, and that those who demand the impossible are not heroes but nihilists.

The position in which the Palestinian president finds himself today is similar to that of President Sadat in 1981 when his main concern was to ensure that nothing derailed the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Abbas knows that chaos at this stage would only serve the interests of other parties, certainly not of the Palestinians. I say to the renegade factions that the best thing they can do for the Palestinians at this critical juncture is to swear allegiance to the Palestinian Authority and to recognize its right to govern as the sole legitimate leadership of the Palestinian people. They should do so unilaterally, rather than after a showdown with either Israel or Fatah from which they – and the Palestinian people as a whole – will emerge as the biggest losers.

Finally, while knowing that my words will enrage the radical militants and with little hope that my proposal will be heeded, I call on the leaderships of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to announce a radical change of direction, to achieve what is known in management science as a breakthrough. They should issue a statement proclaiming that while they insist on the right of the Palestinian people to continue their resistance until an independent state is established, they will be bound by the following principles:

One: Armed resistance is not an end in itself, but a means by which to achieve Palestinian national aspirations.

Two: Armed resistance could be effective in some cases but not in others.

Three: Armed resistance is not aimed at usurping the authority of the legitimate Palestinian leadership.

Four: The Palestinians are striving to reach a mature and civilized stage of development in which political and military decisions are the exclusive prerogative of the legitimate Palestinian leadership.

Five: The Palestinian resistance movement considers attacks against non-military targets, whenever and wherever they occur, to be acts of a criminal and terrorist nature. That includes the random killing of civilians who happen to be in the vicinity of a military target.

Would Hamas and Islamic Jihad be ready to make such a shrewd and civilized move? This would make the late Abba Eban turn in his grave, for it was he who said one day that: “The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity!”. Or will they vindicate his skepticism and make the late Ismail Sidky turn in his grave? Egypt’s Prime Minister from 1930 to 1933 and again during 1946, Sidky famously said in his address to the Egyptian Chamber of Deputies which was meeting to discuss Egypt’s participation in the war of 1948, that what he feared most was that the Arab side would lose the possible while it was chasing after the impossible.