Dear readers
Here is the digest for December 6th, 2004

1- Fatah, a Vehicle to Democracy or an Obstacle
2- 20% of Israeli Soldiers Mistreat Palestinians


1- Fatah, a Vehicle to Democracy or an Obstacle
Analysis-Ghassan Andoni-IMEMC, December 6, 2004, 21:53

The filed candidacy of Fatah's jailed leader Marwan Barghouthi for PA
chairmanship against Fatah's central committee decision to nominate
PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas's decision to boycott elections,
turned the presidential elections into an internal Fatah competition.

All other candidates for PA chairmanship are either independent or
representatives of small political factions and parties.

Fatah affiliates believe that the movement, which took the leading
rule in the Palestinian modern revolution for 40 years, can't be
defined as a political faction. To them, Fatah is the "Palestinian
people" movement, the holder of the "Palestinian Dream"

Different from other political movements or parties, Fatah refrained
from adopting ideological stands, and stood as a national liberation
movement open to different streams of thoughts and ideologies.

Palestinian nationalists, Pan Arab nationalists, socialists, Islamists
and others coexist inside the complicated fabric of Fatah movement.

A charismatic leader like late President Yasser Arfat was indeed
needed to keep this fabric intact.

Inside both the Palestinian Liberation Organization and, later on,
within the Palestinian Authority, Fatah accepted pluralism, but only
allowing other factions a symbolic representation.

Being the largest, wealthiest, and most effective Palestinian
movement, Fatah was never open to a real power sharing and always
insisted, and was able to achieve, a partnership quota that allowed
Fatah full unilateral control.

The Palestinian Authority was established as a Fatah affiliated
authority. Both the security and civil branches were loyal to Fatah.
Even the elected legislative council ended up being dominated by Fatah
as most other factions boycotted the elections.

The opposition groups are facing a serious dilemma with the
presidential elections. How would it be possible for an elected
opposition president to run an authority loyal to his opponent?

In reality, the PA was established on the one party rule model, which
dominated the Arab countries for the past century. Egypt, Syria, and
the former Iraqi regime are only examples; an authority that accepts
pluralism, but refuses to share power and does not allow for a
peaceful transfer of authority.

This is the main reason to why all opposition groups requested running
legislative and local elections parallel to the presidential one. The
established system allows for parliamentarian opposition but not the
transfer of executive power.

Under such conditions, and accepting the fact that Fatah is more than
a political party, but rather a national coalition, Fatah should open
its internal competition to the people's judgment. It is more
democratic to allow for more one Fatah candidate to run for president.
It is puzzling to why Fatah's old guards were so much offended by the
nomination of Marwan Barghouthi. It would have been to the benefit of
both Fatah and democracy to allow Barghouthi to compete as a second
Fatah candidate rather than as an independent one.


2- 20% of Israeli Soldiers Mistreat Palestinians
IMEMC & Agency, December 6, 2004, 19:57

One of each five Israeli soldiers join the army believing that Arab
lives are worth less than Jewish lives, and subsequently mistreat
Palestinians, said Major General Elazar Stern, the head of the Israel
army personnel branch.

Stern, speaking at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and
Justice Committee, said that it was impossible to wage war against
"terror" with white gloves or talk about "purity of arms" without
taking human life into account.

"One must be strict about the value of human dignity, but human life
is a value that is not less important, and perhaps more so. When I
instruct others to take action that may harm an innocent man, I know
how many lives I can save on the home front as a result." He added.

Israel always demanded Palestinians to cease incitement, yet the
Knesset discussion did reveal that the problem of incitement and
resulting negative stereotypes is more inside the Israeli society than
the Palestinian one.


For more news and info please visit our website at
www.imemc.org