BACKGROUND

Artwork by J.J. Smith-Moore. Copyright* 1992, J.J. Smith-Moore. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

Caught In A Bind

-iNA FRIEDMAN

Israel Correspondent

W

e've paid for the
peace process in ad-
vance," Palestinian
spokeswoman Hanan
Ashrawi told a press con-
ference on Monday, "by
> entering into negotiations
with the most extreme of
Israel's governments and
holding talks —although
they went on building set-
tlements and killing Pales-
tinians. You can't ask us to
go on making concessions."
Nevertheless, that is
precisely what American
Secretary of State James
Baker had already done in
his three-hour meeting with
the Palestinian delegation
just a short time before. The
bottom line of the talk was
that Mr. Baker suggested
that the Palestinians
brighten up a bit in their at-
titude toward the Rabin
government, concentrate on
the practical (rather than on
principles), and accept the
fact that to exploit this new
opportunity for progress,
they would have to keep
playing by the established
(essentially meaning
Israel's) rules.
The five-man delegation
that met with Mr. Baker
walked into that parley in
something of a double bind.
Though relieved that the

I

The Palestinian delegation is feeling the pressure
from the U.S. — as well as from Arab critics.

Shamir government is histo-
ry (Mrs. Ashrawi even ad-
mitted to a "change in tone"
by the nascent Rabin
regime), they are rather
unhappy about what they
see as the United States'
wooing of its replacement.
Though eager to make
progress in the negotiations,
they also want it understood,
from the outset, that
"autonomy," "self-
government," or whatever
term is ultimately used to
describe the Palestinians'
conduct of their affairs in the
territories (the current fav-
orite is "administration for
an interim period") is but a
means to an end — namely,
full independence — not an
end in itself.
Above all, perhaps, they
want to be assertive toward
Israel but sense that they
are practically at Yitzhak
Rabin's mercy. For to keep
going after months of
fruitless negotiations, they
desperately need some sign
of achievement, some
gesture of good will on
Israel's part (what the
Americans call "confidence-
building measures") that
will make a concrete differ-
ence to people's lives.

It may be the release of po-
litical prisoners and closing
of detention camps; it may
be the lifting of military cen-
sorship or steps to ease the
Palestinians' grave econ-
omic plight. But it must be
something that will make an
impact. For without some
accomplishment to its name,
the delegation may lose all
credit with its own consti-
tuents — and thus all power
to negotiate a change.
In addressing the Knesset
last week, Yitzhak Rabin

Too often the
Palestinians have
done themselves a
disservice for
allowing their
reach to exceed
their grasp.

made what he thought was
such a gesture by inviting
the Palestinian delegation to
an informal get-together in
Jerusalem — an ice-breaker
of sorts and perhaps an at-
tempt to turn over a new
leaf. That is not what the Pa-
lestinians had in mind, and
their initial response was
grumpy.

Before the new govern-
ment was less than a day
old, Dr. Haidar Abdel Shall,
the head of Palestinian dele-
gation, told a press con-
ference that Mr. Rabin in-
tended to use the negotia-
tions merely to gain time —
much as his predecessor had
used the avoidance of
negotiations for the same
purpose.
Since then the negotiated
end to the standoff at a- Na-
jakh University and the new
government's reversal of the
Likud's settlement policy (if
not an unqualified freeze on
all construction in the ter-
ritories) have tempered the
Palestinian tone. Still, the
delegation faces a swarm of
problems that require it to
maintain a skeptical at-
titude toward Israel, if only
for the sake of its own
credibility.
First among them is the
familiar litany of differences
among Palestinians at home
and the strains between the
local leadership and the PLO
abroad. The rivalry between
the nationalist (PLO) camp
and fundamentalist (Hamas)
opposition in the territories
is ever-present.
The second, increasingly

irksome problem faced by
the Palestinian negotiators
is one of legitimacy. Not
having reached their posi-
tions through any elective
process, they're constantly
open to the embarrassing
question "Who put you in
charge?" and find them-
selves in something of a Cat-
ch-22 situation.
To negotiate with any
clout, they need evidence of
support from both abroad
(Tunis) and below (the rank-
and-file activists). But to
gain that support, they need
evidence that they're getting
somewhere (which the
Shamir government was
careful to deny them). Under
these circumstances, the
delegation is wary of making
further concessions to Israel
or of assuming responsibility
for the administrative bodies
that will eventually con-
stitute their "self-governing
authority."
For all these reasons, and
in line with Mr. Baker's ad-
vice, the local Palestinian
leaders have decided to aim
for realizable goals. And
with the bilateral talks
scheduled to resume in
Rome next month, high on
their agenda is the holding
of free and democratic elec-
tions in the occupied ter-
ritories, perhaps soon as the
end of this year.
Elections have the advan-
tage not only of solving the

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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