Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, Pages 11, 86

Special Report

Suicide Bombs Result of Netanyahu's Trickery and Arafat's Inaction

By Maureen Meehan

Long before July's disastrous suicide bombings occurred in West Jerusalem there was little doubt among Palestinians that the peace process was on its last legs. In fact, there was little doubt that a suicide bombing would occur sooner or later. In addition to lamenting the loss of civilian lives, the world media—with a flare for the obvious—noted that the bombing took place just as an agreement in principle had been reached between Palestinian and Israeli leaders to resume low-level committee meetings in an effort to edge the stalled negotiations closer to what many call "back on track."

Indeed that phrase has become a misnomer in that there is no track to follow and there has not been one for a very long time. Many Palestinians have sadly realized over the past several years that indeed there never was a track, not even a circuitous one, designed to lead, ultimately, to a lasting and just peace that would come near to meeting their desires for a nation of their own, economic independence, and a semblance of dignity free of military occupation.

A cursory reading of the original peace agreement and subsequent accords signed by the two sides confirms this. However, most people—including the major protagonists—haven't read the peace accords, don't understand them or can't be bothered. They trusted their leaders to deliver the best deal possible and they also trusted their leaders when they promised that a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital would be the result. Palestinians now realize that trusting their leaders can be a costly mistake.

But it doesn't matter now who did or didn't read the accords. The truth of the matter, which conspicuously comes out in the end, is that, yes, there was a process which Israel attempted to pass off as a means to a noble end while consistently refusing to do what it took to get there. But, no, it would not lead to a lasting peace, nor even a short-term respite from the daily humiliation of occupation.

In the beginning, the former Israeli government of the late Yitzhak Rabin and later Shimon Peres convinced more than a few Palestinians that peace, complete with their own land, economy and justice, was the final prize. Israel easily managed to convince its friends abroad of this because they so wanted it to be true. The U.S. government, Israel's closest ally, readily supplied pens to the signators not only because the White House was convinced but because there were political agendas and plans to be juggled, none of which had anything to do with the prize those naive Palestinians had hoped for.

A look at the economic, social and psychological state of affairs among West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem Palestinians, as well as the shrinking amount of available land, water and capacity for movement, underscores the fact that the peace accords not only failed to achieve peace but in fact have served to institutionalize the very obstacles that consistently plagued the process in the first place.

The 40 percent growth in Jewish settlements since 1993, the confiscation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land, the building of miles of bypass roads to serve Jewish settlers, the stepped-up ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem in the form of literally stripping Palestinians of their birthright to live there, and the legal condoning of torture used on Palestinian prisoners comprise just some of the activity that has marked the years since the signing of the peace accords. Even the once naive have turned bitter under the sheer weight of the facts.

Most Palestinians now see that Israel's insistence on a Jews-only state, and the overwhelming power of the Israeli military and its unconditional U.S. support have combined to finish off any hope to change the situation.

To compound those tragic realizations, a large portion of the Palestinian leadership has abused its authority so thoroughly as to create a power vacuum that is further driving its citizens into desperation.

Massive financial corruption and theft among arrogant government ministers and officials while ordinary Palestinians suffer through a wrenching economic crisis is only part of the problem.

The lack of organization and efficiency on the part of government offices tends to leave Palestinians feeling they have nowhere to turn to solve their daily problems, much less deal with the crises generated by the repression, sealing off of towns and cities, lack of food and gasoline supplies and the general political deterioration following a suicide bombing.

Palestinians complain that their leadership is no longer fighting for their best interests at the negotiating table, nor has it made honest efforts to improve their lives at the grassroots level through the formation and operation of institutions to which people can turn to solve social, medical or educational problems.

Several months ago when a Bethelehem resident was beaten to death in a Jerusalem hospital where he'd been taken after five days of brutal torture in an Israeli prison, except for several elected Palestinian Council members, the Palestinian Authority barely complained about the outrage. The existence of more than 4,000 prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails goes practically ignored by the PA.

Israel's construction of a new Jewish settlement on Jabal Abu Ghneim, or Har Homa, overlooking Bethlehem, appeared to be the needed catalyst around which Palestinians and supporters could have built a broad-based movement against Jewish settlement expansion. Some were even expecting a new intifada.

Instead the Jabal Abu Gheneim protests were repressed. The arrest of several dozen union leaders of the striking and severely underpaid teachers by PA police under Arafat's orders further served to drive home the point that something was seriously wrong with the Palestinian leadership.

The appearance of the Hamas suicide bombers therefore should have come as no surprise, although it is unlikely that they themselves engage in any profound political analysis of the reasons, consequences or goals of their actions beyond the obvious, which is to wreak havoc. Notwithstanding, it does seem to follow that the lack of leadership, trust, and basic governing skills on the part of the PA leadership has opened the door to the most extreme elements in Palestinian society. And that frightens not only Israelis whose lives are shattered by their bombs, but Palestinians whose lives are ruled by the consequences of the resulting anger, fear and hatred.

"It was clear we were in for some serious problems when [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu got into power," said one West Banker who decided to remain anonymous in view of the extreme political tension. "But we expected our leadership to speak up even louder for our rights and defend our land and our water. But the Israelis are getting away with more and more and our leaders don't seem to be doing anything to stop it or protest it," he continued.

"They should have pulled out of the peace negotiations months ago instead of letting Hamas put an end to them in a blast whose consequences we'll all be feeling for a long time to come."