Quite on the road to an identity, Palestine has yet to recover from its own down syndrome to face challenges to its very existence and identity as a sovereign nation in the near future.

As it is chronic in the lands of Islam that before a nation is fully able to realize its objectives its leadership fails to realise the gravity of the situation to shun petty differences among themselves to pool down their energies for a national common cause.

History repeats itself: however, in the lands of Islam it repeats itself with such an uncanny precision and exactitude as is fit only to some scientific equation. Only in case of the Islamic world history’s visitation is always more destructive, unsettling and tangible to the extreme.

As it was in case of Pakistan, Bangladesh and then recently Afghanistan their leadership failed miserably in the early days of their new identity and the nation had to pay the price of their leaders’ myopic wrangling over non issues compromising with nation’s sovereignty, integrity and identity to exorbitant extent, so is the present Palestinian leadership grappling with the ever changing objective realities engulfing the whole region.

Neither Hamas nor Fatah can be blamed for what is happening in the occupied lands. What is happening in Palestine is exactly what the Europeans, Israelis and Americans had expected when they had chocked humanitarian aid to Palestinian Authority since March 2006 when Hamas had taken over the charge of the government after winning democratically held elections last January: only the leadership has failed to see through the diabolical plan.

Since Hamas took power defeating Fatah in popular elections it did not go well with Fatah , Israel , the USA and its erstwhile stooges in Europe. It was understandable that Hamas, due to her nationalist policies and freedom agenda would not fare well with Israel , however, in case of Fatah, in all circumstances, political exigencies should not have compromised the national agenda.

Fatah, instead of smarting under the indignity of its historic loss, should have extended a hand of cooperation to Hamas and waged a united battle against Israeli occupation; yet again the leadership failed to reach out to each other in good faith for a greater cause and national unity.

Right from the beginning The US, Europe and Canada have done everything to fail Hamas government. To a democratic call they responded with the most inhumane economic siege, and a promise to punish anyone daring enough to aid the Palestinian economy in any way. Succumbing to pressure, even Arab neighbours helped ensure the tightness of the siege.

Myopic Fatah leadership gloated over Hamas led government’s difficulties and seemed also determined to ensure the collapse of the government even if at the expense of ordinary Palestinians. Pro-Fatah security officials staged demonstrations demanding salaries on the roads damaging government property and encouraging people to participate in such violent activities to add to the difficulties of the
government.

The so-called liberated Gaza , once hoped to be the cornerstone of 
Palestinian independence, was deliberately turned into a hub of lawlessness and violence, where hired guns ruled the streets, threatening the safety of an already crushed people. Fatah faild to realize that it was not failing Hamas, Palestinian was failing.

Israel has done everything to make Hamas eat humble pie to show to the world the failings of an Islamist dispensation. In March Israel refused to allow Hamas lawmakers to travel from Gaza to the West Bank city of Ramallah for the swearing-in ceremony. In response, about 30 lawmakers held a concurrent session in Gaza City linked to the Ramallah hall via videoconference.

About a dozen of the newly elected lawmakers were already imprisoned in Israeli jails and one sat in a Palestinian prison. Another two lawmakers could not attend because they were fugitives in hiding from Israel : a very tenacious beginning for any government to have.

Two weeks ago it arrested even the speaker of the Palestinian Parliament, bastion of Palestinian democracy, Aziz Dweik, in Ramallah branding him as leader of a terrorist organisation. ‘We arrested him because he is a leader of Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation,’ said the army spokesman. Earlier on June 29 Israel captured 64 leading figures from the Islamist movement, including eight ministers and 26 lawmakers.

Hamas supporters though they were denied salaries, were physically besieged and politically isolated acted responsibly to shield their democratic choice. However, other sections of society not loyal to Hamas did not have any such moral or ideological burden, therefore, their response to the economically aggravating situation was linear as well as instinctive: Israeli economic blockade was bound to have its repercussions.

Unlike secular Fatah’s reliance on the West, Hamas wanted to seek support from its Arab and Islamic milieu. Hamas, being in the position of leadership and its  responsib-ility to Palestinian society and its institutions as an establishment, learnt its lessons the hard way: with myopic vision and political exigencies at home the Arab leadership failed again to support a just cause in the region.

The West under the influence of diabolical Israeli protagonists in Western media also showed its complete insensitivity to an utterly humanitarian situation: the entire population had gone hungry, hospitals had run out of even life saving medicines, supply of electricity and drinking water was shortened to acutely dangerous levels to fully support human life.

In such situation Mr Hannia’s decision to form a coalition government  with Fatah was the wisest rather the only feasible option left with Hamas.  However its is not without snags. There are some questions that need immediate answers before any coalition arrangement has been made.

It needs to be decided who will speak on behalf of Palestinian Authority and who will formulate its foreign-policy. And still there are national constants such as the refugees’ right of return, the end to the Israeli occupation, preserving their water rights, removal of all settlements, borders’ demarcation as well as status of Jerusalem . Who will defend or redefine them: a democratic dispensation led by Hamas or autocratic identity led by Fatah.

Prodded by the West Fatah has no patience to wait on Hamas any longer to work out the details of their marriage of convenience. LastSaturday speaking to reporters after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas accused Hamas of reneging on agreements with Fatah.

‘Unfortunately after this agreement was signed there were regressions from it ... and unfortunately we are back to point zero, and we will examine the issue anew,’ Abbas said.

Bolstered further by Condoleezza Rice’s visit to the region on Wednesday he said he might dissolve the Hamas-led government. At the news conference with Rice hinting at the prospective coalitiongovernment he said, “If this doesn’t happen in the near future, all options are open. ...but the only option I reject is civil war.’

If a civil war ensues as a result of Mr Abbas’s sacking of a democratically elected government on behest of the West as it was done earlier in case of Algeria in 80s this would be the most unfortunate fixture of Palestinians’ struggle for independence and will have a lasting repercussion on the future topography as well as psychology of theregion.

Information

History repeats itself: however, in the lands of Islam it repeats itself with such an uncanny precision and exactitude as is fit only to some scientific equation. Only in case of the Islamic world history’s visitation is always more  destructive, unsettling and tangible to the extreme.

First appeared in Pakistan Observer on October 09, 2006