Palestinians Dismiss Prisoner Release as a "Bribe"

by Khaled Abu Toameh
August 5, 2013 at 5:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3917/palestinians-prisoner-release

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They regard the prisoner release as something Israel was supposed to have done anyway, many years ago. Many will continue to see it as as part of an Israeli-American scheme to extract concessions, and will continue to attack Abbas for "succumbing" to US pressure.

The argument that the release of Palestinian prisoners boosts the standing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and "moderate" Palestinians and facilitates the resumption of peace talks with Israel is not necessarily true.
Many Palestinians do not see Israel's decision to release more than 100 Palestinians who were imprisoned before the signing of the Oslo Accords two decades ago as a gesture on the part of Israel.
Rather, they regard the Israeli move as something that Israel was supposed to have done anyway, many years ago.
As Saeb Erekat, the chief PLO negotiator, explained: "This Israeli cabinet decision is an overdue step towards the implementation of the Sharm Sheikh agreement of 1999, whereby Israel committed to release all the pre-Oslo prisoners. We welcome this decision 14 years later."
So unlike the US and other Western governments, the Palestinian Authority does not see the release of prisoners as a conciliatory move on the part of the Israeli government.
Moreover, Palestinian Authority representatives do not believe there is a link between the release of prisoners and progress toward achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Many of the prisoners who are scheduled to be released do not even belong to Abbas's Fatah faction.
It is unrealistic to think, for example, that members of Islamic Jihad or the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who killed Israelis are going to come out of prison and declare their support for the Oslo Accords and the two-state solution.
There is also no guarantee that Fatah prisoners who were incarcerated before the signing of the Oslo Accords will endorse the peace process.
Of course Abbas and Fatah will do their utmost to take advantage of the prisoner release to try and score points on the Palestinian street.
Abbas's aides and loyalists are busy these days preparing a big rally in Ramallah to celebrate the release of the prisoners.
They are keen on presenting the prisoner release as a "huge achievement" by Abbas.
But even if a large number of Palestinians turn out to greet the prisoners, this still does not mean that they support Abbas's decision to resume peace talks with Israel.
Some Palestinians, including Abbas loyalists, see the release of a few dozen prisoners as a "bribe" offered by US Secretary of State John Kerry to the Palestinian Authority president to entice him to return to the talks.
These Palestinians point out that in return for this "bribe," Abbas was forced to drop his two other preconditions for resuming the peace talks: a full cessation of settlement construction and Israeli acceptance of the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.
There are also Palestinians who see the release of about 100 prisoners as a "minor" achievement for Abbas, especially in comparison to Hamas's success in securing the release of more than 1000 inmates in return for kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Schalit.
"Israel is not doing anyone a favor by releasing 100 prisoners," said a Fatah official in Ramallah. "While we welcome this decision, we do not see how it could help the peace process, particularly in light of the fact that there are more than 5,000 Palestinians who are still in prison."
So while most Palestinians are expected to rejoice over the release of the prisoners, it is naïve to think that they will take to the streets to celebrate the resumption of peace talks with Israel.
The prisoner release could benefit Abbas in the short-term. But in the long-term, many Palestinians will continue to see it as part of an Israeli-American scheme to extract concessions from Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership.
After the celebrations over the release of the prisoners end, Palestinians will continue to criticize Abbas for "succumbing" to US pressure and going to the peace talks against the recommendation of the PLO leadership. And of course they will continue to attack Israel for not fulfilling all their demands, including a settlement freeze and the release of the rest of the prisoners.

Related Topics: Khaled Abu Toameh

Egypt: Neither Side Will Step Down

by Fiamma Nirenstein
August 5, 2013 at 4:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3915/egypt-political-compromise

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For the Muslim Brotherhood, a political compromise is not the answer -- Islam is.

The civil war will start when people get their strength back. Now it is Ramadan -- the time in the Middle East of enormous masses praying, thirsty in the heat, hungry in the shade; then, in people's homes, after lighting the colored lamps and women serving the best food and drink, rejoicing.
In Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Army clashed again. Indifferent to the visit of Lady Ashton, a million members of the Muslim Brotherhood, at the request of their leader, poured into the streets tonight.
The leader of the army, General Sisi, ignored the European presence. He seems to feel he has a personal mission: to stop the Brotherhood from regaining power at any cost, including death and destruction.
Lady Ashton's many meetings with the nation's new representatives, the leaders of the Brotherhood, and even the deposed President Morsi in a secret location reflects the new government's attempt not so much to find an impossible middle-ground as to define itself as the legitimate power sanctioned by international consent.
Many of Morsi's men, and probably Morsi himself, refused Ashton's multiple requests that he give up the presidency to let others start talks. To the Brotherhood, it is inconceivable.
The Egyptian army, on the other side, in power since 1952, does not seem interested in giving over part of the country to a well-organized force that, once back, would apparently like to take back the government.
For the Muslim Brotherhood, a political compromise is not the answer -- Islam is. Its decades in hiding during a war that cost many lives and injuries, and the subsequent takeover, appear to have convinced its leaders that they are on the right path. The insistence with which they continue protesting in Cairo shows their deep conviction that it is possible to retrieve what was taken from them.
Refusing to compromise during political conflicts seems part of Islamic societies. A look at Syria's background: whether religious or nationalistic, it absolutely precludes a change of direction. The Brotherhood, moreover, openly hopes to expand its influence. A Pew poll from 2011 -- not necessarily accurate in dictatorships, since one never knows who might be watching -- tells them that 88% of citizens of Egypt believe that those who convert from Islam should be condemned to death -- compared to the 37% average in the rest of Muslim countries -- and that 75% want Sharia law, compared to 39% elsewhere.
Being a Muslim Brother is not like being a card-carrying member of a political party. Young boys are recruited at school based on their faith, not politics; it passes from father to son and sheikh to sheikh. Candidates spend one-to-three years passing difficult tests of doctrine, solidarity and sacrifice. When first they pass, they are promoted to muayyad (supporter without the right to vote). After one year, they can become a muntasib, a member, and study Koranic writings. Finally, they become an achmal, a real brother, and can vote for even the most delicate decisions. The Brothers help indoctrinate and monitor each other during elections. This army of pious militants infiltrates societies, runs in elections and it won in Tunisia, dominates in Turkey, holds Gaza, and took over Egypt. The Brotherhood is also strong in Libya and Jordan. It receives billions of dollars from Qatar, and fights in Syria to expel Assad.
The Brotherhood makes its home in 70 countries. It forms alliances to break up ordinary arrangements, like the one attempted by Morsi with Shiite Iran, to help Islam win the world war in which it believes. It is an organization that will never surrender power easily: because it just got hold of it, because it has faith, and because it is aware of its great international strength.
The war between nationalists and Islamists -- that goes back-and-forth, knows no truce and comes drenched in blood -- is, after all, ancient.
Fiamma Nirenstein, journalist and author, former Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and member of the Italian delegation at the Council of Europe.
This article originally appeared in slightly different form in Italian in Il Giornale; English copyright, Gatestone Institute.

Related Topics: Egypt | Fiamma Nirenstein

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