I was sorry to see Mustafa Barghouti come in second rather than first in last month’s election for Palestinian Authority President. The result was expected — the advocate of militant nonviolent resistance is independent, not part of an organized political party — but a Barghouti presidency would have clarified issues and pushed for resolution more effectively than Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli- and U.S.-approved winner, is likely to do. The FFIPP group I traveled with to the West Bank originally had been scheduled to meet with Barghouti, but he had to cancel because of campaign pressures, which included getting arrested by Israeli soldiers for trying to campaign in East Jerusalem.
In an essay in the Jewish newspaper Forward, Barghouti lays out What Palestinians Need in Order to Believe in the Peace Process. It’s worth reading in its entirety, though you have to register at the site to do so. Some excerpts:
The occupation has placed overwhelming restrictions on millions of lives for almost four decades. It has severely disfigured, if not destroyed, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families, neighborhoods and livelihoods. Even during the Oslo years, the settlers more than doubled their population and vastly intensified their stranglehold over Palestinian land, water and movement — a stranglehold that the separation wall being built by Israel is set to entrench even further.
Israel’s tunnellike focus on security at the expense of core issues has repeatedly proved to be a recipe for failure and disaster. It pushes the Palestinian Authority into a corner by forcing it to become a security subcontractor for occupation — a police state against its own people. This situation is not only untenable, unstable and dangerous to both Palestinians and Israelis, but it is also the direct opposite of democracy and justice.
There is a clear majority in Palestinian society, as well as in most of the world and hopefully in Israel, regarding what the minimum of justice for Palestinians looks like: a fully sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the Green Line as its border, the dismantling of settlements and of the separation wall, and a practical solution to the refugee problem. Simply put, Palestinian support for the peace process will depend on the perceived chances for this vision to be implemented within a reasonable timeframe.
If what Sharon means by the “end of the occupation” is the completion of the separation wall and the carving up of the West Bank into noncontiguous areas to be fatuously called a “Palestinian state,” such an end will only be the beginning of a new generation of devastating conflicts that could easily boil over into regional war.
I agree with Barghouti’s analysis. I wonder if he is as pessimistic as I am that Sharon or any other likely Israeli political leader will go as far as necessary.
Hi Dennis,
I’m glad to see you appreciate Dr. Barghouti’s analysis and sincere wish for sustainable peace between the people of Israel and Palestine. I am an American who worked closely with Dr. Barghouti during his campaign for the presidency — and I, too, wish he had had a snowball’s chance in hell with the might of Israel, America, and Fatah all arrayed against him. Given these odds, I was immensely proud that we pulled 20% of the popular vote.