MIFTAH
Friday, 29 March. 2024
 
Your Key to Palestine
The Palestinian Initiatives for The Promotoion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
 
 
 

The internal situation in Palestinian society is showing signs of strain and instability, expressed in marches, confrontations, sit-in strikes, and other forms of protest.

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails form one of the most emotional and dramatic rallying cause for Palestinians everywhere.

Contrary to its previous commitments and to the requirements of a just peace, Israel continues to hold around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under conditions of tremendous hardship.

Having embarked on an open hunger strike in protest at these conditions and at their continued holding as political “hostages” in return for concessions in the peace process, these prisoners have launched a major campaign to reach Palestinian and international public opinion and to ensure that no agreement is signed that does not include their unconditional release.

Palestinians throughout the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and Gaza have expressed solidarity and support in the form of strike tents, petitions, marches and demonstrations, and many have joined the hunger strike themselves.

Israel so far has treated this issue of human suffering with callousness and has subjected it to political manipulation.

Most blatantly, the issue of criteria such as political affiliation, regional origin, and “blood on the hands” has provoked Palestinian public opinion and cast serious doubt on Israeli intentions and commitment to peace.

In addition, the cruel treatment of prisoners, including solitary confinement, body searches, and restrictions on family visits has aggravated the situation to intolerable levels.

Repeated calls by the prisoners, their families, and solidarity groups have alerted the Palestinian Authority not only to their plight but also to its responsibility towards bringing about their release through the negotiating process.

President Arafat personally addressed the issue during his meetings with both US President Clinton and Israeli PM Barak.

Public opinion is what determines whether peace has a constituency and therefore its sustainability. President Arafat is facing increasing pressures from a majority of Palestinians who gauge the legitimacy and effectiveness of the peace process on the basis of its treatment of the prisoner issue along with the other crucial issues of settlements, Jerusalem and the refugees’ right of return.

The fact that the two thousand prisoners have families, friends, and supporters makes their cause the most visceral and the most immediately identifiable with a compelling human reality.

It has also become the acid test for Israel’s intentions and credibility in the peace process.

Thus its treatment of prisoners, its ongoing settlement expansion and land confiscation, its policies of siege and control, and its extremist pronouncements on final status issues have all contributed to the erosion of confidence in the peace process and to internal Palestinian instability.

This instability is further aggravated by such measures by the PNA as the arrest of a teachers’ union leader, Omar Assaf, and by the closure of the radio station (now reopened) that aired a live interview with him.

The high-handed manner of the security services, its disregard for the judiciary, the unprofessional behavior of some ranking officials, and the absence of accountability are major factors in creating this internal volatility.

Often, disaffection finds expression in sporadic eruptions and confrontations, sometimes on unrelated issues such as the teachers’ strike for better conditions or the Jospin visit or the.

It is clear that tensions are building up within the Palestinian public with serious implications for both domestic politics and the peace process itself (see Key Issues, “Warning Signals,” Feb. 27, 2000).

It is time that Israeli decision makers, international leaders, and the PNA itself cast a long, hard look at the public mood prevailing in Palestine.

Palestinian public opinion should not be taken for granted, dismissed, or forcefully subdued.

The Palestinian people have always been outspoken, and, more importantly, resistant to subjugation and coercion.

At present, the prisoner issue is the most visible and significant expression of an incremental disaffection and pent-up anger.

The list is long and the issues inescapable.

Postponement and manipulation/repression may buy some time. But the grievances will not disappear or die of neglect.

On the contrary, they demand serious and immediate attention, with concrete solutions.

Any commitment to peace, democracy, and regional stability and prosperity must begin and end with the human imperative.

 
 
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