A Comment by Tony Sayegh
Here are two, not mutually exclusive, definitions of treason:
1) Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign and/or reneging on an oath of loyalty, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely cooperating with and acting to give aid and comfort to its enemies.
2) The offense of attempting to overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance, or of betraying the state into the hands of a foreign power; disloyalty; treachery.
Let us examine the recent actions of Mahmoud Abbas to see if they meet these definitions. I am not a legal expert, but I will use common sense and available information in making a determination.
Collaboration With the Enemy
As reported in Haaretz(1) “… there has been another significant development in the ties between Israel and the PA, although it has been kept under wraps from the media. For the first time in years, the Shin Bet is making use of intelligence it receives from the PA's security organizations, information it uses against terrorists in the West Bank.”
This is clearly an act of treason, since Abbas is the head of the PA whose security organizations are supplying intelligence to Israel’s intelligence, which is used to abduct and kill Palestinians in the West Bank. The same used to also take place in the Gaza Strip, before Abbas’ collaborating forces were routed there.
Another act of active collaboration with the enemy is the reliance on the enemy (Israel) and the U.S., which is hostile to the Palestinian interests, for weapons which Abbas’ forces use against the Palestinian people. Large shipments of weapons to Abbas’ forces, again from the U.S. and Israel, were previously sent to the Gaza Strip which were intended for use to overthrow the democratically elected Palestinian government. This is as clear an example of treason as one can imagine.
Waging War Against the Palestinian People
Abbas has actively engaged in and authorized many actions which harm and seriously injure the approximately 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. An example of that is his urging of the enemy to keep the main outlet of the Strip to Egypt, the Rafah crossing, closed. This, while knowing that over 6,000 Palestinians, many of them old and sick, have been stuck in the Egyptian desert for the past 45 days, with no money, food or shelter and unable to return to their homes in Gaza. Over 30 of these Palestinians have already died while waiting. Again, quoting Haaretz(1) “… [Israel] has acceded to Abbas' secret request, not to allow the opening of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip.”
It goes beyond that; Abbas’ representatives in the UN have been actively blocking a Security Council initiative to alleviate the Palestinian suffering in Gaza(2), “The Palestinian delegation to the United Nations is blocking a Security Council initiative aimed at expressing the organization's concern over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.” This action was so unbelievable that Haaretz (2) had this quote, "“This situation is absurd," a Western diplomat told Haaretz. "It is obvious that it is in the Palestinian delegation's best interest to conceal the fact that Hamas is in control of the Gaza Strip," he said.”
Another nefarious action by Abbas that seriously injures Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and contributes to their starvation and suffering, is the active participation of Abbas in the total financial, trade and economic blockade of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. This is simply an active participation in an act of collective punishment and genocide against his own people. Besides treason, this is a war crime.
All people under occupation have the universal right to resist that occupation by all means available, including armed resistance. The Abbas “government” has declared armed resistance to the occupation illegal and Abbas’ forces have been arresting all those even suspected of resisting. Worse still, Abbas is setting up military tribunals to “try” those arrested Palestinians, and potentially sentence them to death. This is active collaboration with the enemy and seriously harming the national interest.
The Palestinian Right of Return and Israel as a “Jewish State”
This goes to the heart of the Palestinian national struggle and is the key issue not only for the Palestinians in the occupied areas but also for the Palestinians who are Israeli citizens (about 1.5 millions) and the Palestinians in the Diaspora (about 5 millions).
Abbas as the head of the PA does not speak for the last two categories of Palestinians (about 6.5 millions). However, he is on record as accepting Israel’s “right to exist as a Jewish state.” This is a betrayal of and disloyalty to the Palestinians who stayed in what became Israel in 1948. It is a betrayal because Abbas is condemning them to live in an Apartheid state that treats them as second-class citizens in their own homes and usurped country.
For the approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 on the Question of Palestine which, "resolves that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."
This historic right of return belongs to the Palestinian refugees, whom Abbas does not represent. Yet Abbas’ position on the right of return is basically the same as Israel’s. Last week he stated that no one can force Israel to accept the right of return; hence to reach an agreement with Israel, which is acceptable to it, the Palestinians would have to forfeit their right of return. This is an act of total betrayal, disloyalty and treachery towards the millions of Palestinian refugees who have not authorized Abbas to give up their rights.
Summing Up
There are many more examples of betrayal, treachery and collaboration with the enemy of which Abbas stands accused. As I said before I am not a legal expert; but based on the evidence provided here, it appears that there is solid ground for a Palestinian tribunal to examine the evidence and to try Mahmoud Abbas according to Palestinian law. I realize that this may not be easy or practical, given the occupied status of the West Bank and the protection Abbas gets from Israel and the U.S. If it is not possible to try him in person, then he should be tried in absentia. This is a duty of all Palestinians determined to keep the Palestinian national struggle alive. It is an obligation to stop this threat to liquidate Palestinian rights and it is the most serious threat the Palestinians have faced in almost 60 years.
References
(1) Fatah and Israel / Allies, Inc., By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, July 28, 2007.
(2) Fatah-led delegation to block UN initiative over Gaza crisis, By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz, July 27, 2007.
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