Is Dissolving the Palestinian Authority an

Essential Next Step?

Alan Hart Salem-News.com-Sep-29-
2014
Justice for the Palestinians is not on Zionism's agenda.
!"ND"N# - $he "%ama a&ministration or those who write its scripts must
thin' that all o( us who support the Palestinian claim (or )ustice are stupi&.
It &escri%e& Palestinian Authority Presi&ent A%%as*s statement &uring his
speech to the +N ,eneral Assem%ly# that Israel*s last war on the ,a-a Strip
was a .genoci&al crime. as .o((ensive an& provocative. an& one that
.un&ermine& peace e((orts..
Peace efforts? There are no peace efforts to be undermined!
An& that causes me to return to the theme o( my last post which was
hea&line& Obama takes hypocrisy to new high levels.
$he longer version o( my hea&line /uestion (or this post is the (ollowing.
Is dissolving the impotent and corrupt PA and handing back to
Israel full and complete responsibilit and accountabilit for
occupation an essential ne!t step if the Palestinians are not to be
denied for ever an acceptable measure of "ustice?
In my analysis the answer ought to %e o%vious to all who are (ully aware o(
the &ynamics o( the con(lict in an& over Palestine that %ecame Israel0
&ynamics which can %e summari-e& in three short sentences as (ollows.
Justice for the Palestinians is not on Zionism's agenda.
By default the regimes of the existing corrupt and authoritarian Arab Order are
complicit in Zionism's ethnic cleansing enterprise.
As things are there is no prospect of the major powers led by America using the
leerage they hae to try to cause !srael to be serious about peace on terms the
Palestinians could accept.
#o unless the dnamics can be changed$ the Zionist %not Je&ish'
monster state &ill remain above the la& and free to go on imposing
its &ill on the Palestinians and gobbling up more and more of &hat
is left of their land.
$hat %eing so0 the only en& game scenario I can see as things are
assuming as I &o that the occupie& an& oppresse& Palestinians will never
surren&er to 1ionism*s will %y a%an&oning their struggle an& accepting
crum%s (rom its ta%le# is a (inal 1ionist ethnic cleansing o( Palestine.
$hat %eing so0 or most li'ely0 the priority /uestion (or &iscussion an&
&e%ate %y activist groups everywhere which campaign (or )ustice (or the
Palestinians ought to %e this. (hat can be done to change the
dnamics of the conflict?
$here are some who %elieve that an escalating campaign o( 2oycott0
Divestment an& Sanctions 2DS# will &o it. 3y view is that 2DS will not
cause Israel to %e serious a%out peace on terms the Palestinians coul&
accept unless it becomes the polic of the governments of the ma"or
po&ers including and especiall America. An& there*s no chance o(
that happening unless the &ynamics o( the con(lict are change&.
In my analysis there is only one e((ective way to change them - &issolving
the PA an& han&ing (ull an& complete responsi%ility an& accounta%ility (or
occupation %ac' to Israel $hat0 as note& in my last post0 woul& not only
impose signi(icant (inancial0 security an& other %ur&ens on Israel0 it &ould
enable global discussion and debate about the conflict to be
focused &ithout distraction on the occupation and the need for it
%no& in its )*th ear' to be ended.
Putting the occupation an& all that goes with it un&er greater an&
concentrate& scrutiny ought to ma'e calling Israel to account (or its
&e(iance o( international law something less than the mission impossi%le it
currently is.
4uestion5 How coul& the political an& economic vacuums le(t %y the
&issolution o( the PA %e (ille&?
$here &oesn*t have to %e a political vacuum. $he executive committee o(
the P!"0 pre(era%ly with new elections to it0 woul& again %e the institutional
representative o( the occupie& an& oppresse& Palestinians.
I( &iaspora Palestinians then put their act together as 6ewish supporters o(
Israel right or wrong have always &one# the Palestine National 7ouncil
PN7# coul& %e %rought %ac' to li(e0 re(reshe& an& re-invigorate& %y new
elections.
A Palestinian parliament-in-exile that coul& spea' to power with one voice
on %ehal( o( Palestinians everywhere woul& %e (ar more e((ective than the
PA.
$he main argument against &issolving the PA is that the loss o( American
an& European (un&ing (or it woul& have serious even catastrophic
conse/uences (or the occupie& an& oppresse& Palestinians0 not only the
8990999 or so who are employe& %y the PA.
2ut woul& this have to %e the case?
I say .No. %ecause the regimes o( the most wealthy Ara% states coul&
easily provi&e the replacement (un&ing nee&e&. $he incentive (or them to
&o so can %e simply state&. I( they re(use& a P!" re/uest (or (un&ing to
'eep the Palestinian cause alive with some hope o( o%taining an accepta%le
amount o( )ustice0 they woul& %e expose& li'e never %e(ore0 (ully na'e&0 as
traitors to the cause an&0 %y &e(ault0 complicit in 1ionism*s enterprise.
3y speculation is that the regimes o( the most wealthy Ara% states woul&
not want to %e seen as such %y their own an& other Ara% masses.
It was Sau&i Ara%ia*s :ing ;eisal0 in my view the (irst an& the last great
Ara% lea&er o( mo&ern times0 who (ought an& won a political %attle with
Henry :issinger to get Ara(at to the +N to ma'e his gun an& olive %ranch
speech an& secure recognition (or the P!" as the legitimate representative
o( the Palestinian people. In a sense :ing ;eisal was the P!"*s political
go&(ather.
As I write I (in& mysel( won&ering i( 4atar*s new0 young ruler0 Emir $amim
Hama& al-$hani0 coul& emerge as his region*s ;eisal-li'e wise man an&
%ecome the P!"*s (inancial go&(ather.
Hamas*s political lea&ership is allowe& to live an& %e hea&/uartere& in
4atar an& that0 perhaps0 is an in&ication that it*s pragmatic ruling (amily is
guar&ing against %eing on the wrong si&e o( history.
4atar alone coul& ma'e the necessary investment to 'eep the Palestinian
cause (inancially alive in the event o( the &issolution o( the PA.
So it seems to me that an economic &isaster (or the occupie& an&
oppresse& Palestinians woul& not %e inevita%le i( the PA was &issolve& an&
American an& European (un&ing was not then availa%le to the replacement
Palestinian lea&ership.
It is0 o( course0 only the Palestinians themselves who can cause the
&ynamics o( the con(lict to %e change& %y insisting on the &issolution o( the
PA an& han&ing %ac' to Israel (ull an& complete responsi%ility an&
accounta%ility (or occupation.
3y hope is that activist groups o( all (aiths an& none everywhere which
campaign (or )ustice (or the Palestinians will urge them to &o so.
Footnote
Events in Ira/ an& Syria are &ominating the news an& I (in& mysel(
won&ering how &i((erent things might have %een to&ay i( at a very early
stage o( the Syrian uprising "%ama ha& ha& the wis&om to say to Putin
something li'e0 .<hat*s your price (or re/uiring Assa& to stan& &own an&
ma'e way (or open an& honest elections?.
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Alan +art is a former IT, and --.
Panorama foreign correspondent &ho
covered &ars and conflicts &herever the
&ere taking place in the &orld and
speciali/ed in the 0iddle 1ast.
2ver more than four decades Alan +art
en"oed intimate access to$ and on the
human level friendship &ith$ leaders of both
sides including 3olda 0eir$ 0other Israel$ and 4asser Arafat$5ather
Palestine. %2thers included 0oshe 6aan$ #himon Peres$ ,asser$
#adat$ 7ing 5aisal$ 7ing +ussein8the list is long'. +e also
participated at a leadership level in the secret politics of the search
for peace in the 0iddle 1ast %as an intermediar bet&een Arafat
and Peres &hen it &as presumed that Peres &as headed for
leadership'.
+e blogs on AlanHart.net$ and t&eets on twitter.com/alanauthor
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