What's next?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

Whatever lies ahead after Abbas's notification of not seeking the Palestinian presidency again, the status quo ante is over for good, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah



The recent decision by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas not to seek a second term in office has already thrown into question the continued survival of the Oslo peace process as well as the future of the PA itself.

Most Palestinians have interpreted Abbas's decision as a frank -- though belated -- admission of the failure of the peace process with Israel.

In his speech on Thursday, 5 November, Abbas didn't mourn that process much. But he did suggest that it was pointless to walk any further along the current path given Israel's adamant refusal to stop settlement expansion and the Obama administration's refusal to force Israel to give up the spoils of the 1967 war.

Abbas did ask the Palestinian people to continue to believe in the eventuality of peace. However, he also gave the impression that true and just peace with Israel was a distant dream if not unrealistic.

It is still uncertain if Abbas will reconsider his decision under the influence of incessant calls to that effect by his supporters, especially within the Fatah organisation.

However, most Palestinian pundits seem to unanimously agree that the Palestinian leader won't do so unless he receives real "concessions" from Israel with regards to the settlements issue. Otherwise, Abbas would lose face and give Israel and the US an additional reason not to take him seriously the next time he triggers a crisis over the peace process.

Abbas's decision has raised many questions as to how the PA will survive his absence and the virtual death of the peace process. After all, that process, which provided a certain promise that the Palestinians would eventually rid themselves of Israel's military occupation, has always been the main raison d'être of the PA. Hence, the PA would be effectively reduced to a mere subcontractor of the Israeli occupation if that promise vanished as most Palestinians seem to believe it has.

But the problem goes beyond the ostensible failure and imminent collapse of the peace process. Abbas is probably the most moderate Palestinian leader from the Israeli and Western viewpoint. It is inconceivable, at least at this juncture, that any other Fatah substitute who would replace Abbas would be willing to accommodate Israeli whims, especially on matters related to Jerusalem and the settlements.

Hence one Fatah leader in Ramallah questioned the "wisdom" of appointing a successor to Abbas under the current political conditions. "What would any potential successor to Abbas be able to do? Abbas has given the Americans and Israelis all they want. He went to the greatest extent possible in order to demonstrate Palestinian desire for peace. But look how they have treated him."

The source added, on condition of anonymity: "They wanted Abbas to be a full-fledged collaborator working against the interests of his own people. They were not willing to accept a dignified Palestinian partner. They didn't want partners, they only wanted to see collaborators, such as the current rulers of Afghanistan and Iraq."

(emphasis mine)

read on...
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/972/re1.htm

[LeftishBrit]

1. Interesting - though I would never fully trust Amayreh. ever since he has written articles stating

that American politics is controlled by 'Jews' and elsewhere has vehemently attacked Amnesty International for daring to criticize Hamas - ironically sounding rather similar to some extreme pro-Israel sources describing the same organization:

www.creative-i.info/?p=4934

Nonetheless, despite the source's dubiousness, the issue is a real one. And seems to be a vicious circle: no strong and unified Palestinian leadership means limited progress of the peace process, and failure of the peace process increases the weakness of the Palestinian leadership.

I hope that the vicious circle can be reversed, perhaps with a completely new leader.