The Israel-Arab Reader

by Walter Laqueur

  2. [Determining] the structure of the security forces, building them on professional foundations, working to supply their needs and carrying out a general reform which will eliminate partisan affiliation. In addition, they will be distanced from political alliances and struggles, their loyalty will be only to the country and they will be committed to carrying out the decisions of their political leaders. Those who work for the security establishment will carry out only the duties delegated to them.

  3. Commitment to follow the guidelines for the service in security forces, as ratified by the Legislative Council.

  4. [The government is committed to] formulating an overall security program to end all manifestations of anarchy, security confusion and attacks [by Palestinians against each other], to protect blood [i.e., life], self-respect, and public and private property and assets. The confiscation of [illegal] weapons [will be carried out], ensuring civilian safety. [The government will work] to correct injustice [done to individuals] through [respect for] the rule of law and support for the police so that they may carry out their duties and the decisions of the legal [system] in the best way possible.

  Fifth: The legal sphere 1. The government, in full cooperation with the judiciary, will work to ensure a reform of the legal system and its operation, and to [fully] protect all its institutions. Thus it will be able to fulfill its responsibilities, carrying out its duties [of ensuring] justice and fighting corruption. That will be done [by] the [strict] preservation of its independence, implementing the rule of law and enforcing the law with fairness, transparency, without bias and by monitoring the files relating to corruption and attacks on public property.

  2. The government stresses that it will act in accordance with the [Palestinian] basic law which determines the relations between the three authorities based on their separation and honoring the authority given to each by the basic law.

  3. The government will support his honor the president [i.e., the chairman] in fulfilling his duties. It will strictly ensure full cooperation with the Palestinian presidency in accordance with the law and will work with the Legislative Council and the judiciary to develop a Palestinian political system on which to found [the existence] of one united strong national authority.

  Sixth: The economy 1. The government seeks to terminate the various forms of the oppressive siege forced upon our people.

  2. The government calls for a reexamination of the Paris economic agreement [signed in 1994] and a liberation of the Palestinian economy from dependence [on Israel].

  3. Highest priority will be given to advancing the national economy. [Governmental] protection will be given to the economic sectors [dealing with] manufacturing and services, and national [i.e., Palestinian] exports will be encouraged while the national product will be supported in every way possible. Economic and commercial ties will be developed with the Arab-Muslim world, the EU and other countries.

  4. The consumer will be protected, the private sector will be encouraged, an appropriate environment will be created for its operation, a firm working relationship will be created between the government and institutions in the private sector, and monopolies will be eliminated. The just managing and division of existing resources will be determined. The government will provide an appropriate environment and atmosphere of protection and stability for venture capital.

  5. The government will encourage economic growth in a way appropriate to its values and tradition, and [through] realizing social justice. That will be done to protect the private sector, encourage investment, fight poverty and unemployment, strengthen productive economic sectors, rehabilitate the infrastructure, develop industrial areas and the branches of housing and technology.

  6. Investment laws will be reexamined and an end will be put to monopolistic activities between the executive authority and the private sector.

  7. The agricultural sector will be supported, and the budget allotted for its development will be increased.

  8. The salary payment system of public employees will be regularized by adhering to [salary] tables, as will the salaries of those who have not yet been paid in both the public and private sectors.

  9. Concern will be given to workers, agricultural workers and fishermen, and their suffering will be alleviated through support and [the initiation of] special projects.

  Seventh: Reforms 1. The government will adopt a venture of administrative and fiscal reform and will cooperate with the Legislative Council to determine laws which will reinforce reform and fight corruption.

  2. [The government is committed to] developing organizational structures and work systems for governmental institutions to ensure that they work effectively and that their actions are correct and lawful.

  3. A plan will be devised for wisely funding all aspects of the government.

  4. [The government will] fight corruption and institute moral values of transparency, prevent the exploitation of public funds and form a collective Palestinian strategy for developing the administration.

  Eighth: Strengthening the Palestinian value system 1. The government is committed to a foundation of national unity, to preserving the welfare of its citizens, instilling values of mutual respect, adopting the language of dialogue, ending all forms of tension and anger and creating a culture of tolerance, preservation of Palestinian [life] and prohibiting internal fighting.

  2. The government stresses the unity of the Palestinian people, both at home and abroad.

  3. The government will act to establish and deepen national reconciliation and internal stability, and will use suitable tools to deal with the results of the unfortunate incidents [i.e., violent clashes between Hamas and Fatah and the security forces]. The government is committed to [honoring] the principles of legal sovereignty and defending civilians and public and private property, respecting all its commitments regarding such issues. I call upon our brothers, the members of the families [harmed by] the unfortunate incidents [i.e., violent clashes] to be patient and act with deliberation. I assure you that we stand with them [and identify with] their injured and their pain.

  4. The government commits itself to perpetuating the principle of citizenship through equal rights and duties, equal opportunity and the establishment of social justice, especially in the realm of ministerial appointments and in the various institutions, with no discrimination against the general rights of all members of the country, and abolishing all forms of favoritism in hiring workers in the civilian and security fields.

  5. The government emphasizes that it defends the principle of political pluralism, supports the development of an election campaign, of defending civil liberties, the establishment of democratic values, of defending human rights, the establishment of the principle of justice and equality, of protecting freedom of the press, freedom of thought and freedom of expression, the right to express a different opinion and the rights of Palestinian women. [The government] commits itself to peaceful changes of government and to completing [municipal] elections of the local councils as soon as possible.

  6. The government is committed to founding a political partnership and to encouraging all the [political] forces [at work] in the [Palestinian] arena to develop a serious dialogue to realize [that partnership]. . . .

  Acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmad Bahr: Speech (April 13, 2007)46

  “You will be victorious on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet.” Yes, [the Koran says that] “you will be victorious,” but only “if you are believers.” Allah willing, “you will be victorious,” while America and Israel will be annihilated, Allah willing. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards, as is said in the Book of Allah: “You shall find them the people most eager to protect their lives.” They are cowards, who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America’s nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and ev
erywhere.

  America will be annihilated, while Islam will remain. The Muslims “will be victorious, if you are believers.” Oh Muslims, I guarantee you that the power of Allah is greater than America, by whom many are blinded today. Some people are blinded by the power of America. We say to them that with the might of Allah, with the might of His Messenger, and with the power of Allah, we are stronger than America and Israel.

  I tell you that we will protect the enterprise of the resistance, because the Zionist enemy understands only the language of force. It does not recognize peace or the agreements. It does not recognize anything, and it understands only the language of force. Our jihad-fighting Palestinian people salutes its brother, Sudan.

  The Palestinian woman bids her son farewell, and says to him: “Son, go and don’t be a coward. Go, and fight the Jews.” He bids her farewell and carries out a martyrdom operation. What did this Palestinian woman say when she was asked for her opinion, after the martyrdom of her son? She said: “My son is my own flesh and blood. I love my son, but my love for Allah and His Messenger is greater than my love for my son.” Yes, this is the message of the Palestinian woman, who was over 70 years old—Fatima al-Najjar. She was over 70 years old, but she blew herself up for the sake of Allah, bringing down many criminal Zionists.

  Oh Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, vanquish the Americans and their supporters. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one. Oh Allah, show them a day of darkness. Oh Allah, who sent down His Book, the mover of the clouds, who defeated the enemies of the Prophet, defeat the Jews and the Americans, and bring us victory over them.

  Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas: Address to the PLO Central Council (June 20, 2007)

  The Palestinian flag was trampled today under the feet of [those] who regard the Palestinian national project—whose banner we have been carrying generation after generation—as opposed to their [own] project of darkness. They have replaced [the Palestinian flag] with their own flag, which is a flag of division, detached from our people’s history, its struggle and its sacrifice. Next, they persistently set out to desecrate each and every emblem of our national struggle, even in the home of our [late] leader, the martyr Yasir Arafat, and [in the home of Fatah founder] Abu Jihad. In central Gaza, they threw down the statue of the unknown soldier pointing towards Jerusalem—[a monument] that symbolizes the sacrifice of [our] martyrs, the legacy of the Palestinian fighters, and the unity of Palestinian, Egyptian, and Arab blood.

  [Hamas] formulated a plan to split Gaza from the West Bank and to establish an emirate, or a mini-state of one color controlled by a single group of extremists and religious fanatics. [In order to realize] its plan, it made military and political preparations by forming armed militias, controlled exclusively by [Hamas], which were trained to take over the PA [Palestinian Authority] in our beloved Gaza Strip. . . . [Meanwhile, Hamas] continued its assassinations of the field commanders and leaders of the security apparatuses and of the Fatah movement in Gaza. We witnessed murders and executions unprecedented in our entire history, based on accusations of apostasy and treason, on the uprooting [of people], on incitement to hatred, and on agitation of raw impulses and emotions.

  The putschists attacked the headquarters of the National Security [Forces], General Intelligence, the Preventive Security [apparatus], and the Presidential Guard, and perpetrated horrors that are totally alien to our [Palestinian] heritage and tradition—murdering, executing people on the street, throwing fighters from tall buildings, and looting security headquarters, public facilities, and Christian houses of worship.

  [Indeed,] even the churches were not spared. One of the oldest churches in Palestine, which stood long before our arrival [in the region], was looted and set on fire. There are Christians among us, and they are our brothers, and now we discover that [according to Hamas] they are enemies and must leave [Palestine]! . . . This is a mark of shame on the Palestinian people, on those who perpetrated these [crimes], on the putschists and murderers. [They attacked] the homes of hundreds of Palestinian Authority civil servants, [who are] peaceful citizens as well as symbols of our national sovereignty like the presidential headquarters, which was taken over by hooligans who destroyed and looted it. . . .

  There can be no dialogue with these murderers and putschists, and in our entire history I cannot think of another force or group [of Palestinians] who murdered their own people, [looted] homes and property, and desecrated our national symbols, like the putschists in Gaza have done during this black week. To what end did they do this, and in the name of what religion? [It cannot have been] in the name of religion, for religion has nothing to do with acts such as these. Islam calls for tolerance and liberty. This is not Islam; it is alien to [the spirit of] Islam. . . . The only purpose of the coup was to realize the sick and reckless fantasy of establishing an emirate of darkness and backwardness that will control, with fire and with an iron [fist], the lives, opinions, and future of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza. . . .

  We have reached a new juncture, and there is no point in calling for dialogue as in the past. We must quell the putsch, in all its forms and manifestations, including by dismantling the Executive Force, which carried it out, and which was pronounced illegal by presidential decree. The Hamas leadership must apologize to the Palestinian people and to the PLO for the blood-soaked putsch it has perpetrated, and must hand over all PLO facilities and headquarters to the new legitimate government of united Palestine. It must obey the law and the decisions [of this new government, and stop] the destruction, crimes, assassinations, executions, looting, robbery, and other violations that have been carried out and are still being carried out in the Gaza Strip. . . .

  We are not hostile to anyone, nor do we exclude or distance anyone— but [Hamas] has betrayed the trust [placed in it] and staged a putsch against the legitimate [government]. They are not worthy [partners] for dialogue. There will be no dialogue with them under any circumstances. . . .

  Whoever tries to distort and simplify matters by describing this conflict as a struggle between Fatah and Hamas is wrong. This is a conflict between the national project and the project of the militias; between the project of the single homeland and the project of an emirate or an ostensible mini-state; between a project that attempts to impose its conditions by force and to establish its closed and private regime, and the project that has embraced democracy, dialogue, and national partnership in resolving conflicts. [This is a conflict] between those who take [the path of] assassinations, murder, killings, and plots in order to achieve their sectarian goals, and those who stand for the law and for the defense of the unity of the homeland and the people.

  One month ago, I learned that the Hamas movement had planted a bomb on Salah al-Din Street, [meant] to explode as I passed by. The information was definite, and came from the security services, but it did not include the precise location [of the bomb]. . . . I insisted on going to Gaza, and there I received a videotape from an individual in the Hamas movement. In the video I saw six people—with their faces uncovered and wearing Hamas symbols—dragging a 250-kilogram bomb. They placed it underground, and one of them said: “This is for the Israelis; we’ll keep it in reserve.” They went on digging until they had [placed] three [bombs]. Some of them said: “This one . . . is for [Mahmoud Abbas]”. . . .

  Our main goal is to prevent the civil war spreading [from Gaza] to the West Bank; to carry out [our] security plans; to [put] an end to the era of the militias, so that there will be [just] one weapon in the field—the legitimate weapon of the Palestinian Authority; and to stop and prevent all infractions by any side. [Our goal] is to treat the citizens on the basis of respect for the law, and not to settle scores with anyone for belonging to [a certain] group, or for [holding certain] opinions. . . .

  The schools, colleges, and universities will become centers of study and enlightenment, rather than centers of ignorance, darkness, and the propagation of an ideology of hatre
d that destroys the people’s unity and the social fabric. Likewise, the mosques should be supported and developed such that they will remain centers of worship for the glorification of Allah, be He praised and exalted, and not centers of political propaganda that are exploited for the good of a certain group or a certain element and serve as weapons stockpiles and interrogation centers. . . .

  The PLO Central Council is called upon to remain permanently convened, so that it can take part in dealing with the coup and in expelling [its perpetrators] from all circles of the Palestinian people. Likewise, the Council is called upon to support the resolutions of the PA—especially in the area of dealing with the coup—and to prevent [Hamas] from achieving its goals of dividing the homeland’s unity. The new government should be supported. All of the PLO institutions and Palestinian organizations in the homeland and abroad [should] give the government [their] full trust and support as well as national, popular, and legal backing. . . .

  Fathi Hamad, Palestinian Legislative Council Member (Hamas): Speech (August 10, 2007)

  Through the Legislative Council, we, in Hamas, call to have Mahmoud Abbas placed on trial immediately. . . . The day will come when Abbas will face the Palestinian people, and will be tried for the crimes he is committing in order to remain in power, even if only for a very short while.

  What Abbas is doing constitutes his last breath. The youth of Hamas and all the mujahedin are familiar with Abbas and his methods, and therefore they will be steadfast, Allah willing, and will carry out jihad and martyrdom operations, which will blow up all his security agencies.