Day: March 13, 2005

Now that Hamas has decided to participate in the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary contests, Yasser Arafat’s old Fatah henchmen are concerned about a severe blow to their own power.

The Palestinians’ ruling Fatah movement, tainted by corruption and cronyism, is increasingly worried it will get trounced by political upstart Hamas in parliamentary elections.

The Islamic militant group issued its challenge over the weekend, saying it will compete in the July 17 vote after avoiding such a showdown for the past decade.

Hamas has shown no signs it wants to bring down Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and the violent movement, which has carried out scores of attacks on Israelis since its founding in 1987, appears to be satisfied with transforming itself into a strong opposition party. However, if Hamas wins control of parliament or even a large chunk of the seats, it could hamper Abbas’ ability to negotiate a peace deal with Israel.

Realistically, it looks like a choice between the corrupt ruling terrorists, who may be pondering a shift of some degree or other towards moderation, and the newer, more violent terrorists, who have long claimed they were ready to step in and rule the Palestinians politically but are only now taking steps to do so.

“Now there is serious competition,” said Sakher Habash, a senior Fatah official.

With political survival at stake, Fatah old-timers reluctantly have agreed to hold primaries to select candidates for parliament and even commissioned opinion polls in search of the most electable candidates – remarkable changes for a calcified movement that has dominated Palestinian politics for four decades.

However, the makeover may come too late to attract disgruntled voters, judging by Hamas’ sweeping victory in local elections in 10 Gaza towns in January. Many voters said at the time they don’t necessarily approve of Hamas’ violent ideology, but they want to punish Fatah for its high-handedness.

It’s a shame that there is yet to arise among the Palestinians a viable third voice, a voice for moderation, freedom, peace and progress.

Tension between the rival movements has been rising.

On Sunday, hundreds of Hamas and Fatah supporters threw sticks and chairs at each other at Hebron University in the West Bank. Fatah activists tried to break up a Hamas rally ahead of student council elections Monday, but a Hamas leader on campus, Mohammed Ali, was confident of victory. “When Fatah felt that it was weak, and that it will lose the student elections tomorrow, they tried to ruin our parade,” he said.

The prospect of defeat also has heated up rivalries within Fatah, particularly between veteran leaders, who refuse to step aside, and the younger activists.

Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent member of the young guard, said Fatah needs a major overhaul to regain the trust of voters.

“If Fatah doesn’t do this, it faces a real danger as far as its leading role is concerned,” Barghouti said. “The leadership of the movement has to move quickly to prove that it can correct these mistakes.”

Barghouti, who is serving five consecutive life terms in an Israeli prison for involvement in deadly attacks, made the comments in a written statement from his prison cell, in response to questions submitted by The Associated Press.

Last week, dozens of gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, who have ties to Fatah, broke up a meeting of hundreds of grass-roots activists in Ramallah, shooting in the air. Participants said they suspect the gunmen were sent by those in Fatah’s Central Committee who oppose internal reform.

However, the specter of defeat has spurred Fatah leaders into action.

Habash said he has hired four polling companies to test the popularity of Fatah candidates. Those who score low will be cut from the slate without hesitation, he said in an interview in his Ramallah office. “This is strictly different from the elections we had in 1996,” he said, referring to the campaign for parliament in which candidates were largely chosen based on their loyalty to the late Yasser Arafat.

Independent pollster Faisal Awartani, one of those commissioned by Habash, said choosing the most popular candidates is Fatah’s only chance of winning, but he fears the party is resistant to change.

Ah, it’s all about electability over substance and ideas. Echoes of the Democratic Party’s 2004 nomination process.

Hamas’ decision to compete, coupled with its observance of an unofficial truce with Israel, is a major step in what is seen as the group’s gradual transformation into a political party. Hamas remains committed to Israel’s destruction but has indicated it is willing to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem as an interim step.

Peace and prosperity are simply not possible for the Palestinian people while a sizable portion of their society place priority on the destruction of neighboring Israel over their own success as a people.