There was a time when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would play down his pro-Western (and even pro-Israeli) policies; he would publicly speak a language acceptable to the Palestinian people and call on Israel to cooperate in reaching a peaceful resolution.
That time is long gone for the Palestinian president, whose office recently relocated from Gaza to the West Bank, is now heavily engaged in destroying his Fatah party's rival organisation Hamas and actively seeking ways to ensure its "exit" from Palestinian political life - a clear shift in focus.
This was reignited by his recent call for early parliamentary and presidential elections. Now, Abbas has gone as far as announcing that he will change Palestinian electoral rules to hamper Hamas's ability to win parliament majority in elections.
Abbas will do so by amending the electoral law, "I will use Article 43 of the Basic Law, which gives me the power to make those changes, to change the electoral law to a single national list instead of having two lists, one national and one by constituencies".
This of course, will make it difficult for Hamas to repeat its parliamentary election win of 2006. (Hamas had twice as many seats as Fatah in the 2006 election due to a massive success in winning constituencies).
First of all, what right does Abbas have to appoint a new government and amend the constitution by decree, especially following his dismissal of the Hamas-led government?
Surely he would require parliamentary approval prior to any change. Credibility must be earned, it cannot be bought. Even if the West are excited and have shown strong support for Fatah this does not mean the Palestinian people (as a whole) accept Fatah's plans in the territories.
Vital questions must be asked: How does Abbas plan to carry out early elections? Will he carry them in the West Bank and not Gaza? And will he consider Hamas's stance on this? Palestinian elections are due only in 2010.
This means Hamas should continue to play a major role in Palestinian politics. It seems Fatah is quick to forget that the Islamist organisation came to power through the Palestinian people's votes.
Elections were transparent and fair and no one can claim that there was any political manoeuvring involved. Now, the manoeuvring is being announced in daylight.
And not only this, Palestinian National Authority officials and heads of the security organisations in the West Bank are now saying the second intifada is over and Fatah must focus its energy against its domestic threat, Hamas!
Implications
This bears incredible implications on the negotiation's process with the Israelis. For one thing, it has made it very easy for them to call the shots.
For its part, Israel is working on further isolating Hamas by strengthening Fatah and this time it has gone to new lengths.
Not only has the Jewish state released 250 prisoners (out of more than 10,000) affiliated with Fatah and allowed the transfer of arms from Jordan and Egypt for the PNA's security forces, it has also agreed to Abbas's request, not to allow the opening of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, amongst other things.
Furthermore, Israeli papers are now saying that for the first time in years, the Shin Bet (Israel's internal general security service) is making use of intelligence it receives from the PNA's security organisations which they are using against "terrorists" in the West Bank.
It seems Abbas will do anything to maintain some leadership and suppress his rival party - even if it means sharing intelligence with his occupiers!
Easy to concentrate
Abbas has said that he will not negotiate with Hamas even if its leader Esmail Haniya appeared outside his office to talk to him.
There was a time when this kind of language was more appropriately directed at the heart of Palestinian plight: Israel but with Fatah, it seems very easy to concentrate on Palestinian political drama instead of focusing on the most pressing issues. (As is known, Palestinians in Gaza are on the edge of starvation. A whole society is being destroyed and countless people are being killed daily by Israeli incursions.)
The attempt to overturn the democratic system in Palestine by both internal forces as well as external ones is clear. In the midst of it all, the Palestinian people find themselves desperately trapped between the obvious threat of internal strife and a prolonged Israeli occupation that continues to govern their every move.
What is distressing is the fact that the campaign to end Hamas's political participation is so arrogantly blatant that the Israelis are now publicly supporting Abbas and his party members. And vice versa.
Abbas should be reminded that the extent to which Israel is willing to negotiate with and support Fatah is still very limited - sharing or not sharing of intelligence. Israel will always look out for its own agenda which for now, includes wiping Hamas off the Palestinian political map.
Send us your comments
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Gulf News may edit comments for length and clarity but will not change the tone of the message. Comments will only be accepted all if fields (including name) are filled correctly and the message isn't abusive, defamatory or offensive. The Gulf News website will only print your first name along with your comment. Please state in the message if you wish to remain anonymous. All comments sent may be forwarded for use in the Gulf News newspaper.
