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| By David Bedein March 21, 2007 |
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Hamas, formally defined by the U.S. and almost all Western nations as an Islamist terrorist organization, formally assumed the reigns of the provisional government of the Palestinian Authority this week, without relinquishing its principles.
Yet the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always believed that a Hamas based regime would never gain any international legitimacy, and that Israel's status would indeed gain the upper hand in the propaganda war.
However, the Hamas based regime correctly assesses that it is heading towards full international recognition and legitimacy, without recognizing Israel and without relinquishing terror.
How will that come about?
After all, there is a clause in the platform of the new Palestinian government, which states that the new government, led by Hamas and not by the PL0, will "respect" all agreements which the PLO ratified with Israel. Indeed, the Oslo "declaration of principles" did denounce violence and was publicly signed by Yassir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas on the White House lawn on Sept. 13, 1993.
Yet hardly anyone in Israeli diplomatic circles understands that the Palestinian regime's "respect" for all agreements which the PLO ratified with Israel carries a double meaning.
That is because the PLO never ratified the "declaration of principles" and never cancelled its PLO charter, despite binding agreements signed by Arafat and Abbas with the Israeli government -- which paved the way to the Knesset's ratification of the Oslo accords.
Why does no one know that the PLO never ratified the "declaration of principles," which is the Oslo accord?
Well, there was only one Israeli reporter in Tunis on the day that the "declaration of principles" was brought to the PLO executive committee for ratification, on October 6th, 1993. That reporter, Pinchas Inbari, writing for the now defunct Al HaMishmar newspaper owned by the left wing Mapam movement, reported in front page headlines that the PLO executive would not ratify the Oslo agreement. A statement issued by Arafat conveyed that he simply could not get a quorum. Even so, senior Israeli government officials flew to Tunis the next day to congratulate Arafat for signing the Oslo accords. Inbari flew back to Israel, where he was scheduled to be interviewed by the Voice of Israel. However, the late Prime Minister Rabin personally called the Voice of Israel radio to ask that Inbari NOT be interviewed. So the news story that the PLO never ratified the Oslo accord's "declaration of principles" remains a virtual secret to the Israeli public.
The other agreement that the PLO made with Israel as part of the Oslo Accord involved the absolute PLO obligation to cancel the PLO covenant which calls for the destruction of Israel.
Indeed, the PLO covenant was discussed in a special session of the Palestine National Council on April 24, 1996. Minutes before that session, the PLO issued a statement that the PLO Covenant had been cancelled. The wording of that statement was carefully worked out with senior officials of the former Prime Minister Shimon Peres and former Foreign Minister Ehud Barak.
However, our news agency had the only TV crew covering the session, where the film showed that the PLO covenant was only discussed, not cancelled.
Prof. Yehoshua Porat, expert on Arab affairs, founder of Peace Now and Meretz candidate for Knesset in 1992, examined the protocols of the PNC meeting and declared that the PLO had, indeed, not even considered cancelling its covenant. He then endorsed Benyamin Netanyahu, who went on to beat Peres for Prime Minister a month later.
Prime Minister Netanyahu insisted that the cancellation of the PLO covenant be etched in stone as part of any future agreement, and made sure it was part of the Wye Agreement in October 1998. This reporter, covering the Wye negotiations, asked how this was going to happen. President Clinton's spokesman answered that President Clinton would personally fly to Gaza to witness a special session of the PNC, which was indeed convened on December 14th, 1998, in the presence of President Clinton. Clinton asked for a show of hands for peace. However, the PLO announced to the media that it never canceled the PLO covenant, which remains to this day its charter -- to obliterate the state of Israel. Yet Netanyahu's government representatives told the whole world that the PLO charter had been cancelled.
So there you have it: if and when the new Palestinian government declares that it will abide by agreements that were ratified by the PLO, that will not include recognition of Israel, denunciation of violence or cancellation of the PLO covenant which calls for Israel's liquidation.
However, since the government of Israel and the opposition leader of the government of Israel are on the record that the PLO agreed to both the "declaration of principles" and the cancellation of the PLO covenant, the Hamas government's recognition of the PLO's previously signed agreements with Israel will be misunderstood as a gesture of reconciliation and progress toward Middle East peace.
Such a tactic will checkmate the Israeli government and Benyamin Netanyahu, neither of whom are about to admit -- contrary to their prior assurances -- that the PLO never ratified the Oslo accords and that the PLO never cancelled its sacred covenant.
Wait for that glorious day when the new Palestinian regime announces that it will not just respect, not just recognize, but abide by all agreements ratified by the PLO with the government of Israel. Because all that means is that they agree to continue working toward the sacred goal of replacing Israel with Palestine.
Viva le double entendre!
David Bedein is bureau chief of the Israel Resource News Agency. |
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