The Palestinian handicap

[tobeornottobe]

<>

A plethora of explanations have been offered for the Palestinian unwillingness to utilize the unilateral disengagement in order to advance its supreme interest, that is, the establishment of an independent state (even if its borders are temporary, as is the case with Israel itself.)


However, all those explanations do not serve to justify the Palestinian attachment to its handicapped political repertoire, a repertoire characterized by institutional paralysis and a lack of any sense of responsibility or pragmatism.


The Palestinian fright when it comes to taking responsibility and the inability to take advantage of political opportunities to promote national interests lead to the perpetuation of a wholly ineffective strategy, narrowed down to improving the efforts to lay the blame on Israel and the occupation.


The time has come for fixing the flawed Palestinian political repertoire. It is time to accept the responsibility, develop pragmatism and look reality in the face.


Indeed, it is time for the Palestinians to separate from the Israelis and act for the establishment of a Palestinian state, organize the activity of political institutions, improve the daily lives of residents, and ensure a state monopoly on the use of military power.


No one except for the Palestinians would do this on their behalf; time is certainly not on their side, and the vision of a Palestinian state could indeed lose its substance.


<>

Israel will not be waiting for the Palestinians, and rightfully so. It will not condition its moves on Palestinian good will. Indeed, a Palestinian escape from responsibility would only serve to further disrupt the political repertoire, which is already flawed.


Only separation from Israel would allow the Palestinians to redesign the Palestinian nation in a spirit of independence. Only then, under more symmetrical conditions, and through the “rules of the game” prevalent between two political players would a new type of cooperation - security, economic, infrastructure, or other types - grow.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3091532,00.html

[Jim Sagle]

1. Excellent article.

[bemildred]

2. Racist twaddle. nt

[drdon326]

8. Really ?

pray tell.....what SPECIFIC part do you find most

"RACIST" ?

[bemildred]

10. Go through it and replace "the Palestinians" with "the Jews"

everywhere that occurs and then read it again and see what
you think of it.

[tobeornottobe]

13. OK, I did that.

It did not sound racist. It just got very confusing and made no sense.

[bemildred]

14. Opinions will vary.

People see what they choose to see.
Thanks for making the effort.

[pelsar]

3. this is the question....isnt it...

will the palestenians take advantage of the gaza pull out to improve their lives, "show us' if you will that they can live with us in peace, and do what would be the most difficult of all: take responsabillity for their own actions as a society. (They will not have complete sovereignty...but that will not prevent them from making a working society, that would be the excuse)

though i hope to see it, i honestly doubt it. Much like a spoiled child who always has someone to blame, the palestenains whether true or not always can blame israel for all its woes...the quasi govt that they have built so far hardly gives us confidence in either their ability to govern or the palestenian society to even listen to their own.

so what will happen after the pull out?...if the kassams and mortors continue to fall?......nothing good, but most important of all, they would have blown this chance for peace by losing the israeli public that wants them to have their own state

bemildred...
whats with the "racist" word again. Its an article that discusses the palestenain society, which has certain characteristics, the israeli society has its own characteristics-the actual profressions that study societies have names: called sociology and modern anthropology, but also written about by middle eastern professors,etc. If perfectly legit to write about the the characteristics of societies, as they do differ....or do you think the society of a white uban pot smoking 22yr old from denmark is the same as the society of a simple farmer in sudan?

[tobeornottobe]

4. Good point pelsar.

Would our friend bemildred deem the entire field of sociology as a racist endeavor?

[bemildred]

12. Nice straw man.

I'm not talking about "sociology", I'm talking about this
piece of racist twaddle, which has diddly to do with anything
scientific.

[bemildred]

11. I think it is racist.

This fellow has no authority whatsoever to speak for the Palestinians,
to characterize them, anything. It sounds very much like the sort of
racist babble you would hear from white people about black people
in the Jim Crow South here in the good old USA, I remember it
well. If you want to know what the Palestinians want, you should ask
them, and respect what they have to say, not spout a bunch of self-
serving crap about what you think is good for them, especially while
you have them held under a repressive military occupation the whole
time.

[tobeornottobe]

15. That's a dilution of the word.

He is not speaking for the Palestinians, he is speaking of them as an observer which is what many articles as well as posters here do. Things would be very quiet if only those with authority to speak for others spoke. And Israelis and Palestinians are not the equivalents of Whites and Blacks in Jim Crow South and those analogies stink.

[bemildred]

16. I'm bailing out on this conversation now. I've said my piece with this.

You are free to disagree with me.

He has no authority whatsoever, other than that which he assumed for himself.

The Palestinians have the obvious authority of being themselves.

The Jim Crow analogy has flaws, but it works very well in some regards,
and the utilization of this sort of racist control discourse is
characteristic of these sorts of situations, diagnostic you might say.

[tobeornottobe]

19. Yes, let's let ALL the Palestinians speak for themselves.

Palestinian farmers: Don’t leave

<>


Mahmoud, 33, a Khan Younis resident, said he is concerned about providing for his family once the pullout is complete.


“We hear in the news that in August they will leave Gush Katif, and we pray to God it won’t happen,” he said. “I ask God for them not to leave. If they do leave, there will be no food for my children.”

<>

“There’s no work in Gaza,” he said, slamming the Palestinian Authority for its corruption.


“Only PLO members, those who work for the government, will get everything (following the pullout),” he said. “We won’t get anything.”


Still, Mahmoud chooses to blame Israel for all his problems. He said he would be doing better had Israel refrained from signing agreements with late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.


“Palestinians and Jews can live together, that’s how it used to be,” he said. “I don’t believe in a man coming from Tunis, who comes here and runs the country. They sucked our blood. You brought this mess upon us to begin with.”


<>


Just like Mahmoud, 35-year-old Imad said he is also in despair over the upcoming withdrawal and is counting on a miracle to change the turn of events.


<>


“After the disengagement, my children and I will have to eat gravel,” he said. “This entire disengagement is a big problem. I don’t want this soil. Take it and give me a way to make a living. In any case I’m not going to benefit from this land. ”



He said he would happily give his house for half of what the settlers are receiving for compensation, or even work.


“I would rather live in a makeshift hut all my life, but have food for my children,” he said. “I trust in God, and in my opinion the disengagement will be carried out. And therefore, only God can help me in making a living. Before I was born my fate was already sealed.”

<>


“The best situation for everyone would be for them (settlers) not to leave. What will happen once they leave,” he said. “We will have more unemployment. Who will receive the land? Not the (Palestinian) nation.”


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3093122,00.html

[bemildred]

20. Yes, let's do that. nt

[tobeornottobe]

21. Yes, let's and

let's ensure that they don't have to speak anonomously, because when that day arrives, this conflict will find itself resolved.

[pelsar]

17. authority to speak....

so nobody can characterize anybody?.....unless they have "authority"...(whatever that means)....sure we can ask what the individual palestenian wants....they're called polls....and they're not always correct either.

well can this guy speak for the palestenians? abdel-Sattar Kassem, one of Palestine's most noted political intellectuals, because he seems to agree with the above article.....

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/re12.htm

Arafat and his people always said that those who accept the Israeli solution are traitors and they should be shot, they should be hanged. We accepted all of that in 1993 with the Oslo Accords. And Arafat considered that an achievement. That was very stupid on the side of our people. The Oslo solution was offered in 1967. And Golda Meir talked about it in 1973. In 1977, Menachem Begin, then prime minister of Israel, offered us autonomy. In 1981, Sharon, when we was minister of defence, proposed autonomy. We could have saved our lives, our homes, our trees, and avoided so many atrocities. What Arafat achieved over the years was but to lead the people from one defeat to another, from one frustration to another, until the people were ready to accept the Israeli solution of 1967-8.


....Under occupation we had it better. For instance, under occupation I used to travel in Palestine, to go to Hebron, to go to Gaza, even to go to Haifa--in my car! After Oslo I couldn't. I lost that privilege. Before Oslo the Israelis never used tanks or airplanes or helicopters against us. After Oslo they started doing so. Before Oslo I didn't have 1000 governmental employees who are doing nothing. We had few employees, with the Israelis paying their salaries, and they were more efficient than the Palestinian Authority. And the social fabric, the ethical fabric, was much stronger than it is now. People think that we have gained something? No. We are not in a better situation; we are in a worse situation.

can we say the HE speaks for the palestenians?...a person of authority?

[bemildred]

18. I am not a defender of Arafat.

This fellow is coherent and interesting.
I agree with a good deal of what he says.
You will note that he is much more careful in his language.
Clearly, he does have a right to speak.

Edit: thanks for the link.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bemildred]

23. The Prisoner of Ramallah

Here, wallow in it.

During one of my last visits, a Palestinian officer pointed to a simple table and chair near one of the windows of this bridge. Through this window a stretch of the Palestinian landscape beyond the town is visible. "Here Abu-Amar likes to sit between meetings and look out," he explained. Abu-Amar is the affectionate name for Yasser Arafat.

21 years ago, when I went to Beirut and met him for the first time, he was one of the most mobile leaders in the world, if not the most mobile of all. Once he told me that during the last five days he had visited seven countries, sleeping on the plane between destinations. At the time, his neck was in a surgical collar.

Now he has been imprisoned in the compound for more than two years. For some of the time, the conditions were worse than in an ordinary prison: he lived in a closed room without fresh air and almost without water, with the sewage blocked. He knew that at any moment Sharon's soldiers could storm in and kill him.

In a few days, he will be 74 years old. He will spend his birthday in his prison.

http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery08052003.html

[tobeornottobe]

26. August 2003. That's an old one.

I was wondering if there were any current members of the Arafat fan club.

If one goes with the theory that Arafat is an Amer-Israeli agent, then wouldn't that make Uri Avnery one too for sucking up to him so embarrasingly?

[bemildred]

27. Dunno, I don't follow that.

Like I said, I don't have a lot of use for Arafat, I consider him
to have been corrupt and incompetent, along the lines of the
Al Ahram piece Pelsar put up, and he is is dead now anyway. I'm
witholding judgement on Abbas, although he at least seems less
corrupt from what one can tell at this point, whether he will
prove an effective leader remains to be seen.

Dr. Don's comment on that piece was to wonder if Uri "swallowed".

[tobeornottobe]

29. Yes, and if one takes that piece

and connects the part about Arafat being not only corrupt and incompetent, but, also an agent of the enemy, with the Counterpunch piece with Uri praising Arafat to the skies (resulting in drdon begging the swallow question), and given the history of praise for both Arafat and Uri in certain circles, I am left wondering, how funny is this?

[bemildred]

30. How would you measure?

Why would you care who found it funny and who did not?
Is laughter worse than anger and hate?
Is disagreement and sympathy with "the enemy" a punishable offense?
Or maybe just something that needs to be condemned?
Suppose you condemn Uri, what does that get you?
Not much in my view.

[tobeornottobe]

32. OK, you don't find it

amusing. Fine.

[bemildred]

33. Don't put words in my mouth. nt

[drdon326]

34. bemildred.......

uri did.

[bemildred]

35. Hi Don.

:hi:

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tobeornottobe]

6. That's who I blame as well.

You call them the "Libbie Libbie Libs", I call them the Enablers From Hell.

[pelsar]

7. and sometimes...

the palestenians even blame themselves......(not very PC of them....)

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/re12.htm

Once shot four times for criticising the Palestinian Authority, Abdel-Sattar Kassem, one of Palestine's most noted political intellectuals, is again under fire. He spoke to Ian Douglas in Nablus about the past and future of Palestinian politics

When he (arafat) came here I started writing, telling the people he's a great liar. Don't listen to him, he's not going to make a state, he's going to fragment society, pit brother against brother, and against his sister, his father. He was a very insincere man, very deceptive. Of course he always had a lot of money. He could bribe people--so many. They just receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority for doing nothing.....


Our people still do not have the courage to face their leaders, although they are convinced that these leaders are cowards, and they are not the right people to lead. We have been facing the Israelis for years--not all of us, some of us--and we haven't been able to face 100 corrupt people in the Palestinian Authority

Lately the Palestinian Authority has been arresting people from Islamic Jihad and other organisations. You are lucky, by the way, if you are arrested by the Israelis. The Israelis, within 18 days, will tell you why they are arresting you. And if they don't have any reason they will release you. And if they interrogate somebody and if there is a confession, they will bring him to court, and he will be sentenced. But if you are arrested by the Palestinian Authority you might never know why they arrested you. And you never know for how long you will stay there...

[tobeornottobe]

9. Yes, there are those that realize that

the Enablers From Hell don't do them any good in the long run. And if one argues against the Enablers, that is a big PC no-no and the racist/bigot smears are soon applied de rigeur.

Who can forget how the Enablers continued to fawn over the corrupt liar Arafat no matter he did? Why without Arafat, we were told, the peace process could not go on, he was the only one who could bring peace, he was the key to peace. Hahahaha. Now that's funny. They were partially right. His death brings some peace to many.

[Coastie for Truth]

31. My append was deleted

I guess because of the terminology I used. So I shall use the term in the future.

[Jack Rabbit]

24. This piece is hardly above criticism

Calling it "racist twaddle" is a bit extreme.

The heart of the piece is here:

Three main reasons serve as an obstacle to such scenario unfolding: first, a lack of Israeli political will, due to the lack of faith in the Palestinian Authority’s good will and ability to function; second, a lack of American will, despite all the declarations, to display deep involvement in the process.

The Americans estimate chances of the process succeeding are low, and are concerned about their prestige being undermined at other Middle East theaters.

Finally, we have the flawed Palestinian “political repertoire.”

In line with Palestinian political tradition, Abbas presents the ultimate demand, premised on three principles.

The three principles are an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, east Jerusalem as the future Palestinian capital, and recognition of the Palestinian Right of Return.

A settlement will be a compromise. For anybody on either side to take a position that one side's demands are just and nonnegotiable and other's are nonsense is disingenuous.

This article is presented from an Israeli point of view:

(The Palestinian) insistence to focus the political and public relations effort in a bid to bring Israel to agree on those final-status agreement principles, under conditions where neither Israeli politicians nor the Israeli public are prepared for such demands, is doomed to be another stinging failure.

One could present a Palestinian point of view, criticizing the recent expansion of settlements, Israel's insistence that this activity continue and the apparent demand that this new housing be made permanent and say that such demands "under conditions where neither Palestinian politicians nor the Palestinian public are prepared for such demands" will doom any negotiations that try to enforce them or try to treat them like this isn't even an issue. One might even call this an "Israeli handicap".

The fact is that each side is going to have to make some painful concessions that are not going to please the extremists in its midst. It is difficult to imagine a permanent peace accord affording Palestinians a right of return or Israeli settlements on Palestinian soil. Borders have never been permanently declared, but the Green Line will still be the starting point of negotiations for permanent boundaries.

[bemildred]

25. Mea culpa.

Hi Jack.
:hi:

[tobeornottobe]

28. Yes, a bit extreme, thank you.

That it's not above criticism is par since I have yet to see what isn't.