For an 'Administrative Council'

By Abdul Salam Y. Massarueh

Elections, anywhere, are the culmination of political maturity and of the active exercise of the fundamentals of democracy. In considering elections, or anything else pertaining to the West Bank and Gaza—Occupied Palestine—however, there are positive and negative perspectives.

This continuing problem gives rise to a new word in the Arabic language; la'am, drawn from laa'(no) and naam (yes). Laam (no-yes) must be the answer while Palestinians examine the question.

Clearly, the Israeli call for elections is an attempt to defuse the current uprising, the intifadah. Under military occupation, any attempt to conduct "democratic" and "representative" elections seems doomed from the outset. Further, past experiences with the Israeli occupation warrant total rejection of the plan.

The first and only elections in the occupied territories were held in 1976. Israel, however, refused to accept the results. Newly elected Mayors Bassani Shakaa of Nablus, Karim Khalaf of Ramallah, and Ibrahim Taweel of Al Bireh were subjected to a continuous campaign of harassment and intimidation, culminating in car bombings. Mayors Mohammad Milhem of Halbul and Fabed Qawasmah of Hebron were deported. Mayor Rashad Al Shawwa of Gaza was removed from office by the Israeli authorities. History shows that the winners of Israeli-sponsored elections in the occupied territories fare poorly at the hands of the Israelis.

Under military occupation, any attempt to conduct "democratic" and "representative" elections seems doomed from the outset.

By seeking to bring about the selection of alternative leadership in the occupied territories, the Israelis are seeking to set up an alternative agenda for the inhabitants—something the Palestinians and their existing elected and recognized leadership, the PLO, will reject.

On the positive side, the naam portion of the answer, elections should be held if they will result in an "administrative council" for the West Bank and Gaza to facilitate the peace process. The role of such an "administrative council" would be defined and its functions monitored by the PLO, the only authority the Palestinians will continue to empower and trust to negotiate on their behalf with the Israelis.

If the Israelis agree to such objectives for the elections, and pledge through the United States to abide by their outcome, I see no harm in conducting them. Such elections would show the Israelis that the PLO speaks, acts, and negotiates on behalf of all Palestinians. If Israel accepts these terms, ,then the United Nations should be present in the occupied territories to be certain that the elections are conducted freely and without any manipulation.

If the elections are held under UN authority and observation, then Israel will have the answer to its often-repeated question about who represents the Palestinians. The United States will also learn that its reluctance to expand the dialogue with the PLO is not justified.

Only in such an atmosphere should elections be held in the occupied territories. If any other formulas for elections are presented, either by Israel or the United States, then the Palestinians should resist them.

Abdul Salam Y Massarueh, a Palestinian-born US journalist, was 1986-87 president of the Foreign Correspondent's Association of Washington, DC