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Wednesday, October 25, 2000
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Envoy Abdul Fattah rues loss of Clinton in troubled peace process By Brian Peters Sameeh I. Abdul Abdul Fattah, 52, has been the Palestinian representative here since the height of the communist era in 1984 -- appointed soon after Israeli troops ended their occupation of southern Lebanon. Now, nearly two decades later, the violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip continues, despite recent efforts for a U.S.-brokered cease fire. "The Palestinian protests are in response to the Israeli occupation and a response to the action of the Israeli army using too much might and power against the Palestinian people," Abdul Fattah explains through an interpreter. Abdul Fattah, short and portly, wears his salt-and-pepper hair and beard cut close and neat. His voice is edgy. Occasionally, English words mix with his Arabic. "These Israeli troops have to withdraw from the Palestinian villages and land. Once this is done, there is no reason to carry on the Palestinian protests." So far, however, the sight of stone-throwing Palestinian youths taunting Israeli troops has become commonplace. Observers question whether the ailing Arafat still controls his grass roots groups -- especially fundamentalist factions including Hezbollah and Hamas, which are supported by Iran. "We cannot demand from [Palestinian] victims [that they] not defend themselves against tanks and airplanes," Abdul Fattah says. Waiting for peace The Palestinian Embassy is in a townhouse-style business park in Prague 7. Grayish-white buildings mirror one another along narrow Na Kazance. "In the past, [the relationship between] Czechoslovakia and Palestinians was a friendly one -- one of friendship and solidarity," he says. The Palestinians opened a representative office in 1976. A full embassy was established in 1988. In the communist years, ties between Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Warsaw Pact nations were particularly close, as Moscow furnished weapons and training to PLO followers to counterbalance U.S. support for Israel. Those days are gone, but Abdul Fattah says the Palestinians have been waiting nine years, since 1991 peace talks in Madrid, for an agreement with Israel. They have grown tired of the wait. "At Camp David [negotiations this summer], we went to solve the problem of Jerusalem, the [Palestinian] refugees, the settlers, the borders and the safety of the State of Palestine," Abdul Fattah says, referring to talks between Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. "Instead, [Israel] offered us a state without sovereignty, a state without a capital in the eastern part of Jerusalem, and no solution for solving the refugee problem and the [Jewish] settlements that are against international law," he says. After talks broke down, the Palestinians warned Israel that frustration was growing and that there was trouble in the wings. "And because of the unsuccessful negotiations at Camp David, we have these tragedies that are happening today," he says. Abdul Fattah admits the presence of Arafat -- "a historic personality with great experience" -- and President Bill Clinton -- "well aware of the details" -- are crucial to peace. "If I was the next president of the United States I would give the entire file on the Middle East to Mr. Clinton to take care of." He called Clinton's imminent departure from the presidency "a great loss" for the Palestinian cause. "We don't have any special demands," Abdul Fattah says. "Our demands are the demands of the world community. The demand is that Israel must respect ... [UN] Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 that ask Israel to withdraw from occupied Palestinian lands, including the eastern part of Jerusalem." Abdul Fattah takes another puff on the Marlboro. "We want and desire to renegotiate the peace process. But we do not wish to negotiate for another 10 years." Brian Peters' e-mail address is bpeters@praguepost.cz
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The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
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