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Nahum Barnea

Speaking in four voices

World confused by contradictory messages coming from Israel, PA

From a foreign observer's point of view there are currently four parallel governments between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: Two are speaking on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and two on behalf of Israel.

 

On the day the Palestinian national unity government was established, President Mahmoud Abbas spoke of negotiating with Israel without preconditions and peace based on the 1967 borders, while at the same time his Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, spoke of the continuation of the armed struggle against Israel and promised not to do a thing to curb terror.

 

Israel's response also came in two contradictory voices: Avigdor Lieberman called for a complete boycott of the Palestinian Authority, while Amir Peretz suggested speaking with the non-Hamas ministers in the new government.

 

The contradictory voices are creating confusion worldwide. What do we have here, the partners of the Quartet are asking, do we have a Hamas movement that is undergoing an accelerated process of moderation, or on the contrary, do we have a band of weak and frightened Fatah members folding under Hamas' power?

 

There is confusion regarding Israel as well. Diplomats are asking whether the Israeli government wholeheartedly wishes to renew talks and is only stopped by Hamas' extreme positions, or to the contrary, whether Israel's cabinet is scared to death of engaging in talks and is taking advantage of the Hamas stance to avoid them.

 

The Shalit test

The first mistake made by foreigners regarding the conflict is that they place both eggs in the same basket: Palestine and Israel. The new Palestinian government is not only speaking in two voices: It is cultivating and financing two military forces that until recently killed and abducted each other's members. The two sides have openly admitted that the establishment of the unity government was aimed at one thing: Preventing escalation to civil war. More than a government, there is temporary prevention.

 

Chaos reigns in the Palestinian Authority. In Israel there is disorder. And this is only part of the difference. The Israeli government is speaking in several voices because its ministers tend to be garrulous. Lieberman is not accumulating arms to assassinate Isaac Herzog and Amir Peretz is not training forces to blow up the Israel Our Home party headquarters.

 

True, there are deep differences of opinion in the Israeli cabinet over the Palestinian issue, but it is doubtful whether there is a single minister who believes that the time has come to take action. Therefore the ministers voted unanimously Sunday (two abstained out of politeness) on a decision that is trying to hold the stick by both ends: To boycott and to cooperate; to urge the world to continue the boycott and also to prove to the world how moderate we are.

 

When Rabin's cabinet permitted Yasser Arafat's return, it believed that it could reach a settlement between strong local governments, theirs and ours. This belief is now dead. The two parties are currently placing their trust in foreign elements: The Israeli prime minister's eyes are first and foremost directed towards President Bush, and on another level towards Abdullah, the Saudi king. Salvation will not come from Abbas. It will come from them.

 

With regards to Hamas, it survives off Khaled Mashaal in Damascus and the funds coming from Teheran. A simple litmus test will prove whether the Palestinians have established the beginning of a government or whether it is a façade: Gilad Shalit. If Haniyeh is unable to convince his people to release the abducted soldier, all the business suits he wears will be to no avail. The truth of the matter is that he is not even a gang leader.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.19.07, 10:44
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