While the big news this week from the Middle East is certainly Prime Minister Sharon’s decision to form a new centrist political party, there is also a significant change taking place in the political landscape of the Palestinian Authority. With the Palestinian election only 2 months away, the list of official candidates, who intent to stand for the legislature, is becoming more disturbing by the day. It seems that while Israel is moving to the centre, the Palestinian Authority will become a gang of terrorists and criminals.
The Islamic organisations responsible for horrific acts of terrorism such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad have announced that they will be taking part for the first time in this election. In addition many of the corrupt Fatah old guard that surrounding Abu Ala will also once again be standing. If that is not bad enough, just yesterday it was announced that the Palestinian (Ahmed Sa'adat) responsible for the assassination of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001 will also be running. He is currently incarcerated in a Palestinian jail in Jericho under an internationally brokered deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
I know that here in South Africa, politicians convicted of crimes are barred under our new constitution from holding public office. In Israel too, certain organisations and people may not run for the Knesset. Unfortunately no such law seems to exist in the Palestinian Authority. Israel has been trying desperately to convince chairman Abbas and the international community of the dangers of allowing terrorists and criminals to stand in the Palestinian election but to no avail. They are all going to be allowed to run.
While for those of us who support a negotiated settlement to the conflict, this Palestinian political development is certainly worrying, it does present a real opportunity to gauge the true opinion of the Palestinian people. They now have a clear choice: more corruption, more terrorism and more bloodshed or security, independence and economic development.
As the Palestinian spokespeople have so elegantly put it Israel and the international community does not have the right to determine who their leaders should be. But Israel and the international community do have the right to decide who they wish to negotiate with. We should make it extremely clear to the Palestinian people that if the terrorist and criminals are elected to power, the road map and a negotiate settlement is dead. This will leave Israel with no other choice than to extend its policy of unilateral disengagement to the West Bank as well. Final status issues such a borders, Jerusalem and refugees will be decided by Israel alone in its best interest. And the Palestinians, they will be left on the other side of the fence in a half state half madhouse, internationally isolated and economically decimated.
I hope for their sake as much as Israel’s that sanity prevails and the moderates and reformers win out over the terrorists and criminals.
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