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News > September 15, 2003

End of the Road

U.S. map leads nowhere

By Charmaine Seitz

Mahmoud Abbas resigned on September 6.

Palestinians and others who had watched the growing power struggle between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and senior Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat greeted the announcement of Abbas’ resignation with measured relief.

“Either we have reconciliation or we have another government, but to have a continuation of the crisis—this is shameful,” said Palestinian Legislative Council member Hatem Abdel Qader in the midst of the fracas.

But the resolution of that short-term problem through the subsequent appointment of Ahmad Qurei, architect of the 1993 peace accords with Israel, has only brought both Palestinians and Israelis full circle again to face the faltering of their respective national dreams. With or without the roadmap—the U.S.-backed plan to return to talks—some are saying that the two-state solution has failed.

The current Israeli leadership, writes Israeli analyst Yossi Alpher in the web journal Bitterlemons.org, believes it can force Palestinians to accept a “handful of disconnected enclaves that take up about 50 percent of the West Bank and are surrounded by settlements.” Alpher calls this plan a non-starter for both Palestinians and Israelis seeking a secure home. “In order for Israel to continue as a state, it must depend on Palestine as a viable democratic neighbor,” says Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi. “It cannot swallow up Palestine.”

Abbas was appointed prime minister in April after the international community demanded that he take the reins from Arafat. He came to office bearing a plan supported by the political center to stop attacks against Israel by obtaining a unilateral truce from the Palestinian opposition groups (indeed, he was a true believer that Palestinians must change their tactics). But for all of Israel’s rejection of Arafat, it did little to show support for Abbas’ leadership and made only minor gestures of compromise. Nor did the United States press Israel to declare an end to violence “against Palestinians everywhere,” or halt settlement construction, both required by the roadmap plan.

The Bush administration did, however, demand that Palestinians forcefully disarm opposition groups and then, when Abbas began bleeding political support, hurried his demise by backing him emphatically. (One of Arafat’s parting barbs was reportedly to call Abbas “Karzai,” after the U.S.-installed leader of Afghanistan.) Two weeks ago, when Abbas called for a vote of confidence in the Palestinian legislature to reaffirm his policies, the United States consul in Jerusalem called key figures in the Legislative Council to warn them that a vote against Abbas would be a vote against the United States itself.

“I told them that their interference was backfiring on them,” said one of those on the target call list.

The handing of the premiership to Qurei, known as Abu Ala, thus solved the internal Palestinian struggle without an embarrassing vote against Abbas. It has done nothing, however, to alleviate the problems that took him from office: Israel’s refusal to make substantive efforts, the failure of U.S. policy, and fractured Palestinian politics—all which doomed the roadmap plan. “Maybe Abu Ala can do something,” shrugs Abdel Qader now. “Otherwise, he is chasing [down] a closed road.” His attitude tells of the uncertainty with which Palestinians are viewing the next step.

“The Sharon government has been trying to put an end to the Palestinian national movement in the form of the [Palestinian] Authority, which has been more or less paralyzed completely by the complete occupation of the West Bank,” says sociologist and political scientist Jamil Hilal. As recent events show, the exercise of Palestinian leadership means little when Israeli troops are confiscating more land, preventing travel between towns, taking security control of areas where Palestinian police work and arresting the Palestinian grassroots.

Now that the Palestinian Authority has been rendered useless, says Hilal, Israel is systematically removing the Authority’s militant opposition. In late August and early September, Israel targeted and killed at least eleven Hamas figures. Two major attempts on the lives of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Mahmoud Zahhar failed, but killed three family members and associates and injured 50 Palestinian civilians. In retaliation, Hamas has killed 15 Israelis in two suicide bombings.

But Israel is running out of targets. Despite the cordon of checkpoints preventing Palestinians from moving out of their towns, despite the nearly 600-kilometer barrier that is being constructed to keep Palestinians in their population centers and out of Israel, attacks on Israelis continue. The Israeli cabinet debates frequently the merits of removing or killing Arafat himself, but the prospect is fraught with dangers.

“I think the Israelis are also in crisis,” says Palestinian Minister of Labor Ghassan Khatib. “They can’t not do anything, but they have run out of options.”

The stalemate reveals two nations in deep and opposing ideological emergencies. “There is a real chance that ours will be the last Zionist generation,” former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg recently wrote in Forward magazine. “There may yet be a Jewish state in the Middle East, but it will be a different sort, strange and ugly.” Burg’s bitter article—published first in Hebrew—laid down what he sees as Israel’s choices today: get out of the occupied territories for good, or become the minority guardians of an apartheid state. Caught between a paralyzed leadership and a muddled national strategy, Palestinians face equally bitter choices.


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  • Reader Comments

    After reading Avraham Burg’s article which can be found on the link below, I was very depressed. I am not living in the America that I was educated about in school. This has been upsetting for some time, however it doesn’t come as too much of a shock. It’s hitting me more at this time as I have only recently relocated back to America after living abroad for nearly 20 years. My relationship with Israel on the other hand, has always been a strong part of my life. I have had a variety of attitudes about the situation between the Israelis and Palestinians, swinging from liberal progressive to narrow and right-winged. In my heart, as a spiritual person, I have a belief in the potential for human growth toward the pinnacle of mutual understanding. From this perspective my deep love of Israel as the Holy Land and Divine inheritence has been nurtured. I do believe that there is a place for criticism of the country Israel. I am also not equating the country Israel with the Land itself. When I read the article by Burg referenced here, my heart sunk with the realization of just how bad things are within the Country Israel. It is so easy to focus on Palestinian violence and judge it evil. To see Israelis expanding communities and trying to be prosperous in a land that has a biblical connection to our people, is harder to describe as evil. What I wasn’t focussing on were the politicians and ‘special interest groups’ carrying out the expansion and at whose expense. It’s a terribly sad situation for all who would truly welcome peace for all. In the self-help series of books by Harville Hendrix on getting and holding onto love in relationships, he introduces a concept that I am convinced is needed throughout the world wherver there is conflict. The idea is that each partner in the relationship accepts to be primarily concerned with meeting the needs of the other. This requires reconcilling the fear of self annihilation (which in the Middle East is particularly real) and developing the trust that if both parties are true in this commitment each one’s needs will really be met by the other. It is ironic that this strategy comes from books for couples, as I believe that affecting change on this level in our interpersonal relationships is truly the begining of world peace. If only the Israelis and Palestinians would appreciate that they are connected by a bond stronger than marriage. www.arabworldbooks.com/arab/avraham.htm

    Posted by chaim on Sep 16, 2003 at 4:13 PM

    Chaim, I truly appreciate your perspective.  Although I believe that there are many peoples around this globe and in this country who do commmit themselves to caring for the world about them, there is also the insidious and opposing influence (by those who benefit from turning us all into consumers or sheep) which defines an individual’s worth by the quantityof their material possession or by how self-righteous they can be (rather than the quality of what they contribute to society). 

    If you take a moment to reflect upon who receives the greatest rewards in this country, you will find that it is not those who invest their lives either meeting the basic needs others or trying to empower people i.e. committing to social justice.  Are teachers or humanitarians or firefighters or alliances for human rights and social justice or economic development advocates rewarded anywhere near professional football players, stock exchange gurus, movie “stars” or political pundits? 

    I believe that these times reflect a cultural and/or spiritual battle in our country between those who genuinely wish to contribute to the well-being of their neighbors/communities/nation/world (rather than demonize or persecute or minimize others simply because they hold different perspectives) and those who are either the brainwashers or who are brainwashed into pursuing materialistic goals and/or self-righteousness in order to feel some sense of self-importance or worth.

    I think what makes me the saddest and weighs most heavy on my heart is the indifference about the fundamental worth and value of every human being.  There is what I consider a dysfunctional tendency in our world to persecute and destroy first, ask questions and pursue understanding later. 

    On the other hand, I do see humanity evolving as well.  While the process of life seems so slow towards that peace and prosperity most everyone sincerely wishes to experience, all things are proceeding towards that possibility.  It just takes a lot of mistakes and a lot of time. 

    Posted by Just Me on Sep 17, 2003 at 7:56 AM

    All sides need to think through the consequences of violence.  I think the palestinians have lacked a leader with the courage and conviction of a Gandhi to resist occupation with peace and dignity rather than hatred and vengeance that some practice.  The blame lies also with the US in that is has nurtured a mini superpower with extremists in power who support occupation, ethnic-cleansing and murder. The constantly repeated mantra of terrrorism must be stopped is given as an excuse to allow these israeli extremists to maintain the status quo and proceed with further land aquisition using a ‘security fence’ that steals even more land from the Arabs. Until the US administration actually practices even handedness rather than hypocrisy the situation will not improve.  The palestinians understand there are israelis who campaign for their rights and vice versa.  It is necessary for these people to link with each other and build a peace movement that cannot be ignored.  A mightily difficult task, but one that must be achieved.

    Posted by GA on Sep 19, 2003 at 8:20 PM

    Whatever happened to the excellent Saudi peace plan, besides being bashed to death by Bush and Israel.

    Posted by Ronnie on Sep 22, 2003 at 5:28 AM

    The Saudi plan had two things against it from the start.  Firstly, the lukudites will never accept a plan that is based on giving up ANY land.  Secondly the proposal wasnt really fleshed out and didnt tackle the problem of the palestinian refugees.  As some authors have indicated the stage by stage plan cannot work as the opportunity for reneging on agreements comes about during each stage.  The only answer is a total implementation of necessary conditions in one go.  This must be implemented by neutral monitors which the Israeli’s have never agreed to, even when they involve a large US contingent.  What can be fairer than neutral monitors?  For the Sharonites only Israel can act as judge jury and executioner.  Therefore reshime change must occur in Israel before peace can occur.

    Posted by GA on Sep 22, 2003 at 9:56 PM

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