After Receipt of Clinton Letter, Arafat Postpones Scheduled May 4 Declaration of Palestinian State

By Maureen Meehan

After several months of intense discussion about what to do on the “sacred date” of May 4, which marks the end of the five-year interim period and consequently the end of the Oslo peace process, the Palestinian leadership decided it would not be prudent to declare a Palestinian state before Israel’s May 17 elections.

At a crucial meeting in Gaza of the PLO’s Central Council, Palestinian leaders therefore indicated that they would agree to postpone the official proclamation of a Palestinian state. Several options were presented at the meeting which included delaying the declaration for a fixed period, in accordance with U.S. and European recommendations, or merely to hold off on a decision until after Israel’s May 17th elections, which could involve a second round on June 1. According to Palestinian officials, the latter option had the most support among the majority of council members.

A letter from U.S. President Bill Clinton on the eve of the PLO council meeting made the difficult decision easier to take. The Clinton letter urged a one-year extension of the peace process and gave a pledge to support the Palestinian will to “determine their future as a free people on their land.” It called for the renewal of negotiations for a final settlement “in accelerated mode,” the implementation of previously signed agreements, and the cessation of unilateral acts including a Palestinian declaration of state and Jewish settlement building. However, the letter fell short of PNA President Yasser Arafat’s hope that in return for his agreement not to declare a Palestinian state on May 4 Clinton would promise in advance to recognize an independent Palestinian state at a specified future date.

In addition to helping the leadership save face with a deeply disappointed and increasingly impatient Palestinian population, the strong U.S. push also served to fill the legal vacuum left at the end of the interim agreement on May 4.

“Apart from the dangerous legal vacuum we leave open at the end of the interim period, I don’t agree with the idea of postponing our right to self-determination without a specific date in mind,” Minister of Social Affairs Intisar al-Wazir, better known as Umm Jihad, told the Washington Report. “Without a date, we are leaving the Israeli government to freeze our decision and to keep these negotiations going on forever.”

Analysts agree that in the absence of a permanent accord the Palestinian National Authority will face a constitutional vacuum left by the expiration of the five-year autonomy period. They caution that the Palestinian Legislative Council, set up by the interim accords, will fall into limbo, although PLC Speaker Ahmed Qreia says the council will continue to operate until elections are held. No date has been set for parliamentary elections.

One day prior to the Palestinian Central Council meeting in Gaza, the Palestinian Legislative Council passed a non-binding resolution that called for “continued efforts to establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” and urged the PLO to take “all necessary steps” to achieve that goal, although it did not elaborate or reaffirm May 4 as a deadline for statehood.

While Palestinian leaders agreed in principle with the declaration of a Palestinian state on May 4, many admitted the timing and circumstances were not favorable. A poll conducted by the Center for Palestinian Research and Study in Nablus found that 48 percent of Palestinians favored deferring the declaration of statehood, while 43 percent say they would have favored a unilateral declaration on May 4.

“I prefer not to dwell on the issue of a state at this moment. In effect, we already have a state,” said Palestinian Tourism Minister Mitri Abu Aita. “The problem is not whether we are called a state, because in fact we declared a state in 1988 and the world accepted it then. The problem now is how to get the rest of our Palestinian land back.”

Saher Habash, member of Fatah’s central committee, told the Washington Report that not declaring a Palestinian state was a mistake because “this is an opportunity that won’t come again soon. By prolonging the establishment of our state, we prolong the Netanyahu era which will have negative results in the long and short term. Netanyahu has always been against a Palestinian state and used that during his campaign as a scare tactic.”

Marwan Bargouti, Fatah leader in the West Bank, added that he felt the declaration could wait if necessary. He bristled at the mention of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s threats to annex the West Bank if the Palestinians had gone ahead with the declaration.

“Netanyahu always threatens the Palestinians but he knows that if he comes into Palestinian areas, we will fight. Things are different now,” he said.

Maureen Meehan is a free-lance journalist who covers Jerusalem and the West Bank.