Hour for Statesmanship

The Lvov Ghetto, Spring of 1942.

Editorial

20 August 2007

THE Israeli military’s decision to open a border crossing with the Gaza Strip for a few hours to allow fuel deliveries to the territory might solve the immediate problem of darkness, but the light at the end of the tunnel is still a long way from shining. Going by the dire predictions of UN officials, unless Israel eases border restrictions there could be a humanitarian disaster in Gaza not limited to fuel restrictions.

Gaza is a sealed-off ghetto, politically and economically. It is now almost entirely dependent on aid, with practically everyone reliant on handouts provided by the United Nations. The strip risks becoming a virtually 100 percent aid-dependent, closed down and isolated community within a matter of months, or even weeks, if the present regime of closures continues.

Israel has sealed off Gaza from the outside world since the takeover of Gaza by Hamas. Hamas and Fatah did the rest with their bloody feud, which effectively divided the Palestinian camp into two. Perhaps they wouldn’t be skidding down this steep slope had Fatah gracefully accepted the decisive win of Hamas in the parliamentary elections. It is, though, too late to wish what might have been. Still, the Palestinian cause may still be able to garner sufficient political will and enable leaders to emerge who see beyond their own or their factions’ interests, to chart a new course. A vast majority of Palestinians are for reconciliation and for ending a feud detrimental to their political aspirations.

Some Israeli politicians have already proposed that their government should start talking with Hamas, whereas Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinians, absurdly refuses to open a dialogue with his former prime minister, Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh. In this, Abbas does not represent the predominant opinion of his people who want a strong, unified Palestinian voice.

Abbas and his associates have placed their faith in Israel but have offered no evidence, however, that their position is correct. The historical record, Israel’s relentless territorial advance, as well as analyses of Israeli political forces and mindset, tell us that, in the absence of any competing force, will continue to expand and consolidate its colonial presence. If it were to offer Abbas anything, it would be at best a small, shredded and feeble entity.

Abbas has not just Israel as an opposing force; he has denigrated the Hamas-elected government and is discriminating against Palestinians who are affiliated to it. In the end, however, he must choose between being a leader and the compromises of real politick.

Hamas cannot remain the sole power in the Gaza Strip in the long term. It is impossible for the movement to succeed in running Gaza’s affairs under the suffocating siege it is under. This, then, is the hour for statesmanship. Members of the Palestinian intelligentsia must highlight what is common. They need to put forward constructive ideas, not contribute to the break between the two movements and the two regions.