I sat down with Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, at her Ramallah office. We shared a plate of "healthy stuff," fresh fruits and vegetables -- in contrast to the cigarette smoke-filled rooms of the Palestinian Authority's headquarters, the Muqata -- and discussed the PLO's strategies for 2012.
1. You were in Cairo three weeks ago for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks. How are the unity talks being affected by the Quartet's January 26 deadline?
Dr. Ashrawi: I don't even think about it as a deadline, because I would hate to link our own internal domestic issues to what the Quartet says. Frankly speaking, the Quartet hasn't been doing anything. It's just all show and no substance; all talk and no action. And I don't see why we should adopt their deadlines knowing that they're not doing anything, and all they're doing is asking us to negotiate. And they should know better because they are seeing what's happening on the ground.... We don't have anything against talks. But we have something against talks that are used for a pretext to provide Israel with cover -- legal cover, protection, and time to destroy the two-state solution.... Now either they rectify the negotiations, the so-called process, or we look for something else.
2. Is that "something else" a United Nations strategy?
Yes. We need to protect ourselves, we need to solidify and empower ourselves internally. We need to have peaceful, nonviolent resistance. We need to continue to build our institutions and work on unification. We need to repair our democracy. We need to have elections. All of these are internal issues. We need to work with the internationally community not just to get recognition but to get access - to all different instruments of accountability: legal, judicial, and so on.
I don't know why the whole world has to wax hysterical at our trying to get some accountability for Israel. Why do they insist that Israel has to be given preferential treatment and remain above the law? Of course we want to join all of the different U.N. organizations... And I don't see why everyone wants us ahead of time to promise that we won't hold Israel accountable. This is ridiculous. Why should we relinquish the victim's right to seek protection?
3. Do you think that the P.L.O. should be pursuing on a global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S.) strategy?
I think that B.D.S. is a civil society initiative and one that should be pursued. But I do not believe that every single popular or civil society initiative should immediately be passed on by official circles. I think it's important that B.D.S. continues, and I can see how it really has upset the powers that be in Israel because they are... passing laws [in the Israeli Knesset against boycotting Israel].... B.D.S. worked with South Africa, and I think it will work with Israel. Of course it takes time, and there's always a time-lag, a gap between public awareness and pressure, and a shift in policy.
4. The October prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit seemed to show Israel's capacity to work with Hamas and Egypt's ability to play a brokering role. Do you think this presents a new paradigm for the peace process? Is there further opportunity there?
No -- clearly, Israel is very comfortable negotiating with Hamas and it has been negotiating [with Hamas] directly or indirectly: directly, on issues of daily life; and indirectly on larger issues. So I don't think Israel has any problems negotiating with Hamas. On the contrary, they are very happy that Hamas has delivered security in Gaza... Israel cares about security first and foremost -- that's it -- and whoever delivers security is kosher enough. [Israel] still enjoys calling them terrorists but Hamas has not been involved in any act of violence for a long time. And on the contrary, [Hamas] has stopped others... But [Israel] just wants to make sure that the rest of the world calls Hamas "terrorists" and doesn't talk to it.
5. I noticed that the PLO was supposed to hold the presidency of the Arab League this term, but it went straight to Qatar. Was this because there was too much happening in Palestine?
I think so. That is what [PLO Chairman] Abu Mazen and [Palestinian Foreign Minister] Riyad Malki told us. The thing is that we were keen on having the presidency, and then when this whole issue started [at the U.N.] and everybody was mobilized to go all over the world... we couldn't afford not to have people engaged in this effort. We were a handful doing the job of scores of people. It wasn't possible to carry out the tasks of the presidency of the Arab League and at the same time carry out the tasks that were supposed to be carried out, in particular by the Foreign Ministry and so on. To me, that was a logical reason.
Many people are skeptical. The Syrians were upset... and they felt that by doing this we gave Qatar more power over them. But nobody was thinking about resolutions on Syria at this time. However, whether there was any other political motive, I cannot tell you. But from what we discussed, there was none.
6. Do think that after one, two, or three years the PLO would say that it is time to pursue a one-state option? Would the PLO seek citizenship from the State of Israel and the right to vote?
It probably might be even sooner than one, two, or three years, because at the pace that is being pursued by this Israeli government, they really are making sure that the two-state solution is dead. They are trying to advance "Greater Israel." And I said, if they want to work for Greater Israel then we will work for historical Palestine... So they better not go down that path, but they are. It's a very dangerous path - it's irresponsible and it will lead to the perpetuation of the conflict. However, the decision to adopt the two-state solution and the partitioning of Palestine was taken by the PNC [Palestinian National Council] in 1988, and the only body empowered to change that policy -- because it is a transformational decision -- would be the PNC.
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“Wednesday of this week saw members of Jerusalem’s Christian population queueing near the Jaffa Gate to receive their free Christmas trees provided by ‘Keren Kayemet LeIsrael’, the Jewish National Fund. These trees are Arizona Cedars, specially grown for this purpose in the Jerusalem Forest.
Recently, ZAKA, which is Israel’s dominant non-governmental lifesaving, rescue and recovery organization together with Kulanana, which is an initiative of about 20 Israeli NGOs of which ZAKA is a member, ran a course for Arab women on home safety, accident prevention and providing post-accident care during those “four golden minutes,” the critical time that can make the difference between life and death.
One of the forty-five Arab women who attended the course, had recently found herself in a hopeless situation when her child was injured at home, said: “The skills we have gained on this course are priceless.””
ONLY in Israel is the Christian population increasing
Even in Bethlehem some estimates put the Christian population down at 12% since the Pals took over the town in 1995. When Israeli had it is was majority Christian
Now the Christian priests sometimes blame Israel for this. But no ones fooled not in this era of the internet- since any fool can quicklY find its because of Muslim repression
not that the local palestinian Christian priests will tell u this
What a pathetic betrayal of their Christian brethren - an act if disgraceful expediency aimed at deflecting the truth away from the Palestinian Muslims”
The Peres Peace Centre has a special fund known as ‘Saving children’ that enables hundreds of Palestinian children to receive free medical treatment in Israel. However, Palestinian Kids Die as a Result of PA Boycott
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported (PCHR) on December 4th that two Palestinian children, members of the same family, died recently as the result of a political decision by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. For the full article see http://tinyurl.com/caevz2h by "Missing Piece" dated Dec 18th
On November 2nd The PA ministry issued a decision decreasing the transfer of seriously ill patients to Israel, citing the high cost of treatment in Israeli hospitals.
The measure has nothing to with finances however, but was the result of the long standing PA policy of boycotting Israel.
There have even been cases in which funds for treatment were raised among the Jewish public in Israel. The best known example of this was the story of Mohammed Abu Mustafa, a Palestinian baby from Gaza who was born without an immune system. The baby was saved by Israeli doctors after a anonymous Jewish Israeli donated the costs of the treatment.
decisions to deny seriously ill Palestinians treatment in Israeli hospitals has nothing to do with finances but everything to do with the ongoing political war against Israel by the Palestianian Authority.
They would rather kill their people than accept Israeli help”
P.P.S. Sadly, some naive people, within and without Israel, are yet to realize how they have been fooled during the past nearly 19 years.
For a simple reason: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Palestinian Authority leadership has finally realized that it will not be able to be offered more, and more and more as previous Israeli administrations have so far done, only to have those offers be pocketed by the PLO and then demand more.
The present Israeli government, after having seen what the PLO has done - or not done - with Mr. Rabin's views - see his speech of October 1995 at the Knesset - and the offers made by Mr. Barak in 2000, Sharon's gesture of 2005 and Olmert's offer of 2008, has insisted, rightly, that at the end of negotiations and the signing of a peace treaty the PLO would have to: 1) accept Israel's right to be, to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and 2) accept the peace treaty as the end of the conflict and the end of all future demands.
The PLO, obviously, can't live with such demands as they contradict both its Charter and the whole thrust of its strategy: to bring about Israel's demise in stages.
Hence, the PLO is not at the table, and instead, trying to manipulate the rest of the world in similar ways it has manipulated Israeli governments since 1993..., but no more...!!
to commemorate Fatah anniversary
As part of the PA TV broadcasts to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the Fatah movement, PA TV chose to once again glorify the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history with two music videos glorifying Dalal Mughrabi and the attack she led.
In 1978 a group of terrorists led by Mughrabi sailed from Lebanon to Israel to carry out a terror attack. They hijacked a bus and killed 37 Israeli civilians.
For full story:
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=6090
In question 4, Ashrawi almost suggests that it's a useful partnership.
I see many calls for a one state solution on this forum, but I have yet to see anyone explain in a credible manner how it could work. Israel is an existing State. The Palestinians want their own State. The Israelis will never consent to give significant power over Israelis to Palestinians, and the Palestinians are struggling to end Israeli power over Palestinians. Add to this the fact that at the present time what we are seeing around the world are cobbled together States coming apart.
IMO, there is no power on earth that can make the Israelis and the Palestinians share power and stay together in a single State.
1) The San Remo Conference decisions, 1920
2) The League of Nations decisions, 1922
3) The United Nations Charter, Article 80, 1945
4) The United Nations Security Council Resolution, 242, 1967.
All of the above that make up the legal infrastructure of the corpus of documents dubbed 'international law' do not suggest or even imply the need to divide western "Palestine"/Eretz Israel (Land of Israel), i.e. the part of "Palestine" located between the River and the Sea. The reason is simple: "Palestine" was already partitioned between the Arabs and the Jews back in 1921 and 1922; 77% of it was handed over to the Arabs who, subsequently renamed their part of "Palestine" Jordan. The remaining 23% was assigned by the international community to be "the national home for the Jewish people".
Thus, instead of either talking about "one-state" or "two-states" within the 23% portion of "Palestine" assigned legally for the Jewish people, it is most appropriate to talks about how the Arabs residing within those 23% of "Palestine" should be integrated economically with the nation-state of the Jewish people and politically and socially with the Arab state of "Palestine", i.e. Jordan.
The Israeli claim is based on a myth of righteousness and self-pity. The Palestinian claim is simpler: "Like Israelis, we live here and we're human."