Giving Abu Mazen, and peace, a chance, Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh

Opinion, June 2003, Al-Jazeerah.info

Giving Abu Mazen, and peace, a chance

Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh
Jordan Times, 6/27/03

IT WOULD be very foolish, even fatal, for the present Israeli government not to give the roadmap for peace a chance. And it would also, on the same basis, be very foolish, even fatal, if it does not give Mahmoud Abbas a chance to deliver what he has promised. In my opinion, both the roadmap and the new Palestinian premier, linked in a very interesting and refreshing way, are Israel's ticket to security, safety and peace.
It is interesting and refreshing — and this is, among other things, what is new and important about the roadmap for peace and the speeches delivered at the Aqaba summit earlier this month — that both the Israeli prime minister and his Palestinian counterpart are in total agreement about the end to the armed Palestinian resistance. In his significant Aqaba summit speech, Abu Mazen made it clear that he is dead against Palestinian violence (as much as he is, of course, dead against Israeli violence) and that he intends to do all he can to end it.

The disagreement, however, is on how to go about ending it. While Abu Mazen wants to do it peacefully and diplomatically, through dialogue with Hamas and a policy of co-option, the power-crazed Israeli premier wants to do it in his own style: hunt and kill each and every member of Hamas, even if he has to annihilate the whole Palestinian population (knowing Sharon's stance vis-ý-vis the Palestinian population, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Sharon may, in fact, aim to kill two birds in one stone: Hamas militants and Palestinian civilians).

There are several things wrong with Sharon's approach. Aside from the obvious, regrettable, painful fact that the killing of Palestinian civilians is both inhuman and inexcusable (in addition to it being a crime against humanity), aside from the fact that Israeli terror against the Palestinians automatically causes Palestinian terror against the Israelis, aside from the fact that Israeli violence against Hamas and the Palestinian population detracts from, if it does not totally annul, peace efforts (in this case the roadmap itself), and aside from the paradoxical and ironic fact that by causing damage to the Palestinians, Israel is causing damage to itself and to its image abroad, there are two main reasons why the Israeli premier's approach is dead erroneous.

The first has to do with the fact that no matter what he does (no matter how many types of weapons or strategies he uses), the Israeli prime minister is unable to either end Hamas' acts or Hamas itself. Sharon has been targeting Hamas directly, intensely, mercilessly, violently and bluntly for more than a year now. What has he gained? Hamas has neither weakened (let alone being annihilated) nor lessened the frequency or effectiveness of its acts.

The second, a natural outcome of the first, is the fact that what the Israeli premier has committed against Hamas has in fact strengthened and legitimised Hamas. By making the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) — including Abu Mazen whose discourse and policies signify a remarkable shift from traditional PNA discourse and policies — look weak and incapacitated, the Sharon government has made Hamas look strong and heroic.

Conversely and foolishly, the Sharon government has brought Hamas a lot of sympathy and many admirers. Is this the intention?

It is interesting, in this context, to look at the European positions versus that of the Americans. While President George W. Bush has, mistakenly I believe, adopted Sharon's position on Hamas, the Europeans are arguing that Hamas is an important player on the Palestinian scene. In addition to legitimising Hamas, Sharon has created a rift among international peace advocates: the Americans vs. the Europeans — a rift which is not in the interest of peace.

The Sharon government should let the PNA — in particular Abu Mazen — deal with Hamas. Had Abbas said in Aqaba that he would not be able to deal with Hamas, had he avoided addressing this issue, maybe the Israeli prime minister would have had some justification in going after Hamas himself. But Abu Mazen made it clear that he aims to end the armed Palestinian resistance, and he said that he was up to the task.

Why should he not be given the chance to do so? Maybe he will succeed where his Israeli counterpart has miserably failed. But giving him the chance would also legitimise the Palestinian moderates, who are immediately and ultimately Israel's true peace partners, and delegitimise, as well as curb and contain, the extremists.

Abu Mazen may fail to deliver what he has promised, but he may also succeed. In fact, armed with the roadmap for peace, he (not Sharon) may turn out to be Israel's and Palestine's saviour. In either case, we will not be able to know until and unless he is given the chance.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).