Stalemate in Palestine

Since the elections within Palestine, the world had great difficulty in digesting the resounding victory of Hamas and the defeat of the long time fighter for Palestinian independence Al Fattah, established by the icon of Palestinian struggle Yasser Arafat. The West had long time ago branded Hamas as a terrorist organisation and unfit for taking its place at the table of negotiations with lilywhite Israel. The West, deeply involved with the survival and prosperity of Israel had not noticed the dynamics amongst the Palestinian population.

The Palestinians had become disenchanted with Fatah for its failing to produce any result. Life was becoming progressively unbearable for the average Palestinian. Meanwhile Hamas, which had distinguished itself in the battle field and was the only force successfully facing the Israeli challenge, had gone ahead in winning the hearts and minds of the Palestinians. The result was their victory against the long entrenched Fattah.

This resembles in many ways the march of events within Israel. Although Israel today gives the impression of a monolith eager to execute the plan laid out first by Ariel Sharon and faithfully carried out by Ehud Olmert, the reality is that the current rightist government has to totally depend on the support of slightly left leaning Labour led by the old stalwart Shimon Perez.

In fact the entire Israeli policy revolves around her relation with Palestine and more importantly with USA. Ariel Sharon had exceptionally close relation with US President George W.Bush and literally called all the shots of the White House. Thus when Sharon after a long period of bombing and destruction of Palestine with tacit blessing from the White House, started his unilateral plan of redrawing the borders of Israel and virtually turning Palestine into a vivisected Bantustan, he had total support from President Bush. He was struck by incurable illness and his unfinished task has been taken over by Ehud Olmert.

Israeli Premier Olmert has paid a visit to President Bush recently. As usual the President has underscored US commitment to continue to support Israel in its plan to redraw the map of the region. Only Ehud Olmert is no Ariel Sharon and the relations between him and Bush lack the depth with his predecessor.

Israel since its birth has been obsessed by the idea of her security. The Palestinians, who lost their land in the 1948 war became refugees in the region and continue to be so to this day. The Palestinians vowed to throw the Israelis into the sea. Nearly 60 years have elapsed and it has remained a pipe dream as Israel as a state, thanks due to total support from the US has firmly taken her place within the comity of nations. Hamas is one of the last holdouts, who would want to see Israel vanish from the face of the earth. The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who periodically threatens Israel with extinction, only responds to Israeli threats and Israeli proddings of her friend the US to teach Iran a lesson, specially due to the latter's so called nuclear ambitions.

After more than half a century of warfare and diplomatic efforts of the big powers and the UN, the Palestine-Israel question appears to be stuck at point zero. Yet in the not so distant past it has appeared that a settlement was almost within reach by the brilliant effort of US President Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat and then Israeli dovish Premier Ehud Barak. Alas! the two adversaries let the opportunity slip. The point that I want to stress here is that within Israel there is a powerful peace lobby and that needs to be activated. This business of unilateral redrawing of boundaries between the two states will serve in complicating the situation.

Any solution during the Presidency of George W. Bush should be ruled out. He is far too partisan on the Israeli side and for any settlement to take place the most important player, the US, has to be seen to be totally non-partisan and fair and even handed between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This was one chance in a million in the case of President Clinton. Watching the situation in both camps perhaps it would be best to wait for a better turn of events.

Arshad-uz Zaman is a former Ambassador and Acting Secretary General, OIC.