Bush's
Real Agenda In Palestine
By Ramzy Baroud
28 July, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The
Hamas government crackdown on Mohamed Dahlan's corrupt security forces
and affiliated gangs in the Gaza Strip in June appears to mark a turning
point in the Bush administration's foreign policy regarding Palestine
and Israel. The supposed shift, however, is nothing but a continuation
of Washington's efforts to stifle Palestinian democracy, to widen the
chasm separating Hamas and Fatah, and to ensure the success of the Israeli
project, which is focussed on colonising and annexing what remains of
Palestinian land.
It's vital that we keep this
seemingly obvious reality at the forefront of any political discussion
dealing with the conflict: the occupied Palestinian territories represent
a mere 22 per cent of historic Palestine. Currently, Israel is on a
quest to reduce this even further by officially conquering the West
Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Gaza is only relevant to this issue
insofar as it represents a golden opportunity to divide Palestinians
further, to confuse their national project and to present a grim picture
of them as an unruly people who cannot be trusted as peace partners
to the far more civilised and democratic Israelis.
By prolonging Gazan strife,
thus the Palestinian split, Israel will acquire the time required to
consolidate its colonial project, and to further rationalise its unilateral
policies vis-à-vis matters that should, naturally, be negotiated
with the Palestinians.
Moreover, one must not lose
sight of the regional context. The Israeli lobby and its neo- conservative
allies in the US administration and in the media are eager for a military
showdown with Iran, which would weaken Syria's political standing in
any future negotiation with Israel in regards to the occupied Golan
Heights, and which would obliterate the military strength of Hizbullah,
proven to be the toughest enemy Israel has ever faced in its decades-long
conflict with the Arabs.
Thus, its was of paramount
importance for Hamas's "rise" to be linked directly to its
relations with Iran; such ties, although greatly exaggerated, are now
readily used as a rationale to explain Bush's seemingly historic move
from backing Israel from a discreet distance (so as not to appear too
involved) to initiating an international peace conference aimed solely
at isolating Hamas, which would further weaken the Iranian camp in the
Middle East.
It also explains the abundant
support offered by autocratic Arab regimes to Abbas, and Arab leaders'
warnings about the rise of an Iranian menace. On the one hand, eliminating
Hamas would send an unambiguous message to their own political Islamists;
on the other, it's a message to Iran to back off from a conflict that
has long been seen as exclusively Arab-Israeli. The irony is that to
ensure the relevance of the Arab role in the conflict, some Arabs are
making historic moves to normalise with Israel, and in return for nothing.
Similarly, to ensure its
own relevance, Abbas's Fatah is actively coordinating with Israel to
destroy its formidable opponent, which represents the great majority
of Palestinians in the occupied territories and arguably abroad. For
this, assistance is required: money to ensure the loyalty of his followers,
weapons to oppress his opponents, political validation to legitimise
himself as a world leader, and new laws to de-legitimise the legal,
democratic process that produced the Hamas victory of January 2006.
In a conflict that is known for its agonisingly slow movement, nothing
short of a miracle can explain how Abbas received all of these perks
at an astronomical speed.
The moment Abbas declared
his arguably unconstitutional emergency government, the suffocating
sanctions were lifted -- or more accurately, on the West Bank only.
To ensure that no aid reaches anyone who defies his regime, Abbas's
office revoked the licences of all NGOs operating in Palestine, making
it necessary for them to submit new applications. Those loyal to Abbas
are in. The rest are out.
Weapons and military training
have also arrived in abundance. Palestinians who have been denied the
right to defend themselves, and for decades described as "terrorist",
are suddenly the recipients of many caches of weapons coming from all
directions. Israel announced a clemency to Fatah militants; the freedom
fighters turned gangsters will no longer defend their people against
Israeli brutality, but will be used as a militant arm ready to take
on Hamas when the time comes.
As for regional and international
legitimacy, the Bush administration "decided" to change its
policy to one of direct engagement, calling for an international Middle
East peace conference. The conference will be about peace in name only,
for it will not deal with any of the major grievances of the Palestinians
that have fuelled the conflict for years, such as the problem of refugees,
Jerusalem and the drawing of borders. Israel is of course willing to
"concede" if these efforts will reframe the conflict as exclusively
Palestinian, and as long as there is no objection to its illegal annexation
of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The reality is that there
has been no change in American foreign policy regarding Palestine. The
US, Israel and a few Arab regimes are pursuing the same old policy,
which is merely being adjusted to fit the new political context.
While Abbas and his men might
bask in the many bonuses they are receiving in exchange for their role
in destroying the Palestinian national project, the future will prove
that Israel's "goodwill gestures", the support of the Israeli
lobby in Washington, and the latter's generosity will not last. Abbas
could as easily find himself a prisoner in the basement of his own presidential
compound, just like his predecessor, if he dares assert the legitimate
rights of his people, by far the ultimate losers in this shameless battle.
Ramzy Baroud
is a Palestinian-American author and editor of PalestineChronicle.com.
His work has been published in numerous newspapers and journals worldwide,
including the Washington Post, Al Ahram Weekly and Le Monde Diplomatique.
His latest book is The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a
People's Struggle (Pluto Press, London). Read more about him on his
website: ramzybaroud.net
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