BACKGROUND
Borrowing From The Zionists:
A State In The Making
Palestinian factions in the West Bank and Gaza are
establishing educational, medical and legal systems to foster a
sense of nationhood.
HELEN DAVIS
Foreign Correspondent
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FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1989
he Palestinians are in
the process of taking
an important leaf out
of the Zionist history book.
Just as the Jews of Man-
datory Palestine painstaking-
ly constructed the in-
struments of a state-in-the-
making, ready to grasp the
reins of power when the
British departed, so the
Palestinians are now creating
their own "national institu-
tions."
Eighteen months after the
word intifada entered the in-
ternational political lexicon,
the Palestinians can boast
two significant gains.
Firstly, they have not only
maintained their uprising
against a determined Israeli
military effort to crush it, but
they are now in the process of
intensifying the violence.
Secondly, they have not on-
ly won a wide measure of in-
ternational support at the ex-
pense of Israel, but they have
also convinced Washington,
Israel's closest ally, that the
Palestine Liberation
Organization is a suitable
partner for dialogue.
Yet, despite these im-
pressive achievements, the
PLO leaders in Tunis and
Baghdad know that a quick
victory — the establishment
of a Palestinian state — is not
on the horizon.
They know that while the
intifada may continue to tie
down large sections of Israel's
security forces, drain its
economy and create increas-
ingly deep divisions within
its society, these efforts in
themselves will not destroy
the "Zionist entity."
They are also keenly aware
that whatever inroads they
make into Western opinion,
Israel's present leaders are
not about to meekly
withdraw from the occupied
territories and allow them to
realize their national dreams.
Such harsh facts of life,
however, have neither sapped
the collective energy and
determination of the Palesti-
nians nor caused them to
relax their unrelenting
pressure on the Israeli
authorities.
As any child on the streets
of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip will tell you, nothing
can prevent the success of a
popular struggle for libera-
tion. The Palestinians are
now utterly convinced that,
whatever the odds and
whatever the cost, their cause
will ultimately prove to be
irresistible.
It is a view that has been
propagated by the PLO
leaders in exile and one that
is now dictating their
priorities. True, the escala-
tion of the uprising and the
continuation of the
diplomatic gains are vitally
important to maintain the
momentum of the struggle
and keep the Palestinian
A private dairy has
recently
undergone a
massive expansion
and is now known
as the "National
Dairy."
issue at the top of the inter-
national political agenda.
Beyond these highly
publicized achievements,
however, the PLO leaders are
now working assiduously to
create the infrastructure —
the instrumentalities — of a
Palestinian state in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip.
The major thrust of this
drive is now being conducted
on a more prosaic, mundane
level than the uprising —
quietly, behind the scenes,
away from the media
spotlight.
The long-term effects,
however, will be no less im-
portant than the routine dai-
ly street clashes between
Israeli soldiers and Palesti-
nian children which have oc-
cupied so much media space
and time.
Having consolidated the
revolution, the PLO is now in
the process of creating "facts"
on the ground — embryonic
national organizations based
on an institutional infrastruc-
ture — which will give
credibility and substance to
their demands for indepen-
dent statehood.
Significantly, the in-
frastructure is being
developed in coordination
with all the political and
religious factions among the
Palestinians in the
territories.
This presents a formidable
political partnership: the
mainstream Fatah movement
of PLO leader Yassir Arafat
working alongside the hard-
line, pro-Syrian rejectionists
and the Islamic fundamen-
talist Hamas movement,
which is particularly power-
ful in the Gaza Strip and
which is increasing its
strength in the West Bank.
The proliferation of new na-
tional organizations is not in-
tended to create a political fu-
sion of the myriad Palestinian
political and religious bran-
ches — an impossible task at
this stage — although there is
growing operational coordina-
tion between them.
Rather, the new initiatives
are aimed at creating and
strengthening the ad-
ministrative, social, educa-
tional and economic aspects
of Palestinian life.
In recent months, for exam-
ple, the various Palestinian
student bodies have united in
a High Student Council,
while four different women's
organizations have ceded
their autonomy to a single na-
tional umbrella organization.
Palestinian trade and pro-
fessional bodies — even
cultural and sporting
organizations — are also
devoting themselves increas-
ingly to "national affairs,"
adopting
national
characteristics
and
dimensions.
The effects of this drive are
being felt in the business
community, too. One con-
spicuous example is evident
in Hebron where a private
dairy has recently undergone
a massive expansion,
presumably through an infu-
sion of funds from the PLO,
and is now known as the "Na-
tional Dairy."
In addition, there is a
system of welfare payments
for families and dependents of
those who have been victims
of the intifada, while an alter-
native Palestinian educa-
tional network has been
established to compensate for
the Israeli closure of schools
and universities in the
territories.
The Palestinians have also
created alternative first-aid
stations to treat those who
are injured during
demonstrations and riots in
order to avoid their admission