Palestinian Government's Challenges

Hassan A. Barari

From: the Jordan Times

After months of uncertainty and confusion, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia managed to form a government. Judging by the make-up of this government, it is obvious that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's influence on the daily politics of the Palestinians is as salient as ever.

Therefore, talk about serious wrangling between Qureia and Arafat was exaggerated, as Qureia seems to have caved in to Arafat's requests, chief among them being that all security apparatus be under the command of the Palestinians' National Security Council headed by Arafat himself.

Succeeding in forming a government is, unquestionably, a positive step; yet it is insufficient. Two key challenges will face the new government and they are the benchmark for measuring the success or failure of its performance. The first is the necessity of uniting Palestinian factions under one vision. The second is dealing properly and wisely with Israel. Without striking a balance between these two objectives, Qureia will soon go down in history as the second Palestinian prime minister to fail the job.

On the domestic scene, Qureia should understand that nothing short of uniting the Palestinian factions in one national programme will help him portray the image of leadership. Although this task seems difficult, one should acknowledge that there has been a sea change within the Palestinian public over the last month. Apparently, a clear majority of the Palestinian public backs an immediate ceasefire. The Palestinian Centre at Beit Sahour conducted an opinion poll last week in which as many as 66 per cent of Palestinians back the idea of ceasefire. Much more interesting though is that only 42 per cent are for continuing the Intifada.

The "grace period" that Israel pledged to grant Qureia, in which no military attacks on Palestinians will be carried out, should be fully utilised by Qureia in his dealing with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Duality in authority should not be tolerated. The apprehension of a civil war among Palestinians is not exaggerated and the Palestinian public is aware of this. This should not deter Qureia from asserting his authority over the Palestinians. It is common in Arab circles to say that Qureia's success will depend on Sharon government's policies. This is partially true, but the Palestinians will be certainly better off if they take positions according to their own interests and not as a reaction to Israeli provocations.

The second challenge is Israeli policies and intentions. It is known that the Israeli government manages to provoke the Palestinians whenever it seeks to do so. Therefore, if the Israeli government refrains from carrying out military attacks against the Palestinians, it will help Qureia in his bid to get an internal agreement on a ceasefire. If this government is really interested in peace, it should understand that the continuation of its uncompromising policies is detrimental to Qureia's endeavours to bring stability and security to both societies.

The Israeli assessment that the previous hudna only allowed Hamas to reinforce its infrastructure and recruit more suicide bombers means that nothing short of a Palestinian crackdown on those organisations would satisfy Israel. Therefore, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's statement that Qureia should dismantle the infrastructure of these "terrorist" organisations should be taken with fear. The Israelis are pushing for a serious clash among the Palestinians. Furthermore, Sharon's statement that he would ease the conditions on the Palestinians cannot be taken at face value. A wiser approach is to help Qureia win within the Palestinian society.

In short, the result of the aforementioned opinion poll should be utilised aggressively by Qureia's government, to be able to speak for the Palestinians. Failing to do so will only add a new dose of bitter humiliation. Hamas and Islamic Jihad should not be allowed to keep claiming that they represent the conscience of the Palestinian nation. This pretension now appears to be misplaced. Therefore, Qureia should demonstrate resolve in dealing with internal politics; otherwise he will become the "punching bag" for all.