One crisis to the next

By Khaled Amayreh and Emad Gad
Al-Ahram Weekly

"......The Arab Peace Plan, adopted by the Arab League during their summit in Riyadh last month, is steadily losing relevance and being eroded, due to American reservations, and especially to Israel's effective rejection of it.

This, coupled with the continuing Israeli siege on the Palestinians, despite the formation of the national unity government, which includes figures acceptable to the West, such as Finance Minister Salam Fayad, is frustrating Palestinians and their government alike.

Indeed, the Palestinian government now feels it has been cheated by the international community, especially the European Union, which had given certain indications that it would relax the economic blockade once a national unity government was in place.

In fact, with Germany, the most pro-Israeli European state, assuming the rotating presidency of the EU, the European stance on the Palestinian government, even including the non-Hamas members of the cabinet, seems to be a little more than a carbon copy of that of the Americans, which is influenced to a large extent, if not completely dictated, by Israel and its powerful lobbies in Washington.

Moreover, the Arab world, too, is displaying characteristic impotence in this regard. Arab states, which lauded and even cheered the Mecca Accord between Fatah and Hamas and went as far as declaring an end to the boycott of the Palestinian government, have done very little to break the economic sanctions. Some Arab states, such as Qatar, continue to give the PA monthly payments which help keep the government afloat. However, other governments, such as Jordan, continue to meticulously prevent financial transactions to the Palestinians from taking place via Jordanian banks, especially the Arab Bank......

More to the point, there is widespread pessimism as to the future of the Palestinian national unity government and its ability to survive. Last week, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh warned that Palestinians were contemplating alternatives in the event the boycott continues. During the last three months, he said, "Palestinians would resort to these alternatives" which he didn't clarify, but may have been alluding to completely ending the already fragile ceasefire with Israel.

Haniyeh's statements were corroborated by similar statements from Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal who was quoted this week as saying that a "third Intifada" was in the offing, unless the world community lifted the sanctions against the Palestinians.

In any case, a new outbreak of violence would seem inevitable with or without instructions and warnings from political leaders. The hopelessness and helplessness to which the Palestinians have been subjected as a result of Israeli intransigence and arrogance, coupled with the dismal failure of American policy in the Middle East, and almost complete Arab subservience to Washington's whims, seems to be leading to the inevitable, with all the obvious repercussions which will negatively impact stability in the region and the world at large."