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News :: Miscellaneous |
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PA and Palestinian Reaction to Bush Speech |
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by Haaretz via gehrig
(No verified email address) |
26 Jun 2002
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Chairman of Palestinian Parliament: "Bush's speech was not a peace plan, but instead placed conditions before the Palestinians that were formulated with arrogance and scorn, and in a way that doesn't lead toward peace." ... One businessman on Saladin Street in East Jerusalem explained yesterday that the PA has ceased to exist in any case, so no one is getting excited about the attacks against it. |
PA leaders praise Bush; `the street' is unimpressed
By Danny Rubinstein
It was quite strange yesterday to see the procession of Palestinian figures praising the speech of President George W. Bush. First of all, Arafat himself was quick to point out what he regarded as the positive components in the speech. Cabinet members Nabil Sha'ath and Saeb Erekat spoke with a similar tone of satisfaction, followed by the director-general of the presidential office, Tayeb Abd al-Rahim, who is considered one of Arafat's closest associates. These words of praise demonstrate more than anything else the weakness of the Palestinian Authority. It seems the PA's leaders can simply not allow themselves to lash out against the president of the United States, without whose assistance the Palestinians have virtually no chance of moving toward a solution of the conflict with Israel.
Among the senior Palestinian leadership, there was one salient exception: The chairman of the Palestinian parliament, Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), expressed disappointment with Bush's remarks and described them as interference in internal Palestinian affairs. According to Ala, "Bush's speech was not a peace plan, but instead placed conditions before the Palestinians that were formulated with arrogance and scorn, and in a way that doesn't lead toward peace." The anger in Abu Ala's comments was similar to the negative reaction by Hamas officials who of course completely rejected the message of President Bush and announced that they would continue to conduct actions against Israel.
An interesting response could also be seen in the Palestinian street, which did not get particularly agitated about the central parts of Bush's speech that humiliated Arafat and his associates (without explicitly naming them) and called on the Palestinian people to get rid of them and choose other leaders instead. It is no secret that many Palestinians do not think much of their leaders, regarding them as corrupt, profligate and only concerned for themselves. So when President Bush calls for replacing them, no one feels much sympathy for them.
The alienation felt between the Palestinian public and the ruling circles of the Palestinian Authority is a well-known phenomenon in the territories. Among the reasons behind this was that many Palestinian VIPs profited during times of border closures that accompanied the peace process, while the average Palestinians, unable to reach their jobs in Israel, suffered serious economic losses.
One businessman on Saladin Street in East Jerusalem explained yesterday that the PA has ceased to exist in any case, so no one is getting excited about the attacks against it. The IDF controls most of the West Bank, the PA's administration is not functioning, nor are its leaders. Arafat will be 73 next month and he looks tired. Abu Ala barely survived a serious heart attack last week. Abu Mazen is deep in mourning over his eldest son and is also not in good health. Strong leaders are neutralized: Marwan Barghouti is in prison; Mohammad Dahkan resigned and Jibril Rajoub has many rivals who are blocking his path. Nabil Abu Rudeina, Arafat's close adviser who never leaves his side, said yesterday in feigned innocence, "In the coming elections, the Palestinian people will decide whether they want Arafat and then he'll remain in his position, but if they choose another chairman, Arafat will be pleased with his new situation, which promises to be better than his current situation." No one is considering the possibility that Arafat may resign or fail to be reelected. Nor can he imagine this happening. He has been immersed in Palestinian politics his entire life. He has almost nothing in his life outside politics and there is no chance he'll give this up.
Bush may have presented a series of positive ideas concerning a future Palestinian state, but the condition of removing Arafat and his associates did not appear realistic to any Palestinian yesterday. Here and there one could hear cynical remarks yesterday in East Jerusalem that perhaps a return of full Israeli rule in the territories would be preferable in that it would put an end to the confusing reality that brings suffering to everyone and creates uncertainty about whether there is - or is not - Palestinian rule.
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See also:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=180133
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