A, B, C and F

Posted by Iqbal Tamimi

This article by the Palestinian academic Sami Jamil Jadallahin who lives in exile like almost 4.5 million Palestinian refugees, seems to be a very important analysis that helps to understand the 'progress' of deterioration of Palestinian's rights because of ignorance and irresponsible decision making.Few weeks ago, when the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad announced his plans to develop and implement a complete plan for the total infrastructure of the Occupied Territories within two years the Israeli Prime Bibi Netanyahu promised this will never happen since the Occupied Territories are “disputed territories” and Israel has total control of area C representing 59% of the total territories occupied by Israel in 67.

Not so sure what the not so brilliant “Palestinian Trio” of Arafat, Abbas and Querie where thinking about as they finalize the “Declaration of Principals on Interim Self-Governments” better known as Oslo Accord? One thing for sure, we all know that this Trio “Axis of Stupidity” never bothered to seek legal help and never bothered to get the advice of few of the tens of thousands of legal and professional experts among the Palestinian Diaspora. Oslo was a direct result of the reckless, irresponsible and stupid decisions made by the dictatorial key leadership of the PLO that has nothing but contempt for the Palestine National Council and for the people of Palestine. If there was a chance of liberation or ending the Jewish Occupation, Oslo killed all that. Oslo was more about perpetuating the PLO as the permanent contractor for the Jewish Occupation, than liberation of Palestine.

When the First Intifada or Palestinian Uprising broke out in early 1987 at the Jabalia refugee camps, Yasser Arafat and the entire PLO leadership in Tunis were caught with their pants down. The Palestinian Intifada came as great surprise to the man who called himself leader of the Palestine “Liberation” Organization. When Arafat and the PLO where in Beirut, they never bothered with or concerns themselves with the more than 3.5 millions imprisoned by Israel and under Jewish Occupation. When Arafat and the PLO came to Ramallah they never bothered to look back at the hundreds of thousands left behind in refugee camps. Certainly the PLO all but abandoned the Palestinian Diaspora. The PLO came to Ramallah to manage the Jewish Occupation, not to bother with ending the Jewish Occupation.

After the First Gulf War, Arafat and the PLO were desperate having supported a loser and a killer, Saddam Hussein and with the Arab Gulf countries stopping all funding of the PLO, and with tens of billions squandered, unaccounted for and simply stolen by Arafat and his cronies, there was no choice but do a secret deal with Israel that gives the PLO an opportunity to fund its bloated, ineffective incompetent bureaucracy and institutions and to keep Arafat in charge.

With this in mind, Arafat and the PLO were determined to undermine the late Dr. Haider Abul-Shafi and his efforts to come up with a deal under Madrid. Arafat was so concerned for his own survival that he distrusted Dr. Haider and his team and dispatched Dr. Nabil Sha’ath to “manage/spy” on the Palestinian negotiating team. To guarantee his survival he dispatched his trusted associates “yes” men Abbas and Querie who never distinguished themselves with any great achievements to lead the secret negotiations with Israel in Oslo. Israel dictated and Querie said yes.

Ahmed Querie better known as Abu-Ala’a was the lead negotiator. A man whose incompetence and reckless management is better known as the head of SAMED where tens of billions simply disappeared and remained unaccounted for. SAMED was the investment arms of the PLO with tens of billions in assets, everywhere in the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Billions where held in banks in Paris, Geneva and even in New York under private names and billions was transferred to cronies of Arafat and was never recovered. Perhaps these missing billions are the source of the richness and substantial business and personal holdings of key PLO leadership, international bankers and Palestinian businessmen. The PLO always resisted a public audit and make full accounting of the missing billions.

Oslo Accord is the PLO biggest failures in a history full of failures, certainly the most criminal and treasonable actions taken by the PLO leadership against the Palestinian people. No need to mention liberation since it was abandoned long time ago.

Under Oslo, the Palestinian Trio did not give much thoughts to what Israel was putting forward when proposing the division of the Occupied areas into areas A, B and C. I am sure Salam Fayyad is cursing his luck every day.

The PLO/PA took over full responsibility for Area A, an area constituting only 17% of the total area occupied by Israel. Israel and the PLO shared responsibility for Area B with Palestinians taking charge of civil administration while Israel having all powers including building permits and house demolitions. This area represents 24% of the total area of the Jewish Occupation.

Israel outsmarting and outfoxing the stupid Palestinian negotiators kept Area C under its total jurisdiction representing 59% of the Occupied Territories. Area C is were all Jewish Settlements are, where all water aquifers are, where the Apartheid Wall is and this is the area that Israel had in mind as final borders. The Palestinian negotiators lacking any intellectual and legal competency and knowing there will never be any accountability or retributions did not think much of why Israel kept 59% of the area for its self under Oslo. The peace process is about areas A and B but never about C. This is what the Ramallah leadership fails to understand.

In addition to having no clues of true and long lasting reasons for divisions of the occupied areas into areas with different and overlapping jurisdiction, the PLO undertook legal commitments to organize and fund a “security services” to provide added protections for the safety and security of Israeli soldiers and armed settlers as if the IDF is not enough. Under Oslo the PLO released Israel of all of its legal and financial obligations as an occupying power shifting the burdens to the Palestinians and donor countries. The PLO leadership turned the Palestinian people into a nation of beggars, thieves and thugs and forever under Jewish Occupation.

Again without the benefits of legal and professional consultants Arafat and the PLO gave full recognitions to “secure and safe” Israel notwithstanding that Israel never had declared borders (the only country in the world) never had a constitution that defines its borders and jurisdiction leaving is army to define its future and ever elastic borders. In addition the PLO recognized 1) the right of State of Israel to exist in peace and security. 2) The PLO accepts UN Security resolutions 242 and 338. 3) The PLO commits itself to the Middle East Peace Process. 4) The PLO renounces the use of terrorism (armed resistance to occupation) and 5) the PLO commits to amend the National Covenant. Bibi Netanyahu was so committed to humiliating Arafat he demanded the PNC meet in Gaza in the presence of Bill Clinton and reaffirm the peace and security of Israel, while Gaza was under Jewish Occupation.

In return for all of these commitments and free give away Yitzhak Rabin in a letter dated September 9, 1993 and addressed to Arafat recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. Israel and Rabin never gave any recognitions to the Palestinian rights to a free and independent state, never accepted UN Security Resolution 242 and 338, never gave commitment to end the occupation, never gave commitments to end its settlements expansion policies, never gave commitments to end confiscation of land, never committed to withdraw to 67 borders, never committed to share open Jerusalem, never accepted its role in Nakba in the creations of refugee, never gave a commitment to solve the refugee issues. Arafat and the PLO were very happy and very satisfied with Israel recognizing the PLO as the “representative of the Palestinian people”. Such recognition from Israel gave the PLO a “life time guarantee” to manage the Jewish Occupation and this is exactly what the PLO is all about now.

When the PLO came back to manage the Jewish Occupation it has nothing to speak of, nothing to brag about. It had a bunch of failed defeated “liberation” army that needed permission from the enemy to come back home. It has generals who fled battle and ran away abandoning their commands. It has military and political leaders who won their ranks in the bars and brothels of Beirut, Tunis and many of the East European capitals. The PLO came back without any well-detailed and organized plan to run a country even under occupation. The only thing the Palestinian Trio ever cared about was keeping the PLO commitments to the safety and security of Israel and making sure there is always enough money to keep the leadership in a life style they are accustomed to and keep Fatah and its membership on the public payroll at the expense of development.

After 16 years of Oslo and after 45 years of incompetent, inept, reckless and corrupt leadership and a history of full of failures, the Ramallah and Gaza leadership rather than disbanding such a failed inept organization are committing themselves to keep their commitments to Israel through reviving and reorganizing the PLO. The only function left for the PLO is to sign a formal agreement that gives Israel full control of Area C. That is why Israel will never allow Salam Fayyad to carry out with his plans rebuilding the infrastructure of a Palestinian state that includes Area C, albeit 16 years later. That is why for this reason and so many that can fills volumes the PLO and its leadership gets a Big F, the PLO should be disband and its leadership brought to trial.