Friday, November 21, 2014
Gaza bombings rock Palestinian reconciliation
By Nicola Nasser*
It is
ironic that the annual commemoration of the death of Yasser Arafat should turn
into an occasion for rekindling the flames of internal strife. This was clearly
the aim of last week’s bombings that targeted the homes of Fatah leaders in Gaza
How
desperately those concerned need to be inspired by the political legacy of that
great president.
During
a visit to demonstrate solidarity with the West Bank village
of Al-Mughayyar , where settlers, under
the protective eye of occupation soldiers, set fire to a mosque, Director of
the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Kamel Abu Aliya remarked that his
ministry have documented 20 similar attacks on mosques in the West
Bank since 2011.
In
targeting mosques, the occupation is clearly targeting major symbols of
national and popular unity. Mosques, by definition, gather people together
rather than drive them apart. Inside the mosque all the factions of the
national struggle that are at odds with each other assemble as one with their
fellow men, in solid ranks with a single heart.
The
occupation has never foregone any means at its disposal to drive a wedge into
the Palestinian national ranks. This has not changed. So it is ironic that the
bombings would become an occasion to present the occupation with the gift of
factional polarisation and a war of words, at a time when the factions most
need to be united, and that they would serve to turn the national compass away
from Jerusalem, on which Arafat had set his national compass until his dying
breath.
But
here is another important point. Both sides of the dispute — Fatah and Hamas —
have condemned the attacks, denied all charges of responsibility and insist on
the need to conduct an investigation into bombings as quickly as possible.
If
these two factions can agree on these points, what would keep them from
agreeing to form a joint fact-finding committee that would include
representatives from all other factions (most notably the Islamic Jihad and the
Popular Front) and independent figures from civil society that would be
committed to publishing its findings in fulfilment of the right of the
Palestinian people to know the truth?
Moreover,
why couldn’t the creation of a joint committee such as this become a new
mechanism for enhancing national reconciliation and ending acrimonious
exchanges before they spiral out of control?
In
this regard, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says that he is not
interested in “an investigation by them” — referring to Hamas, of course — but
does not propose an alternative investigatory mechanism, he is not helping
efforts to unearth the truth, which his people are more eager to learn than the
two factions whose protracted dispute has exhausted their people.
But
the most appalling irony resides in their aversion to turning the finger of
accusation in the direction of the ultimate beneficiary from all this — namely,
the Israeli occupation authority and its state. A focus on that beneficiary
would suffice, in and of itself, to contain the dangerous repercussions of the
bombings on national unity and, simultaneously, to expose the truth about the
existence of parties who fear their interests would be jeopardised by the end
of the rift in both the occupied West Bank and blockaded Gaza Strip.
These
parties are exploited, knowingly or not, by the occupation, and collectively
they form a “fifth column” that works to obstruct the process of national
reconciliation in order to safeguard their interests.
But
even if those who carried out the bomb attacks were Palestinian this does not
obscure the identity of the first and foremost beneficiary. This, moreover,
comes at a time when the occupation is escalating its aggression against the
Palestinian people under occupation.
It is
increasing its forces in the West Bank ,
intensifying its repressive measures and moving to augment its budget for
settlement expansion. More significantly, the Israeli government recently
approved a bill of law to extend the laws of the Israeli state to the Jewish
colonies in the West Bank, as is the case in East
Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. In other words,
we are effectively speaking of another Israeli annexation bid.
The
history of dissension and strife is repeating itself. A statement by the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) urges Fatah and Hamas to
exercise restraint and to remain alert to the conspiracies that are being woven
against the Palestinian people.
It
cautions the two factions against falling into the Israeli trap of igniting
Palestinian discord and urges them to give competent agencies and relevant
political authorities sufficient time to unearth the threads of the crime.
Yet
this statement, which applies perfectly to the current situation, was issued by
the PFLP in July 2008 after four Ezz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigade members were
killed in a bombing on Gaza
Nothing
appears to have changed, apart from the fact that today Fatah accuses Hamas of
planting the bombs and the latter responds that the attack was related to an
internal conflict inside Fatah. In both cases, the occupation power and its
government come out innocent!
That
rush to judgment and finger pointing before the smoke has cleared is suspicious
and raises questions regarding the political motives behind such reactions. One
is reminded of a similar case of accusations that were hurled after the
assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafiq Al-Hariri in 2005.
Before
his blood had dried some fingers in Lebanon
pointed to Syria , even
though it was palpably evident that Damascus
The
same applies to Hamas today. After its long political experience it would
realise that it could only stand to lose from the Gaza
The
hands that carried out the bombings in Gaza
The
perpetrators may have been motivated by personal interests but the consequences
cannot possibly serve Palestinian interests, factional or otherwise. They can
only serve the occupation authority and its state, especially as the victim is
certainly the Palestinian people and their national unity.
The
fifth column that benefits from Palestinian division and that feels threatened
by its end is still searching for opportunities to sabotage Palestinian national
reconciliation. It must have seen the Gaza
It
does not take much effort to reach the above conclusion. However, building on
it by containing the unpatriotic repercussions of the attacks requires great
thought and effort in order to prevent outbursts of factional acrimony or to
keep them contained in order to safeguard national reconciliation from
collapse.
This
is essential to ensure that the reconstruction of Gaza moves forward, to
sustain the national unity government and to return the focus to solidifying
national ranks in the face of the occupation’s ongoing aggression against the
Palestinian people, their security and wellbeing and their sanctities, and
behind the political battle that the Palestinian presidency is waging in the
international arena.
* Nicola Nasser
is a veteran Arab journalist based in Birzeit, West Bank of the
Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories (nassernicola@ymail.com).
This article was translated from Arabic and first published by Al-Ahram Weekly
on November 20, 2014.
