|
Not for sale
Palestinians won’t accept a Vichy government
By Khalid Amayreh
06/18/07 "ICH"
-- -- - Occupied Jerusalem, 17 June 2007 -- -The vast bulk
of Palestinians, at home and in the Diaspora, will not accept a
quisling government in Ramallah that might be at Israel’s beck
and call. This is precisely what the Bush administration and
Israel expect the new government, headed by Salam Fayyad, to be.
Of course, it is entirely up to Fayyad and his cabinet to prove
the falseness of Israeli bedding and American expectations.
Unfortunately, the new government seems to offer a little
promise for a better tomorrow for the thoroughly starved,
exhausted and tormented Palestinians.
Indeed, the deafening silence by Abbas and Fayyad, et al, in the
face of widespread thuggish behavior by well-known armed
hooligans who have been vandalizing and burning down buildings,
institutions and businesses throughout the West Bank, is very
telling.
True, the government is still a few hours’ old. However, the
absence of even a verbal condemnation of the orgy of terror and
vandalism against suspected Hamas supporters and their families
and businesses doesn’t augur well for the future.
Predictably, the US and Israel have been heaping wholesome
praise on the Fayyad government. Moreover, the US and Israel
have already signaled their enthusiastic willingness to lift all
financial sanctions against the occupied West Bank, apparently
to strengthen the Dahlan-Abbas camp against other Palestinians
who refuse to be bribed or intimidated into giving in to Israeli
insolence and arrogance of power.
The Fayyad Government may be temporarily pleased by the American
and Israeli support. However, it should understand that American
and Israeli backing is like a poisoned chalice.
Experience proved that in the Middle East any government or
faction or organization backed by the US will be reviled by the
masses. This is especially true in the occupied Palestinian
territories where collaboration with Israel, which controls
America’s politics and policies, is seen as ultimate treason.
The Palestinian masses know very well what the US symbolize for
them, their children and their enduring cause. It symbolizes
oppression in its ugliest forms. It symbolizes mass murder, land
theft, dispossession, deprivation and ultimate mendacity and
hypocrisy. America is the enabler, sustainer and justifier of 40
years of Israeli Nazism whose ultimate goal is the obliteration
of Palestinians as a nation, by arrogating their homeland for
them and making their future as precarious as possible.
In short, America to the Palestinians is very much like what
Nazi Germany was to the Jews. Hence, any government agreeing to
throw itself into the American lap will lose its legitimacy if
not its very existence. This is probably the reason why
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip didn’t fight for Muhammed Dahlan
and his men.
During the past 18 months, the US, through people like Keith
Dayton, gave us a lot of money and weapons to kill each other in
the service of Israel, which doesn’t really distinguish between
this or that Palestinian group, as long as they reject the
occupation and insist on freedom.
That happened while the US and Israel (and also the hypocritical
EU governments) made sure to starve and impoverish ordinary
Palestinians in the hope that they would revolt against Hamas
and abandon Palestinian aspirations, in return for bread and
American money.
Yes, America gave us weapons to kill each other, while making
sure to starve and torment us, as if the Nazis of our time
wanted us to kill and be killed hungry.
These are not allegations or unsubstantiated claims but
well-known facts. US officials and media have been openly
speaking about igniting civil war in Gaza and the West Bank.
Elliot Abrams, who is answerable to AIPAC, even boasted about
his success in setting Palestinians against each other.
Unfortunately, President Abbas never bothered to tell the
Palestinian people why and for what purpose he was amassing all
these American-supplied weapons? Was it because he wanted to
fight the Israeli occupation? Or was it to decapitate Hamas in
one full swoop when the opportunity arose? And if the latter was
the reason, then can we say that Hamas was justified in its
preemptive action in Gaza?
Honest Palestinians knew from the very inception what was going
on. The writing was on the wall for a long time, and the
national apostasy on the part of certain Palestinian leaders was
getting starker and starker.
There is no doubt that any close identification of the new
government with the Israeli occupier will invite its demise, and
that could happen sooner rather than later.
More to the point, it is wrong and misleading to assume that the
Fatah movement in its entirety would back a government that says
“yes” to Israel and the US.
A government as such would be a treacherous government, a
quisling entity.
Therefore, the new government should watch its steps very
carefully and refrain from reaching any agreement with the
Zionist regime that could compromise our national rights.
This is not a matter of Fatah vs. Hamas. This is a matter of
Palestine and Palestine is not for sale.
Click
on "comments" below to
read or post comments
Comment
Guidelines
Be succinct, constructive and
relevant to the story.
We
encourage engaging, diverse and
meaningful commentary. Do not
include personal information such
as names, addresses, phone
numbers and emails. Comments
falling outside our guidelines
– those including personal
attacks and profanity – are
not permitted.
See our complete
Comment
Policy and
use
this link to notify us if you
have concerns about a comment.
We’ll promptly review and
remove any inappropriate
postings.
Send Page To a Friend
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
|
