Palestinian Authority and P.L.O. Non-Compliance with signed agreements and commitments: A record of bad faith and misconduct

From: DebkaFile - www.debka.com

The White Paper, "A Record of Bad Faith and Misconduct", listing systematic Palestinian violations of its signed commitments, was drawn up - then suppressed - on orders from the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. First, he demanded the most derogatory sections be excised. But even the watered-down version was ordered shelved as counter-productive to his efforts to reach election-day with a negotiated peace pact in hand. He could then treat the vote as a popular referendum endorsing the treaty over the heads of a recalcitrant Knesset. Latterly, Barak decided to release segments of the White Paper as the basis of Israel's case against the Palestinians to the Mitchell fact-finding team. The team is due in the region this week to meet the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian Authority Chairman.

The 46 pages of this document, a digest of which is published here for the first time, illustrate with chapter and verse how Yasser Arafat reneged on the basic understandings at the heart of his peace process with Israel and went back on his formal commitments under their bilateral agreements. "Rather than take into account Israeli and Jewish sensitivities (side by side with their own legitimate rights)," the White paper writes, "The Palestinians now prefer to stoke the fires of Islamic 'identity politics' ('Al Quds is in danger!'), so as to walk away from negotiations and replace them by international intervention."

Rationale for non-compliance

The document elaborates on Arafat's rationale, secular and Islamic, for placing the dynamics of 'the struggle' - employing violence to achieve his political goals - ahead of his formal commitments in and after Oslo 1993. It accounts for his intransigence at the Camp David summit, the predominance of the language of Jihad or "Struggle" in Arafat's rhetoric, the use of illegally armed militia - answerable to him - in a "low-Intensity conflict" masked as "popular protest", the tolerance of - or outright complicity in - terrorism - all direct violations of signed accords - as well as his repeated references to stone-throwing children as "the Palestinian Generals." Arafat continually declares: "All options are open to the Palestinian people". He reiterates that his acceptance of Oslo and talks was a temporary measure in the context of the avowed Palestinian "Strategy of Stages for the Liberation of Palestine", and that the Prophet himself signed agreements with stronger enemies, only to abandon them after he conquered Mecca."

"As the present crisis unfolded," the White Paper notes, "It was Nabil Sha'ath (Palestinian Authority Minister of Planning) who offered an explanation as to what Arafat had meant when he said that all the options are open: In an interview with ANN TV in London (October 7, 2000), he reminded his interlocutor that 'No one believed him when he used to say it...(but) the choice is not at all between options of negotiation and fighting: you can have negotiations and fight at the same time' (as did the Algerians and the Vietnamese). Hence 'the Palestinian people fight with weapons, with jihad, with Intifada and suicide actions... and it is destined to always fight and negotiate at the same time.'"

No Real Restraints on Terrorism

the document lays strong stress on this point: "In terms of its impact on Israeli society... It was the Palestinian failure to comply with its commitments on restraining terrorism - and in fact, the periodic courting of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad as partners in the struggle - which left the most bitter legacy in 1995-1996 and now seems to be repeating itself... Throughout the early period of consolidation in the areas under (Palestinian) control - from May 1994 onwards - Arafat resisted constant pressures by Israel to restrain the Hamas and restrict, if not destroy, the infrastructure established by the terrorist organizations. The failure to do so put in question the basic underpinnings of the Oslo accords... Arafat through this period continued to embrace Hamas in political terms... Meanwhile, the Preventive Security Chief in Gaza, Dahlan, apparently kept his contacts with the leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam forces - the Hamas military arm - Muhammad Dheif (a childhood friend)..." The White Paper goes on to refer to the "revolving door" practice - ie, the release of active terrorists and Hamas/Palestinian Islami Jihad operatives long before they had serve their terms, "which became a constant problem".

Most of the time, the White Paper's authors find, the Palestinian Authority's policy was "to incorporate ex-Fatah 'Hawks' (terrorists) within the various security organs. More than 90 'Hawks' - some wanted murderers - were recruited in September 1994. In 1997, Ghazi Jabali admitted that more than 150 members of 'opposition' movements (Hamas and Jihad Islami) serve in his Police Force. In blatant disregard of a signed commitment, "the PA never extradited a single terrorist on the list demanded by Israel." In cases where perpetrators of murders and other serious terrorist attacks were apprehended by the PA, "they were put on trial overnight and given bogus sentences". One such trial, of two brothers in Jericho for the murder of two Israeli hikers in Wadi Qelt in 1995, was called "a bad joke" by Israel's moderate education minister Amnon Rubinstein.

No Collection of Illegal Weapons

Within days after the signing of the Interim Agreement in Cairo, May 1995, the Preventive Security Chief in the West Bank, Jibril Rajub, made it clear that "no serious effort would be made to implement the unambiguous commitment to collect all illegal weapons." The document notes that Fatah members continue to carry arms openly and in recent events have displayed strictly forbidden items such as automatic guns and hand-grenades. Attached to the White Paper are photos of Palestinian militiamen carrying a hand grenade, a rifle with a telescopic sight, an Uzi machine gun and an anti-tank missile. "Palestinian forces and militias are known to have heavier weapons too. In once case, the theft of a store of weapons from an Israeli army vehicle was commissioned by a Palestinian commander and retrieved only after intense pressure on the PA."

The requirement to collect illegal weapons was therefore re-incorporated in the 1998 Wye River Memorandum and again in the February 2000 Sharm el-Sheikh summit understanding - but never seriously honored. "The use of illegally held weapons - particularly in the hands of the 'Tanzim'," the document finds, "thus became a key problem in the present crisis."

Hatred Systematically Perpetuated Down Generations

The writers point out that no systematic effort was made to re-educate Palestinian youth as to the need to accept Israel as a neighbor and peace as a value. "It took a long and sustained effort to... remove explicit anti-Jewish texts from Palestinian school books and even so they do not include any map showing Israel or even Tel Aviv as a city... There is only one map of Palestine in use." (which omits names of Israeli locations - Tel Aviv is marked as "Jaffa".) But once the present crisis erupted, the hate propaganda was unleashed in earnest to "mobilize the Arab masses." Horror pictures, highlighting the death of the child Muhammad al-Durra, televised guided tours of the morgue and close-ups of wounds are the sum of daily viewing fare, interspersed with nationalist songs and newscasts. In the final statement read by President Clinton at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, both sides were understood to have committed themselves to putting an end to incitement. "That did not happen," say the document's writers, adding: "It is increasingly obvious - even to the Palestinians? - that the mix of violence and the political exploitation of suffering requires children to be pushed forward into harm's way."

Illegal Size, Presence and Activities of Palestinian Police

"The overall number of Palestinian policemen (in effect, soldiers) is in constant breach of the Interim Agreements: in March 2000, it continued to exceeded the agreed number of 30,000 by more than 10,000", says the White Paper. In another breach of those agreements, "Palestinian policemen/soldiers...and members of the various security organs, particularly Preventive Security, appear in zones where they are not allowed to operate without prior coordination with the Israeli side."

Palestinian Areas - An Economic Wild West

"The PA systematically blames Israel for mismanagement of PA funds. To its public it claims that Israel has not transferred NIS 800 million as the reason for withholding pay checks from teachers and public workers, when in fact Israel transferred its dues (even during the current crisis) and signed an agreement in June 2000 to include purchase tax refunds in the transfers". However the document accuses the PA of neither acknowledging nor paying its heavy debts to Israeli municipalities and utility companies. When services are cut off, the Palestinians blame Israel for the suffering of the population. Another example of the pervasive lawlessness is the chop-shops abounding in Palestinian-controlled areas. In addition, "The PA regularly ignores agreed planning and zoning, builds roads and public projects in area 'C' where it has no jurisdiction, invades state lands in area 'C' - some 180 such invasions in the Gaza Strip and 210 in the West Bank were counted in February 2000; unlawful water and electricity projects are carried out and broadcasts operated on uncoordinated frequencies."

Signed agreements specifically bind both sides to cooperate in combating crime - the 1998 Wye River Memorandum adding a clause on car theft. In actual fact, the report notes, "Car theft and other forms of criminal activity continue to thrive, often on such a scale that it is no longer possible to argue that it could go on unless sanctioned to some extent by the Palestinian Police and Security organs. There are indications that they take their cut on this 'industry' (most of the 45,000 vehicles stolen in Israel in 1997 are assumed to have ended up in the PA areas, stripped for parts or even 'appropriated' by PA functionaries.) Other forms of criminal activity involve financial fraud, large scale excise tax schemes (one of which involved the Preventive Security Chief in the West Bank Jibril Rajub - his Israeli accomplices were arrested and convicted; intellectual property crimes and marketing sub-standard products."

Another point brought out in the White Paper: Since the outbreak of the current disturbances, the Palestinian Authority has failed to carry out Interim Agreement obligations to protect holy Jewish sites. Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, which Israeli agreed to evacuate, was looted and torched, Palestinian commanders declared that no Israeli would ever set foot there again and a Jewish pilgrim was brutally murdered on his way to the site. In October 2000, the ancient Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in the Jericho area was desecrated, looted and partly burnt. In addition, Arafat and his minions persist in using crude arguments to nullify any Jewish claim to Temple Mount.

Bilateral Relations - Pie in the Sky

All the above have shattered the basic assumption behind the Oslo Process, which is defined thus in the White Paper: "That a new reality of bilateral relations would be created on the ground, with an open prospect to Palestinian sovereignty in sight. This would lead Arafat away from the option of violence and 'struggle'. This has not happened."

Moreover - "Arafat has let it be known to the Fatah movement, his key political and paramilitary instrument, that he expects them to act (and take up arms); and this action was supported and sustained by the heated intensity of the incitement dished out by Palestinian media organs..."

The writers state: "The option of an armed "intifadha" has been long in preparation, both in terms of planning (as overall evidence, including the indications from intelligence sources, has been showing well before the actual outbreak of violence) and in the manner in which Palestinian and Arab public opinion was worked up against the possibility of compromise on the key issues."

The PA is additionally accused of a strategy that feeds on suffering, including "self-induced economic hardships", while Israel actually seeks to ensure supplies to the PA areas. Tanzim tactics aim at bringing about further civilian suffering - "as made evident by their use of Beit Jala - a Christian community - to fire on Gilo in Jerusalem, with the full knowledge of the consequences for the (unwilling) residents.

Palestinian suffering is thus the focus of Arafat's twin campaign, firstly to have the international community to send a force to protect the Palestinians, secondly, to drive home the threat (voiced at the Cairo Arab Summit in October 2000) "that there will be no regional or international stability unless Palestinian demands are met."

What Lies Behind Arafat's Tactics

1) Ambivalence between two polarities has always characterized Yasser Arafat's actions. Most recently, according to the White Paper, he was seen to be "Playing the US (with which he established a dialogue in December 1988) vs. Iraqi (which he came to see as a heroic Arab counter-balance to US power);" and "Playing the dialogue with Israel vs. an ambivalent attitude towards the Hamas.

2) A broad body of evidence indicates that much of the PA's initial credit with its own "constituency" had been exhausted well before the failed Camp David Summit. The document's authors cite Khalil Shikaki's Palestinian opinion surveys, according to which Arafat's approval rates were falling steadily before the Camp Davis summit - to well below 40 pc - "and a vast majority of respondents thought of the PA institutions as venal, corrupt and incompetent." Specifically, "At the core of the problem is the system of centralized economic monopolies, dominated by Muhammad Rashid (Khalid Salam) and his PCSC - with a monopoly of several basic commodities; the al-Masri family and their holding company, PADICO; and the varied economic interests of the Security 'bosses', Dahlan and Rajub."

The White House writers conclude: "The results are clear to see; in a climate hostile to real competition and to transparent free market practices, the blatant disregard for personal property, bribery, corruption and mismanagement of domestic and aid funds, as well as lack of compliance with commitments to refrain from those customs, has been well documented by the PA's own monitoring department, the Donor countries and numerous NGOs." Therefore - "It is not surprising that Arafat may have felt more comfortable igniting a nationalist struggle - and pinning the blame for future deprivations on Israel - than focusing on the urgent need to reform the Palestinian system".