A legitimacy deficit, a lack of smart tactics and a focus on power for power's sake are all barriers to Palestinian liberation
A GOOD COMMENT
A GOOD COMMENT
Ben White
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 September 2011
"For a few months now, discussion of Palestine/Israel has focused on the looming UN vote on Palestinian statehood, but this is obscuring more fundamental problems in the Palestinian political arena – of which the forthcoming UN vote is a symptom.
In three critical areas, there are significant flaws hampering Palestinian political leadership.
The first is a legitimacy deficit. Both the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority and Hamas have, with the most generous interpretation, a minority mandate from the Palestinian people....
The second critical problem is a lack of creativity and strategic thinking when it comes to tactics. This has a number of root causes which are beyond the scope of this article but the main point is a marked inability to adapt to circumstances with regard to the kind of smart resistance most appropriate for confronting Israeli colonisation....
Fear of losing control over the course of events can be one factor inhibiting an openness to change – which brings us to the third problematic area: a focus on power for its own sake rather than for the achievement of a specific goal.
This criticism applies to both Fatah and Hamas, though the former has been guilty of it for a longer period of time and with more devastating consequences....
Encouragingly, many Palestinian civil society groups are demonstrating vision, creativity and integrity: from the BDS movement and Gaza Youth Break Out, to Stop the Wall and other grassroots popular initiatives.
Yet there is no significant parallel in the political sphere – a failing that is a real impediment to Palestinians realising their rights. Even putting aside the problems with the unilateral UN initiative, it is clear that much bigger challenges remain. "
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 September 2011
"For a few months now, discussion of Palestine/Israel has focused on the looming UN vote on Palestinian statehood, but this is obscuring more fundamental problems in the Palestinian political arena – of which the forthcoming UN vote is a symptom.
In three critical areas, there are significant flaws hampering Palestinian political leadership.
The first is a legitimacy deficit. Both the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority and Hamas have, with the most generous interpretation, a minority mandate from the Palestinian people....
The second critical problem is a lack of creativity and strategic thinking when it comes to tactics. This has a number of root causes which are beyond the scope of this article but the main point is a marked inability to adapt to circumstances with regard to the kind of smart resistance most appropriate for confronting Israeli colonisation....
Fear of losing control over the course of events can be one factor inhibiting an openness to change – which brings us to the third problematic area: a focus on power for its own sake rather than for the achievement of a specific goal.
This criticism applies to both Fatah and Hamas, though the former has been guilty of it for a longer period of time and with more devastating consequences....
Encouragingly, many Palestinian civil society groups are demonstrating vision, creativity and integrity: from the BDS movement and Gaza Youth Break Out, to Stop the Wall and other grassroots popular initiatives.
Yet there is no significant parallel in the political sphere – a failing that is a real impediment to Palestinians realising their rights. Even putting aside the problems with the unilateral UN initiative, it is clear that much bigger challenges remain. "
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