Divided and voiceless
Sami Abdel-SHAFI
PEACE: Any progress in the Middle East must begin with building peace
among Palestinians. Prior to the establishment of the Palestinian
national authority in 1994, I used to travel as a Palestinian using an
Israeli travel document in which my citizenship was stated as
‘undefined’ More than three months after Hamas’ violent takeover of
Gaza, and the persisting division between the internationally recognised,
Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) based in the West Bank and
Hamas’ deposed government in Gaza, I feel as though my entire being is
undefined.
Today we are imprisoned from all sides, including the sea, our vast
symbol of freedom and opportunity that Israel stopped us sailing on long
ago.
Within the prison walls Gazans cannot escape the foul smell of
burning rubbish that frequently fills the streets; many are forced to
eat bread made of flour mixed with ‘feed wheat’, only suitable for
animals, to compensate for flour shortages.
The appearance of leaders of both Hamas and Fatah, side by side at
the funeral of my uncle, Haidar Abdel-Shafi, the co-founder of the
Palestine Liberation Organisation, was welcome.
The suffering of ordinary Palestinians and the presence of Israel as
an occupying force, whose military policies have bred division among
Palestinians, can only be remedied by further expressions of unity
between the parties, and a move to dialogue based on an unambiguous
platform of pursuing peace with Israel.
It is urgent because Palestinians are drowning in half-truths. While
internal security improved in the eyes of many Gazans with the change of
power, some innocents were tortured by Hamas.
The impact of yet another siege, and the collapse of whatever remains
of an economy, health system or connection with the outside world,
create profound instability in ordinary people’s lives.
Deplorable conditions
The deplorable conditions here only make it easier for Hamas to
commit mistakes and violations. Improved internal security in Gaza and
Hamas’ victory in the 2006 elections cannot continue to be Hamas’ only
bargaining chips.
The PA’s promise that, despite its physical distance, it would not
forget Gaza’s citizens, is not holding up well. Palestinian official
ability to challenge the continuing military policies of Israel has been
gravely corroded, as events on the ground illustrate.
Many in Gaza perceive that Fatah provoked June’s seizure of power by
Hamas, and their suspicions are hardened by a sense that officials in
the West Bank are looking the other way while life in Gaza loses any
sense of dignity. In effect, Gaza is forgotten. Gaza is left voiceless.
It came as little surprise, therefore, to see how easily the Israeli
Cabinet was able to declare the Gaza Strip an ‘enemy entity’ last week,
legitimising the deliberate, and disproportionate, punishment of Gazans
through disruption of electricity and fuel supplies.
The move came in response to Palestinian home-made rockets targeting
southern Israel, which Gazans widely oppose. Israel’s declaration warns
of a self-afforded licence to continue hammering the Gaza Strip, with
barely any accountability.
Against this backdrop, Israeli and PA officials are drafting an
agreement on principles ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference
scheduled for November.
But Palestinian division and the degeneration of 1.5 million Gazans
into a humanitarian case or an ‘enemy’ humanitarian case, only diminish
the Palestinian negotiating position.
It also allows Israel’s hawks to dismiss legitimate Palestinian
demands for a just peace.
The resilience of Gazans is not so great that it will enable them to
endure the consequences of Palestinian division on top of the continuing
military incarceration from Israel.
The real victims in the battle between Hamas and the PA are the
people of Gaza. Here, ordinary lives are crippled, with access to
medical care, municipal services and utilities brutally halted.
The international community’s urgent intervention is much needed in
urging divided Palestinians to talk while demanding that Israel releases
its suffocating pressure. Any claim to a peace with Palestinians, when
Palestinians remain divided, would be a misplaced and counterproductive
gesture.
It is plain that any progress in the Middle East must begin with
building a peace among Palestinians, and it is in everyone’s best
interests, those of Palestinians, Israelis, and the international
community, to do everything in their power to allow that peace to be
achieved.
Courtesy: The Hindu
|