POST WAR GAZA: Where do we go from here, more war-after-war between Israel and GAZA? No, Finally, there is HOPE, as a new political bond between HAMAS and the PLO is forming. Israel’s leading political columnist, Nahum Barnea, suggests that the War has brought an end to the Israeli-induced artificial separation between Gaza and the West Bank. Nahum Barnea publicly exposed the failure of Israels strategy to divorce the West Bank from Gaza. Tucked in a 4,000-plus-word column was an insightful thought rarely stated so clearly in public and certainly not by a leading Israeli analyst: “The Israeli government must aim for a fundamental change in the reality in Gaza, and perhaps, finally, even change the very nature of Israels relations with the Palestinians as a whole,” Barnea argued. “Israels attempt to separate the West Bank from Gaza, to divide and conquer, has failed. Vision is needed. Hope is needed. Not only for Israelis, but Gazans too.” ■ While Palestinians and international experts have known for some time that the justification for the Gaza blockade and internal restrictions of movement was political, the issue gains importance when it is supported by a leading Israeli pundit. Barnea admits that the extreme restrictions on the movement of Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank was a strategic decision based on the colonial theory of “divide and rule” and unrelated to any security issue, as is often alleged. What will be welcome in Ramallah and Gaza, however, is that the unity government has survived and will be the main instrument of support for Gaza. The reconciliation agreement between the PLO and Hamas, publicly trashed by Netanyahu and arguably one of the reasons for the war on Gaza, has now become acceptable for practical reasons: Israel wants Gazans to be able to receive money, including salaries, the day after the war ends. ■ PALESTINIANS NEW UNITY GOVERNMENT INCLUDES HAMAS: (2 JUN 2014) Jerusalem— Palestinians overcame last-minute squabbles to form a new “Government of National Unity”. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, affirmed during a conference, titled “Half a Century Since the Formation of the PLO,” organized by the Palestinian History and Documentation Center in Gaza, that Hamas’ entry into the PLO aimed to address the contentious political issues upon which Palestinians disagreed. He indicated that Hamas recognized the PLO to be the legitimate representative of the people during the Cairo talks of 2005. The announcement of the transitional government represents a significant step toward ending a seven-year feud between the Palestinian political factions that separately control the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It also appears to skirt, barely, U.S. prohibitions on aid to a Palestinian government that has “undue” Hamas presence or influence. ■The Palestinian Unity Government was sworn in on June 2, 2014 in Ramallah on the basis of a presidential decree by President Mahmoud Abbas, after Fatah and Hamas came to an agreement on the makeup of the cabinet. Implementation of the reconciliation agreement, which includes elections in approximately six months for the presidency and the Palestinian Council (the PA parliament), Abbas and the new Prime Minister made it clear that the unity government is committed to the three conditions of the Quartet – opposition to violence, acceptance of existing agreements, and recognition of Israel – as well as security cooperation with Israel. ■ Hamas for the first time agreed to the presence of Palestinian Authority (PA) forces in the Gaza Strip. The main achievement for Hamas in the negotiations on the government is the preservation of an independent military force in the Gaza Strip (along with retention of the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs without a minister from the PLO, which Abbas wanted), even though security responsibility is transferred to the unity government. HAMAS handing over of the reins is conditional on its participation in the PLO, the largest Palestinian organization at home and abroad. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas eagerly awaits joining the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which are controlled by its political rival Fatah, pursuant to the provisions of the reconciliation agreement signed between them in Gaza City at the end of April. Hamas intends to effectively participate in representing the Palestinian people before the regional and international community, as the PLO is considered to be their legitimate representative. ■ The question that needs to be answered is whether the Israeli establishment will indeed internalize this issue and move toward finding a solution to the situation in Gaza that takes into consideration contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza. Israel will likely prevent Palestinian ministers from traveling between the two areas and prevent participation by Hamas officials in sessions of the Palestinian Council. In addition, Israel could sabotage the elections, and in particular, interfere with Hamas’s participation. However, as a result of this policy Israel is liable to be perceived in the region and around the world as an irrelevant actor on this matter. Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al-Monitor that he is skeptical of the Israeli government’s interest in a viable political settlement. He said, “We have seen three ground wars into Gaza in the last six years, and this is bound to be repeated. I dont see any viable chances for a political settlement that would have Israel withdraw from the West Bank.” Muasher, a former Jordanian foreign minister, also said a peaceful third intifada might be “the only point of pressure that would get Israelis to rethink their future.” ■ But, the good news is that at last there is a chance at negotiating peace with Israel, because the two competing Palestinian voices, PLO and HAMAS, are in one accord on elements of a peace negotiation with Israel, including Israels lifting the 7 year blockade on GAZA, and a Second State for Palestine with Israel withdrawing to the 1967 land boundary. al-monitor/pulse/ru/originals/2014/07/israel-palestine-gaza-war-hamas-abbas-peace-kerry-solution.html canadafreepress/index.php/article/the-palestinian-unity-government al-monitor/pulse/ru/originals/2014/06/hamas-gaza-political-influence-join-plo.html al-monitor/pulse/ru/originals/2014/06/hamas-gaza-political-influence-join-plo.html
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 20:01:03 +0000
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