A man capable of leading an independent Palestine (19459000)
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While the world awaits the response of what is left of Hamas’ leadership to Donald Trump’s 20-point deal (which the US President says that they must accept, or else “pay in Hell”), it’s also important to keep in mind that it’s not certain that the agreement, as it was published earlier this week, would make it through Netanyahu’s Cabinet.
Trump said on September 29, that Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the deal’s terms, including what appears on first glance to be an extremely conditional mention of Palestinian self determination. The conditions will be met if the PA Reform Programme is carried out faithfully and the Gaza Re-development Program advances. The final solution may be here [my italics] “We are committed to a path that is credible towards Palestinian statehood and self-determination, as this is the Palestinian aspiration.”
Hamas will keep in mind that Netanyahu, upon his return to Israel said he did not agree to the creation of a Palestinian State. On social media, he said that the promise of statehood wasn’t written anywhere in this agreement. Israel will “forcefully resist” an outcome like that.
As representatives of Hamas, they are also excluded from any future participation in Gaza’s governance or a Palestinian State.
In the West Bank however, Hamas’ counterpart Fatah which is the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) president, has lost support from the majority of Palestinians. (A recent poll showed that only 6% of Palestinians would vote for Fatah’s Mahmoud Abubas). Abbas, who is aged 89, surrounds himself with older supporters. For years, the PA has suffered from corruption scandals.
A new generation of leaders is needed to form a credible and coherent government in a future Palestinian State. Many people believe that the man they think would be best suited to lead this government, is serving five consecutive life sentences in Israeli prison.
Marwan Barghouti is known as “Palestine’s Mandela”. It is clear that this has to do with his long period of imprisonment. It’s a nod to the fact that he prefers peaceful resistance, although he is not against violence for political purposes. Barghouti has gained the respect of both secularists in Palestine and Islamist leaders. Many have become friends with him while he was imprisoned. Ami Ayalon said last year that releasing Barghouti was a positive step in the direction of constructive negotiations.
As Leonie Fleischmann points out, there are powerful people who want him to remain in prison. Fleischmann is an expert on Middle East conflicts from City St Georges University of London. She says the PA has consistently opposed his release through prisoner exchanges. In response to an opinion piece by Barghouti published by The New York Times Netanyahu stated: “Calling the imprisoned Fatah Leader, Marwan Barghouti a Palestinian leader or parliamentarian, is like calling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a pediatrician.”
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Hamas is negotiating a deal with Israel, but the Palestinian leader most Palestinians would like to see in charge of their country sits behind bars.
The US cancelled the visas for the Palestinian Authority, so they were not able to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting that was held in New York.
The US is not the only country that has undermined PA’s ability to represent the Palestinian people. The irony is, Anne Irfan points it out, that the PA actually was set up in the Oslo Accords. This settlement, famously signed by PLO leader Yasser Rabin and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the White House, Bill Clinton presided.
Bill Clinton, US President with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Leader Yasser Alafat during the Oslo Accords Signing Ceremony on September 13, 1993.
Vince Musi/The White House
Irfan is a Middle East historian from UCL. He observes, not only that the accords were in favour of Israel and gave Palestinians limited autonomy, but that the Camp David summit was orchestrated to prevent an agreement. Irfan says that successive US administrations have undermined PA’s ability to lead.
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The US helped to create the Palestinian Authority, but has undermined it since.
The deal, however flawed it may be, does make some concessions to the Palestinians. It will be a stop to the violence and the aid will flow into Gaza again. This will all happen under the supervision of the UN, the Red Crescent and not the discredited Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. GHF is responsible for the aid distribution system that has led to so many Palestinians dying while they wait in line for food.
Israel has pledged to not annex Gaza and the West Bank. No one will be forced out. Hamas supporters who surrender their weapons or renounce violence will be granted amnesty under the agreement. Julie Norman thinks Hamas is well-advised to accept this deal. If they do not, Trump will give Israel the go-ahead to “finish” the job in Gaza.
Norman, a Middle East expert at UCL, and an analyst with the Royal United Services Institute believes that this offer is also the best Hamas will get. She observes that “Gazans want the destruction to stop.” Hamas’s decision to prolong the violence to achieve its goals may be unpopular with them.
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Trump’s plan to provide 20 points of assistance for Gaza may have serious flaws, but could be the most attractive offer Hamas has.
Regional Perspective
The apparent enthusiastic support of Israel’s Arab neighbors is a major factor. Scott Lucas said that they want to see the killing stop. Ending the conflict and pushing Israel to normalise further has a significant economic benefit. Reconstruction of Gaza after the war will bring in money.
They will also be mindful of not antagonizing their own citizens, many of whom are sympathetic towards the Palestinian cause. Ending the violence in Gaza would ease tensions and restore calm to an area that had been plagued by violence for the last two years.
Lucas, a Middle East expert at University College Dublin believes that normalisation will require time and a rebuilding of confidence. There is absolutely no way that normalisation can resume while Gaza continues to be a war zone.
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What is the Arab world’s position on Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan? Expert Q&A
Enjoy the good news!
Prior to the election last weekend in Moldova, there were grave concerns that Russian interference could affect the results of the vote, which pitted the pro-EU President, Maia Sandu against the pro Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc headed by Igor Dodon.
It was not even close, despite widespread reports that Russian Orthodox priests were recruited to convince their flocks to vote for Dodon. Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS/Solidarity) won the election with over 50% of votes, compared to Patriotic Electoral Bloc’s 28.14 %.
Maia Sandu (the president of Moldova) at a post-election press conference.
EPA/Dumitru Doru
Stefan Wolff is a specialist in international security from the University of Birmingham. He pointed out that the low voter turnout, and the large majority of votes which were cast in Europe by the Moldovan diaspora, was for PAS, as an indicator of the deep divisions in the country over the future of the nation.
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Moldova: pro EU party gains majority in elections dominated by Russian interference
Maga’s Viking Obsession
The words of FBI chief Kash Patel at a news conference to announce the arrest of the suspect involved in Charlie Kirk’s shooting have been met with a certain amount of humor. Patel assured Kirk that his efforts would continue and signed off by saying: “I will see you in Valhalla.”
Others thought that it was strange to praise a Christian Nationalist by referring to an afterlife of pagans. Some people pointed out how Viking mythology was a long-time obsession of far right movements, and an important element in Nazi iconography.
Tom Birkett, professor of Old English, Old Norse, and Scandinavian mythology at University College Cork explains how Valhalla is a Nordic concept and describes the ways it was colonised later by the extreme right. Patel’s reference was more likely to be a way to raise Kirk’s status to that of a hero-warrior than to send cryptic messages to America’s extreme right.
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How the FBI Director got involved in the obsession of the right-wing with Vikings
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