Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Pages 11-12

Gaza on the Ground

Has Mahmoud Abbas Lost All Credibility Among Palestinians?

By Mohammed Omer

The now-reversed decision by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) to defer until March 2010 a vote on the Goldstone report by the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) constituted “a huge betrayal” of the Palestinian people, critics in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and abroad charged.

The 575-page report (see November 2009 Washington Report, p. 13) presented strong evidence that Israel engaged in multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity during its 22-day assault on Gaza last December and January. Dubbed “Operation Cast Lead,” the attack employed ground troops, F-16 warplanes, white phosphorus, missiles, tanks and helicopter gunships, destroying key elements of Gaza’s infrastructure, killing more than 1,400 men, women and children, and injuring more than 5,000 Gazans.

Although the Palestinians have no army, navy or air force, the report cited evidence that militia fighters in Gaza, which is under the leadership of the Hamas government, likewise engaged in human rights violations and war crimes. The indiscriminate firing of homemade rockets into Israel damaged several buildings and killed three civilians, the report found. Ten Israeli soldiers also died during the assault, four as the result of friendly fire.

International law experts in the Netherlands expected that “the report by UNHRC would likely pave the way for the prosecution of the state of Israel and several of its leaders for war crimes in the International Criminal Court (ICC).” Palestinians hoped they would finally get some measure of justice after more than six decades of oppression and occupation.

The report’s primary recommendation was that both Israel and Hamas conduct internal investigations of the report’s findings. Asserting that the report was biased—despite the fact that its author is a Jewish Zionist—Israel rejected Goldstone’s recommendation. Under intense pressure from the U.S. and Israel, the PA opted to support deferring the UNHRC vote on the damning report. Thus, on Oct. 2, in a decision endorsed by several Arab states, the 49-member council postponed until March 2010 a vote to refer the report to the Security Council.

Two weeks later, following the uproar over the postponement, the UNHRC held an exceptional session on Oct. 15 at which it adopted a resolution condemning Israel and referring Goldstone’s report to the U.N. General Assembly. Of the UNHRC’s 49 members, 25 voted for the resolution and 6 against, with 11 member states abstaining, according to U.N. sources.

Following his government’s decision, PA Economics Minister Bassam Khoury, an independent Christian appointee, resigned in protest, and 16 Palestinian human rights groups, as well as several international—including Israeli—ones denounced the decision. The Palestinian groups registered their displeasure in a joint statement, insisting the decision to postpone “represents the triumph of politics over human rights. It is an insult to all victims and a rejection of their rights.”

The decision to delay the vote and investigation not only was seen as a betrayal of the people of Gaza, but opened a wide fissure within Arab ranks. Following the announcement of the decision, protests erupted throughout Gaza and the West Bank, many led by families who had lost their loved ones in the Israeli attack.

Abbas’ capitulation to U.S. and Israeli pressure appeared counter-productive given his waning support within Palestine and, indeed, his own Fatah party. “The consent to defer the vote had cost us dearly. We’ll need years to fix this mistake,” said one Fatah official who insisted on anonymity.

“Abu Mazen has lost a lot from this,” according to Shawan Jabarin, director of Al Haq, a Ramallah-based human rights group. “Even the average man on the street thinks Abu Mazen has given up the rights of the victims and given up on pursuing Israeli war criminals.”

Gaza-based human rights activist and attorney Salah Abdelshafi agreed, noting, “The Palestinians lost the chicken that lays the golden eggs by deferring the Goldstone report.”

In Geneva, meanwhile, Sheikh Khaled bin Jassem Al Thani, head of the Qatari Foreign Ministry’s Human Rights Department, told Al Jazeera television that “there were many countries that supported [the report and a vote]. It could have been adopted, but I think that an opportunity was missed and it may not come back.”

According to Abbas, however, the PA, which only has observer status at the U.N., does not have the right to withdraw, cancel or postpone voting on any draft resolution. In an interview on Yemeni TV, President Abbas said that it was the permanent members of the Security Council, in consensus with the Arab, Islamic, Non-aligned and African groups, that decided to postpone until next March voting on the draft resolution originating from Goldstone Report.

The overwhelming consensus among Palestinians is that “Abbas cannot be trusted to lead the case for Palestine.” In Gaza, Hamas leaders, describing the call for postponement as evidence of corruption, organized demonstrations against Abbas, and several public figures called for his dismissal. Political commentator Hani Al Masri summed up the situation: “The Goldstone report is the second major blow to Abu Mazen. The first was his meeting [at the U.N.] with Netanyahu.”

According to several reports, the PA had reached a deal with Israel whereby the Netanyahu government agreed to license a business venture partially owned by wealthy businessmen linked to the PA in return for the latter’s agreement to defer discussion of the Goldstone report.

“It’s a condition.” Shalom Kital explained to The Independent. “We are saying to the Palestinians that ‘if you want a normal life and are trying to embark on a new way, you must stop your incitement.’

“We are helping the Palestinian economy,” he continued, “but one thing we ask them is to stop with these embarrassing charges.”

Kital, who serves as an aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, told the British paper that “Israel will not release a share of the radio spectrum that has long been sought by the Palestinian Authority to enable the launch of a second mobile telecommunications company unless the PA drops its efforts to put Israeli soldiers and officers in the dock over the Israeli operation.”

Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports on the Gaza Strip, where he maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.