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Opinion - Source Maannews

Fatah backpedals

By Raphael Anderson

Wednesday 26 March 2008

Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Fatah’s official repudiation of the Yemeni-backed reconciliation agreement on Monday was a variation on the themes that has dominated Palestinian politics since Hamas’ takeover of Gaza last June. The details were different but the underlying narrative remains the same: a pro-American Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) unwilling to engage seriously with Hamas.

Fatah immediately began to distance itself from the agreement, which called for the resumption of direct talks between the rival Palestinian movements. First, Nimir Hammad, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Fatah’s representative in the Yemen talks, Azzam Al-Ahmad, of failing to consult the Ramallah-based leaders of Fatah before signing the final version of the document. Fatah also accused Hamas of misconstruing the nature of the agreement.

In a second cycle of backpedaling, the PA’s top negotiator in the present talks with Israel, former Prime Minister Ahmad Quria, put even more distance between the PA and the agreement, chalking the signing of the otherwise historic accord to a miscommunication. According to Quria, Al-Ahmad called from Sanaa while Abbas was meeting with US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Ramallah’s rejection of its own representative’s actions probably had to do with Dick Cheney, but not exactly the reasons that Qureia gave. Indeed, Abbas and the dominant powers within Fatah are not interested in serious dialogue with Hamas because they are, in a sense, giving the United States their undivided attention.

Abbas is showing no signs of deviating from the course he chose for the PA after the Hamas takeover of Gaza last June: seeking the political backing of the United States and the financial support of the international community. By installing American-educated World Bank economist Salam Fayyad in the prime minister’s seat and accommodating the demands of the international Quartet, Abbas has succeeded in transforming Ramallah into the equivalent of any “moderate,” (meaning “US-friendly”) Arab capital, a town where the American president, secretary of state, and vice president can feel as comfortable as they would in Cairo or Amman.

In order to maintain good relations with the Quartet, and with the United States that dominates it, Abbas cannot seriously consider forming another unity government with Hamas. Until US is compelled to ease its hard line towards Hamas, Abbas feels that, in order to keep the spigot of international aid political support turned on is to continue to shun Hamas.

Ma’an News Agency’s Chief Editor Nasser Lahham read the disagreement between Ahmad and the rest of Fatah of evidence of a welcome diversity of views within a democratic Fatah. While this may be true, we also have look at the realities of power, both within Fatah and in the larger geopolitical arena. Regardless of whether or not Fatah has a democratic political culture, some people’s words matter more than others’. We can learn a lot by looking at who is doing the talking and when.

First, the absence of top-level representatives at the Yemen talks is indicative of the level of commitment, by both Fatah and Hamas, to the reconciliation initiative. In February 2007, at the Mecca negotiations that resulted in the last Palestinian unity government, Hamas was represented by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and political chief Khalid Mesh’al, Fatah by President Abbas himself. By contrast, the officials at the Yemen talks were relative unknowns.

What we witnessed Sunday night and Monday, then, was a planned failure. Fatah (and Hamas) hedged its bets by sending a low level representative, allowing them to credibly reject the agreement when the talks achieved an unexpected breakthrough. The leadership in Ramallah, fearful of offending their American guest, could not afford to embrace the deal. In the televised chaos of official statements following the pact, Fatah’s backpedaling would be lost in Fatah-Hamas bickering, and the world would chalk up

The overwhelming fact remains: a Palestinian Authority that draws its power from the United States, Israel, and the Western Powers than it does from its own people will not seriously negotiate with Hamas. The United States, despite its rhetoric of promoting democracy in the Middle East, sees no contradiction in its efforts to isolate the elected government of the Palestinian people: Hamas’ “Change and Reform” bloc.

Asked about this apparent contradiction, American officials do not tend to speak to the finer points of political theory. As one high-ranking American official in the region told me in January, “I think what’s important here is to remember that Hamas took over Gaza in an illegal way; that they are defying the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority. The important thing is that the Palestinian Authority regain control over the West Bank and Gaza. … Dialogue is something that, if it doesn’t achieve that, it doesn’t achieve anything.”

Besides democracy, the US’ other stated agenda has been to push forward negotiations between the PA and Israel. The underlying incoherence of these negotiations lies in the brute fact that the Palestinian polity is divided, and is in no condition to resolve the conflict through the Palestinian-Israeli track. Real peace will only come through engagement with those who have the power to create it. Until the PA and the international community understand that the category of potential peacemakers includes Hamas, the current chaos, and the killing, will continue.