MUST READ: THE PALESTINIANS GREEK TRAGEDY

The Palestinians' Greek Tragedy
by Prof. Barry Rubin

In this land, says a character in “Oedipus” by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, “Who seeks shall find; Who sits with folded hands or sleeps is blind." Yet in most things concerned with this land of the Middle East, the blind don’t just sit with folded hands or sleep, they are running things.

Too often, the failure to realize just how bizarre things are—or, to put it in another way, how perfectly logical they are when examined by a different set of beliefs and goals—makes it impossible to understand or cope with the region.

Consider Palestinian politics, always illustrative of these principles. The new theory is that Fatah, chastened by defeat in the Gaza Strip, will be more moderate and seek peace.
Consequently, even if nothing changes in its program or behavior it should be rewarded lavishly as a Western client. And that’s the saner Western reaction; the even worse alternative is to embrace Hamas.

But even the pro-Fatah strategy disregards a lot: the group’s continued disinterest in reform, weak leadership, incitement and tolerance of anti-Israel terror, factionalism, corruption, mistreatment of its own people, and much more.

Helping Fatah survive is probably the best policy but one worth implementing only if leverage is used to make the surviving Fatah behave less like Hamas’s twin brother. Like forcing a drug addict to get off dope, this would do more to keep the miscreant alive than shovelling in money to buy more heroin. People who would be appalled if the Free World enthusiastically and uncritically backs sleazy repressive Latin American or African dictatorships have no problem thinking Fatah a dandy ally without pressing it for reform. Mark my words: their ship will sink.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is supposed to be the smartest Western leader. Now he has taken the job as bag man for Fatah, becoming its full-time fundraiser. No doubt, Swiss bankers and purveyors of fine luxury goods to embezzling Fatah officials will have cause to thank him. Already, though, Palestinians and Arab media are complaining that he is pro-Israel, an enemy. They will take the money but won’t say thanks.

But Palestinians haven’t concluded, even after 50 years of defeat due to radical strategy and tactics, that peace and moderation is the way out. They see alternatives. For example, in a recent Pew poll, Palestinians are the sole group in the world favoring a nuclear Iran. They better be careful. Given their luck, if Iran ever did fire a nuclear weapon at Israel it would land in the middle of the West Bank or Gaza Strip.

And there are even more alternatives. Fais Hamdan, a 34-year-old stone cutter from a village near Nablus understands more than sophisticated Western politicians. He told an American reporter that if Hamas wants “to kill any political deal, they only have to attack a settlement or another Israeli target. Don't think that Hamas is very weak in the West Bank."

Hamdan is right. Hamas is sure to launch attacks on Israel from the West Bank to discredit the Fatah regime. The response will then be that this proves all the more need to shore up Fatah. Wrong. The issue is really: will a Fatah government really act against such terrorists or want to imitate these supposed patriots fighting the real enemy, thinking to stop them would show Fatah as “protector” of Israel and thus totally illegitimate. This is how Palestinian ideology and politics work.

If you don’t believe Hamdan ask Hani al-Hassan, a member of the Fatah central committee and perhaps the last surviving member of Fatah’s original leadership. He is usually portrayed as a conservative because of his closeness to Saudi Arabia. He was also according to a very reliable former KGB agent the highest-ranking Soviet spy in the PLO. That ought to tell you something about Middle East politics.

...



Pertinent Links:

1) The Palestinians' Greek Tragedy