GAZA CITY, 27 November 2005 — Hundreds of Palestinians left Gaza at the Rafah crossing in what turned out to be a smooth operation yesterday. Travelers leaving for Egypt zipped through passport control without having to submit to Israeli security checks, savoring their new freedom after 38 years of Israeli military occupation.
The West Bank also witnessed a milestone: Veterans of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah movement were swept aside by younger activists in Fatah’s first ever primary, signaling a change of generations and the rise of jailed uprising leader Marwan Barghouti.
The opening of Gaza’s gateway to the world and the revamping of Fatah could boost Abbas’ chances of beating back a challenge by Hamas in the Jan. 25 Parliament elections.
At noon yesterday, the Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border opened for the first time since Israel’s pullout from Gaza in the summer. Under a US-brokered deal, the Palestinians are now in charge, with backup from European monitors, while Israel watches over closed-circuit TV, but cannot veto travelers.
Jihad Zanoun, 30, a government employee, was the first to cross. “It is the beginning of a new era that will open a new horizon for me,” said Zanoun, who was heading to Egypt to visit relatives. The border was open for just four hours yesterday, to give European monitors more time to settle in.
European officials said 1,587 crossed the Gaza-Egypt border during four hours of operation on the first day. Eventually, Rafah will operate around the clock.
“We are extremely happy,” said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “It has gone very smoothly.”
For fenced-in Gazans, the opening of the border marked the most dramatic improvement in their lives since Israel withdrew from the coastal strip in September. Before the pullout, Israeli security checks at Rafah — meant to stop militants and weapons smuggling — often caused delays of hours or days. During the last five years of fighting, Israel also imposed travel restrictions on Gazans between the ages of 18-45, and most couldn’t leave.
Starting in mid-December, Palestinians will also be able to travel between the West Bank and Gaza for the first time in five years, at first in Israeli-escorted bus convoys. Construction is to begin on a Gaza seaport, and the United States has urged Israel to reach quick agreement with the Palestinians on reopening Gaza’s international airport.
These changes could translate into growing support for Abbas ahead of the Parliament elections. Hamas has belittled Abbas’ nonviolent approach as ineffective, and has boasted it drove Israel out of Gaza by force.
A new Fatah slate for Parliament could also help keep Hamas at bay. In local elections in the past year, Hamas had waged a successful clean-government campaign, and many Palestinian voters say they back Hamas because of exasperation over Fatah corruption, not because they support Hamas’ violent ideology.
Fatah’s “young guard,” led by Barghouti, swept primaries for the Parliament list held in parts of the West Bank, preliminary results indicated yesterday.
In Ramallah, Barghouti won 34,000 out of 40,000 votes, affirming his status as the most popular Fatah politician and possible Abbas successor. Barghouti, 46, is serving five life terms in an Israeli prison.
The younger activists had long pushed for a greater say, especially after last year’s death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who founded Fatah and controlled it for four decades.
Abbas agreed to hold internal elections for the list of Parliament candidates and, under pressure from the young guard, blocked demands by Fatah oldtimers to be assigned secure spots on the slate.
“The old guard has failed politically and administratively, and in running their organization in a democratic way,” said Palestinian analyst Hani Al-Masri. “It’s time to go home.”
Israel, meanwhile, said it would not release Barghouti, who supports peace negotiations but also justifies the use of deadly force to drive Israel out of the West Bank.
Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, said her husband’s strong showing is a message to Israel that “Marwan is not a terrorist, he is a leader of his people and his people will not abandon him.”
On Friday, primaries were held in five of the largest West Bank districts — Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Jenin and Tubas. In coming days, primaries were expected in several more districts in the West Bank and Gaza.
The new Parliament will have 132 seats, up from 88 in the current legislature.
Some 463,000 Palestinians registered for the Fatah primary. In all, 463 candidates competed in the West Bank and 311 in Gaza to get on the Fatah Parliament list. Abbas will put together the final list from a pool of the top vote-getters. However, he’ll consider twice as many people as districts have seats, allowing him to choose from a larger group and giving him considerable say.
— With input from agencies
