(Fwd) Avnery extra: "Don't Envy Abu-Mazen"
Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)
info at gush-shalom.org
Mon Apr 28 14:58:01 IDT 2003
GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - http://www.gush-shalom.org/
[We thought you shouldn't miss this "extra edition" of the Avnery sequence]
Uri Avnery
26.4.03
òáøéú ìôé á÷ùä
Don't Envy Abu-Mazen
My first impression of Abu-Mazen was of a serious,
methodical, somewhat aloof introvert. He reminded me
of a high-school principal, very different from Arafat,
the impulsive extrovert, prone to personal gestures,
exuding warmth to all around him.
I met Abu-Mazen for the first time some 28 years
ago. We were secretly in Tunis to meet Yasser Arafat.
There were three of us: Matti Peled, a general in the
reserves, Ya'acov Arnon, a former Director General of
the Treasury and I. We met Abu-Mazen first to prepare
practical proposals for joint actions, to be put before
the "Old Man", as Arafat - then 54 - was called.
I had first heard mention of the name Abu-Mazen
nine years earlier, with my first secret contacts with
senior PLO officials. They told me that the Fatah
leadership had appointed a committee of three for
contacts with Israelis. They were the "three Abus" (as I
called them): Abu-Amar (Yasser Arafat), Abu-Iyad
(Salah Halaf) and Abu-Mazen (Mahmud Abbas).
Abu-Mazen was directly responsible for the contacts
that started in 1974. At the first stage, they were
conducted with me personally, but, from the autumn of
1976 on, the Israeli partner was the "Israeli Council for
Israeli-Palestinian Peace". The Palestinians who met us
were Sa'id Hamami and Issam Sartawi - who were both
murdered by the Iraqi-supported Palestinian arch-
terrorist, Abu-Nidal, a mortal enemy of Arafat.
When Arafat and Abu-Mazen were both present at
meetings with us, I got a clear picture of their mutual
standing. The detailed discussions were conducted by
Abu-Mazen, who had a good knowledge of things
Israeli, but it was Arafat who, in the end, made the
decisions. More than once I had the impression that the
senior PLO leaders were quite content to leave to
Arafat the responsibility for the courageous,
dangerous and unpopular decisions that led up to the
agreement with Israel.
Now there is a new situation. Arafat has agreed to
appoint Abu-Mazen Prime Minister. (The very fact that
the whole world, and Israel too, have welcomed the
Palestinian "government" and "Prime Minister" is a big
step towards the establishment of the State of
Palestine. In Oslo Israel still strenuously resisted terms
like "President", "government" and "parliament" for
the Palestinians.)
Abu-Mazen has taken upon himself a great
responsibility vis-a-vis his own people and the world.
He has put himself in a well-nigh impossible position.
Sharon & Co. demand that he first of all put an end
to "terrorism" ("armed struggle" in Palestinian
parlance), liquidate the "terrorist organizations" collect
their arms and prevent "incitement". Only after the
successful completion of all this can real negotiations
begin. Freezing the construction of settlements, of
course, should not even be mentioned at this stage.
The Palestinian public, on the other hand, demands
that first of all the Israeli army should leave the
Palestinian towns, stopping "targeted assassinations",
settlement activity, the demolition of homes and all
other acts of oppression, and start real negotiations for
the establishment of the State of Palestine.
This threatens to become a deadlock.
If the US and Europe exert massive pressure on
Sharon, the way they have put massive pressure on
Arafat, the deadlock might be broken. The Israeli army
would withdraw, the situation in the Palestinian
territories would change completely, the Palestinians
would be able to breathe again and Abu-Mazen would
appear as a leader who had already attained a great
achievement. The popularity of the extreme
organizations would decline.
Even if this happened, Abu-Mazen could not dream
of making mass arrests, destroying the organizations
and confiscating their weapons. There is nothing the
Palestinians fear more than fratricidal war. However,
the pressure of Palestinian public opinion would lead,
at least, to an effective armistice. Even the extreme
organizations are sensitive to the attitudes of their
public - if it wants quiet, there will be quiet. That has
already happened in the first period after the Oslo
agreement.
Let's assume that this happens. The attacks stop
almost completely (there will always be some
individuals and local groups who feel they have to act
on their own). The Abu-Mazen government functions
well in the Palestinian towns and villages. Then what?
After the publication of the Road Map, Sharon will
propose dozens of "corrections". Even now the "map"
is strongly tilted towards Sharon. While the
Palestinians gave up 78% of the country in Oslo and
accepted the remaining 22% for building their own
state, and have declared that they want to live in
peaceful co-existence with Israel, Sharon talks about
"painful concessions" without spelling out what he
really means.
If Sharon's "corrections" are even partly accepted,
the plan will lose most of what content it still has. Abu-
Mazen will stand there with empty hands, the
negotiations will stagnate as in previous rounds.
Gradually, the Palestinians will be forced to the
conclusion that they can achieve nothing without
violence, the fighting organizations will regain the
initiative and the armed struggle will resume.
Sharon and Bush will blame the Palestinians, of
course. They will say that Abu-Mazen "has not
delivered the goods". The Palestinians, for their part,
will say that Abu-Mazen is naive, that he has fallen into
an American-Israeli trap. He will resign, Arafat's
prestige will rise to new heights.
The next chapter can be foreseen. The Christian
fundamentalists and Zionist neo-cons, who control
Washington at this time, will demand that Sharon be
given a free hand. The Palestinians will embark on the
third intifada, more extreme than the two before. Blood
and fire and columns of smoke.
It could be different. For example: the US stops
treating the Quartet with contempt, pressure is put on
Sharon, Bush is not reelected, the negotiations bear
fruit, the peace camp wins in Israel, the Palestinian
state is founded in peace.
In the Holy Land, miracles have happened before.
But in the meantime, don't envy Abu-Mazen.
--
A map of the separation wall:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/hebrew.html
http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/index.html (English)
--
Did you know (y)our protest was succesful?
BBC was brought back to the Israeli screens.
--
Our site:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (òáøéú)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)
with
\\photo's - of action or otherwise informative
\\the weekly Gush Shalom ad - in Hebrew and English
\\the columns of Uri Avnery - in Hebrew, Arab and English
\\and an archive full of interesting documents
N.B.:
On the Gush Shalom website links for:
Articles and documents in German
Articles and documents in French
Articles and documents in Spanish
In order to receive our Hebrew-language
press releases [mostly WORD documents -
not always same as English] mail to:
gush-shalom-heb-request at mailman.gush-shalom.org
+ NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
To get forwarded reports and announcements which we receive + a selection of English-language artic
les,
send one blank mail to: TOI_Billboard-subscribe at topica.com
If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an e
xtra
piece of paper to:
Gush Shalom
pob 3322
Tel-Aviv 61033
Israel
or ask us for charities in your country which receive donations on behalf of Gush Shalom
Please, add your email address where to send our confirmation of receipt.
More official receipts at request only.
More information about the gush-shalom-intl
mailing list