It was possible for the 25th session of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, which concluded recently, to have been the most important and significant of all its past meetings, since it was held under difficult and complex circumstances that are affecting all aspects of the Palestinian movement. These difficult circumstances include the political separation between Ramallah and Gaza, the failure of the Palestinian-Israel negotiating process, and the continuation of Israeli aggression. This session could have focused all of its attention on one thing: Fatah, and the preparation for its congress next year. It could have been the rebirth of the political movement that is at the heart of the Palestinian national project, had it embarked on evaluating and correcting its internal status. This council could have started saving Fatah’s honorable history that started at the beginning of the Palestinian revolution.
But this was not meant to be once the attention of some of Fatah’s leaders was focused on something minor that could have been bypassed or altogether deleted from the agenda: the Fayyad government. However, it was placed on the agenda by some of the historic leaders of the movement. According to leaked reports, Fayyad’s government was at the focus of the Council’s deliberations, as if this government was responsible for the current situation or for the Hamas takeover of Gaza: as if Fayyad’s government didn’t save the situation after the political chaos that followed Gaza’s takeover, or as if it is what is blocking Fatah and the Palestinian Authority from returning to Gaza.
The battle between some of Fatah’s leaders and Fayyad’s government predates the 25th session of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, and involved heated debates and statements that were issued by those who were against Fayyad’s government. It also involved leaks that the president will soon reshuffle the cabinet, which was all denied by the presidency. But the discussions of the council brought back to life the debate over reshuffling Fayyad’s government. The excuses that are used by these people are often repeated, but the real reason is their desire to be part of the government in order to “stop what is wrong” with it. Some criticize Fayyad’s meeting with General William Jones, the American envoy responsible for implementing the Annapolis understandings, as well as his meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, as if these meetings reflect the personal will of Fayyad. They ignore that this is part of the agenda as set by President Abu Mazin, who himself publicly meets with Israeli leaders, American envoys, and others as part of Palestine’s public and official policy.
As if one of these leaders, if they were to take the place of Fayyad, would have refused such meetings that are spelled out by the policy set by the president. The government is an executive tool for the presidency, and if the government’s policy did not concur with the president’s, Abu Mazin would have fired the government.
In their attempts to go around the real reasons why they attack Fayyad’s government, the council decided to call on Abu Mazin to form a new government by coordinating with the different factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and to separate the Finance Ministry from the Prime Minister! Talks about “coordinating” with the different PLO factions are only an attempt to divert attention from the factional and personal motives of those who call for altering the government. If the truth is different than that, let these people call for a change in government that would actually give the different PLO factions real responsibilities, a political “share”, and key portfolios in the new government. Let these people also call for the new government to exclude the historic leadership, and give young men and women the opportunity to experience a job in the government sector, unless Fatah has been unable to produce a new generation of leaders that has the ability to bear responsibility.
It is obvious that the call for separating the Finance Ministry from the Prime Minister is easily explained from these people’s perspective. Fayyad controlled the finances of the Palestinian Authority in a way that none of the leaders, who are known for their excessive financial habits, were used to before. Cutting these leaders off from the money supply is a major reason behind these attacks on Fayyad. We do not want to talk too much about the corruption that took place for many years so as not to be misunderstood or misinterpreted.
There is no doubt that certain aspects of Fayyad’s government could have been better if it weren’t for some of Fayyad’s decisions, for which he is responsible as prime minster. These, important as they may be, do not justify re-dividing the cake to fit the desires of some of the historic leaders of Fatah. We hope that the leadership would invest its historic experience to bring back Fatah to the right track (which would also make it more powerful), and would participate in organizing a satisfactory congress for the movement, instead of having personal clashes with Fayyad’s government.
(Translation by Mike Husseini of ATFP)
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