Transcript Palestine Problem - Golden State Baptist College

Palestine Problem
Enter the PLO
• After 1948, Palestinians entered a “lost” phase characterized by shock and
silence until 1952 when Gamal Abdul Nasser gave them some sense of
identity.
– It was during this time Palestinian nationalism lost its geographic focus
– became absorbed into a more powerful and encompassing Arab nationalism known
as Pan-Arabism whose rallying cry was for the liberation of Palestine.
• In 1964 Ahmad Shuqairi, Palestinian representative to Arab League, helped
form 315-member Palestinian National Council PNC composed primarily of
leaders from fedaye’en, Palestinian trade unions and communities through
out the Arab world which held sessions every few years
– in between sessions, the 100 member Palestinian Legislative Council PLC was carry
out legislative and executive functions on behalf of PNC
• In 1967, with the formation of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO), there began to
be some organization and self-assertion.
• In 1971 PLO and fedaye’en expelled from Jordan
• Until 1982, the PLO exhibited militarism and
diplomacy under the leadership of Yasser Arafat
with their headquarters in Lebanon.
Intifada
• Beginning 1982, the Israelis began a military campaign in
Lebanon intent to destroy the PLO.
• Following Israeli invasion of Beirut, 8,000 PLO fighters
dispersed as PLO fled to Tunisia.
• In 1985, Israeli F-15s bombed the PLO headquarters in
Tunisia.
• Subsequently, the PLO declined in effectiveness and gave
way in 1987 to local, indigenous uprisings known as
Intifada.
– In 1987, the First Intifada broke out in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. The Intifada caught the PLO by surprise, and the
leadership abroad could only indirectly influence the events.
• A new local leadership emerged, the Unified National
Leadership of the Uprising (UNLU), comprising many
leading Palestinian factions.
• After King Hussein of Jordan proclaimed the
administrative and legal separation of the West
Bank from Jordan in 1988, the Palestine
National Council adopted the Palestinian
Declaration of Independence in Algiers,
proclaiming an independent State of Palestine.
• The declaration made reference to UN
resolutions without explicitly mentioning
Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
Oslo Peace Accords
• In 1993, the PLO secretly negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. The
accords were signed on 20 August 1993. There was a subsequent public
ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993 with Yasser Arafat
and Yitzhak Rabin.
• The Accords granted the Palestinians right to self-government on the
Gaza Strip and the city of Jericho in the West Bank through the creation of
the Palestinian Authority.
• Yasser Arafat was appointed head of the Palestinian Authority and a
timetable for elections was laid out which saw Arafat elected president in
January 1996, 18 months behind schedule.
• Although the PLO and the PA are not formally linked, the PLO dominates
the administration. The headquarters of the PLO were moved to Ramallah
on the West Bank.
• On 9 September 1993, Arafat issued a press release stating that "the PLO
recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security".
• For his role in the creation of the Oslo Accords,
Rabin was awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize,
along with Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres.
• The Accords greatly divided Israeli society, with
some seeing Rabin as a hero for advancing the
cause of peace
• and some seeing him as a traitor for giving
away land they viewed as rightfully belonging
to Israel.
Palestinian National Authority PNA
• Declaration of Principles signed by Israel and PLO
leaders on September 13, 1993 established PNA to
assume governmental responsibility of occupied
territories
– this, significantly, did not include foreign affairs or
external security functions for PNA
– Despite progress, Israel was not prepared to recognize
Palestinian statehood as yet
• In May 1994, Yasir Arafat announced appointment
of cabinet-like PNA with himself as chairman
– Palestinian elections held in 1996 confirmed support for
Arafat’s peace policies by 87.1% of ballots
Rabin Assassinated
• Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of November
1995
– fifth Prime Minister and first to be native born Israeli
– He was assassinated by right-wing Israeli radical Yigal Amir,
who was opposed to Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords.
• Rabin's assassination came as a great shock to the Israeli
public and much of the rest of the world. Hundreds of
thousands of Israelis thronged the square where Rabin was
assassinated to mourn his death.
• Young people, in particular, turned out in large numbers,
lighting memorial candles and singing peace songs.
• Rabin's funeral was attended by many world leaders,
among them U.S. president Bill Clinton, Australian Prime
Minister Paul Keating, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak
and King Hussein of Jordan.
Derailed Peace Plan
• With the assassination, there was a change in
attitude in Isael
• This and bombing attacks in Feb 1996 slowed the
progress in Palestinian autonomy
• Israelis concerned about security issues elected a
new government run by right-wing Likud party
• Prime Minister Netanyahu approved controversial
settlement in East Jerusalem
– resulted in collapse of negotiations and no further
relinquishing of Israeli authority in occupied lands
Arafat Government Criticized
• PNA and Arafat were charged with “systematic
corruption” and “abuse of power” by Palestinian
Legislative Council beginning in 1997
• This continued through 2001 as PLC pressured
Arafat to replace his cabinet with experts leaders
rather than political friends
• Finally he agreed to new elections in 2002 when
President Bush accused him of encouraging rather
than combating terrorism
• Rejectionist groups Hamas, al-Jihad al-Islami
refused to endorse agreements with Israel and
advocate violent actions against Israel participated
in elections.
Second Intifada
• The Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada started concurrent
with the breakdown of talks at Camp David with
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
• The Intifada never ended officially, but violence hit
relatively low levels during 2005.
• The death toll both military and civilians of the entire
conflict in 2000-2004 is estimated to be 3,223
Palestinians and 950 Israelis, although this number is
criticized for not differentiating between combatants
and civilians.
• Members of the PLO have claimed responsibility for a
number of attacks against Israelis during the Second
Intifada.
• The Palestinian National Charter as amended in 1968,
endorsed the use of "armed struggle" against "Zionist
imperialism."
• 'Article 10 of the Palestinian National Charter states
"Commando (Feday’ee) action constitutes the nucleus of
the Palestinian popular liberation war. This requires its
escalation, comprehensiveness, and the mobilization of all
the Palestinian popular and educational efforts and their
organization and involvement in the armed Palestinian
revolution. It also requires the achieving of unity for the
national ('wanted) struggle among the different groupings
of the Palestinian people, and between the Palestinian
people and the Arab masses, so as to secure the
continuation of the revolution, its escalation, and victory."
• The most controversial element of text of the Charter
were many clauses declaring the creation of the state of
Israel "null and void", because it was created by force on
Palestinian soil.
– This is usually interpreted as calling for the destruction of
the state of Israel.
– In letters exchanged between Arafat and Rabin in
conjunction with the 1993 Oslo Accords, Arafat agreed that
those clauses would be removed.
• At the time, Israeli political figures and academics
expressed doubt that this is what had actually taken
place, and continued to claim that controversial clauses
were still in force.
• A letter from Arafat to US President Bill Clinton in 1998 listed the
clauses concerned, and a meeting of the Palestine Central
Committee approved that list.
• To remove all doubt, the vote this time was held in a public
meeting of PLO, PNC and PCC members which was televised
worldwide, and in the presence of Bill Clinton who traveled to the
Gaza Strip for that purpose.
• Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted this as the
promised nullification.
– He later wrote, "While the PLO repeatedly committed itself to amend
the charter..., no changes have been made despite occasional claims to
the contrary.”
• However, a new text of the Charter has not been produced, and
this is the source of a continuing controversy.
– Critics of the Palestinian organizations claim that failure proves the
insincerity of the clause nullifications.