The Palestinian Authority faces a greater threat to its existence from the defects in its own make-up rather than from Israeli military forces. The structural defects in the PA’s setup were particularly notable when President Arafat was imprisoned in his own office and his government was paralyzed.
President Bush has demanded the PA become a transparent democratic establishment, renouncing violence. The PA does not believe in violence; its parent organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), renounced violence years ago when it decided to leave Tunis for Palestine and to abrogate from its constitution the clause pertaining to the use of weapons.
The Palestinian issue will not be tackled in the absence of a real government. Any void at the top of the government will pose a great danger to the administration and the people if an administrative head is imprisoned or if he dies. Such an eventuality would be a great blow to the Palestinian dream of an independent state.
It is the Palestinians, not the US or anyone else, who stand to benefit from the restructuring of the PA and making its operating style, particularly its financial activities, transparent. The few countries which provide financial assistance to Palestinians complain publicly that they cannot possibly give additional help without knowing where the money is going. The PA’s mindset of secretiveness should be given up as it is not an underground organization.
There are also Palestinians who say they have a right to know what is happening within the PA and where all the money received as assistance goes. The rising demand for change and transparency may in the long run damage the good name of the PA and indeed the Palestinian people and their problems. On the other hand, the need for removing any possible clouds of suspicion surrounding the PA’s image is of vital importance. All suspicions should be removed to pre-empt the designs of those who seek to create confusion within the Palestinian ranks. Removing all the barriers concealing the PA’s activities from the public eye will be the best thing to do under these circumstances.
Everyone knows that all the keys are in the hands of the PA chief. He is the final authority and arbiter on all matters. The siege of his compound in Ramallah has proved beyond doubt that it is risky to leave all these keys in one hand though his toughness and integrity were proved beyond doubt during his hour of trial. If the Palestinians want to show Israel that the siege of Arafat and isolation of senior officials was a waste of time, they must build a political and administrative system which is not vulnerable to siege or any such eventuality. The PA should implement reforms to make it more flexible and the reforms should guarantee that the decision-making does not rest with any one person.
If it does not make the required structural changes and make its activities transparent, the PA may find its supporters deserting it. The increasing doubts about the PA’s eligibility to rule and handle the finances may turn the world’s attention away from the primary need to liberate the nation to the issue of rectifying the PA’s shortcomings.
