Fatah member: Palestinians shot themselves in foot
Former Fatah parliamentarian tells Ynet Palestinia vote for Hamas was irresponsible, will lead to impasse on all fronts
Khatem believes the shock results in Wednesday’s parliamentary election were “more a defeat for Fatah than a victory for Hamas,” adding that the Islamic group will not last long in power if it does not renounce violence.
“If the group does not change it will not be able to manage things and if it changes it will shoot itself in the foot, and it will appear that the Palestinians have no alternative but Fatah,” Khatem said.
Khatem, who failed to get reelected to parliament, said Hamas’s victory is more the result of splits within Fatah than accusations of corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
How are you? How do you feel after the defeat?
I am fine, but you should remember that we live in the aftermath of an earthquake that overthrew us from power and brought us to new crossroads where things are uncertain. Fatah’s mistakes brought us here. We can say that we paid the price for the shortfalls of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian people wanted to punish the Authority and we paid the price. But beyond punishing us they punished themselves.
So should the population be replaced, the whole majority that voted for Hamas?
The Palestinians were in a difficult situation, suffering from never-ending blows, yet survived without the support of the Palestinian Authority and therefore they voted the way they did. Yet I am confidant these people will realize fast they voted for a party that will lead us to impasse, a dark and dangerous tunnel.
You mean the voters are stupid and Fatah is not responsible for what happened?
I said what I said because I believe that only Fatah can change the situation and the Palestinian people will find no alternative but Fatah. Only Fatah can implement reforms and lead the Palestinian to a new future in terms of ending the occupation and improving the situation at home. The Palestinian people should have given us a chance, yet by voting irresponsibly they led us and themselves to an impasse. Now, either Hamas sticks by its well-known position and have us all pay the price or changes its way and risk dissolution.
I hoped to hear self-criticism. Do you take no responsibility for Fatah corruption and Fatah internal power struggles?
That’s not true. I said we made mistakes. And more so we failed to learn from our mistakes. Hamas won because did not correct the mistakes you mentioned. We helped Hamas win the elections because of these errors yet most and foremost because of our bad campaign in which Fatah members ran independently, splitting our voters.
In Jerusalem for example, in addition to the 6 official Fatah candidates for East Jerusalem, a dozen Fatah members ran independently for the same seats against us and split the voters. Barring this split Hamas would have not won a single seat, and I say this with certainty because I saw the results. Few votes separated me and a Hamas candidate running for the same seat, 100 votes at best. Had it not been to splits within our ranks we would have secured all Jerusalem seats.
You are pointing the finger at the leadership, yourself and people like (National Security Advisor Jibril) Rajoub and Mohammad Dahlan, are part of the leadership.
I am speaking about higher ranks, the highest ranks, the central committee and (Mahmoud Abbas) Abu Mazen. I am speaking about those who not only prevented Fatah members from running against us, but also financed their campaign under the table. In 1996 (Yasser) Arafat did not let this happen. He fired those who did not support the party’s official list. Here we saw the weakness of the leadership and we lost the elections mainly because of this and not because Hamas won.
Are you firmly against joining a Hamas-led government?
The answer is an unequivocal no. We won’t be part of a Hamas government. We won’t do Hamas a favor and run things on their behalf. That’s a package and they should either lift it alone or ask those who know how things should be done to run things in the Palestinian Authority.
What happened that after the defeat you have become extreme? You have always called on Hamas to join you in a coalition government, and spoke of the necessity for a government that represents all Palestinian factions.
What happened is that Hamas conducted an aggressive campaign in which it resented itself as an alternative for Fatah in all fields. If they were really interested in a coalition government they would have not campaigned the way they did. They acted in a destructive manner as they presented themselves as the only alternative, so let them please be an alternative and let them be in government. In fact there is only one solution and that is we agree to cooperate with them in government and that Hamas accepts the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s platform of recognizing Israel, announcing the end of attacks. Only then we will be part of their government. Yet I see this happening in the future. But under the current situation, as I said, we face a worrying impasse.
So what do you forecast in the near future?
There are only two options. Either Hamas maintains its current position and it is clear where this will lead. Their position will not allow them to run the PA and this will lead to uncertainty. The second option is that Hamas changes its ideology so that it can stay in power, and should it happen this means that Hamas will be another Fatah. This means the implosion of Hamas and this will lead to internal strife with in Hamas. This will no doubt be a dangerous situation. Another scenario is that we go to the polls again. Maybe. Who knows?
