Thursday July 23, 2009

I've Been Thinking:

On August 4th Fatah will hold a convention in the city of Bethlehem.
This will be the first Fatah Convention since Arafat's death - actually, there have been no Fatah conventions in over a decade.

A big, bold line will be drawn dividing those Fatah members who support the Fatah run Palestinian Authority government that recognizes Israel- and the reset of Fatah.
Mohammed Dahlan made the point very clear on Palestinian TV.
Rafik al-Natsheh, a senior Fatah official seconded the motion saying that Fatah will not recognize Israel.
He said:
"We will maintain the resistance option in all its forms and we will not recognize Israel" ... "Not only don't we demand that anyone recognize Israel, we don't recognize Israel ourselves. However, the Palestinian Authority government is required to do it, or else it will not be able to serve the Palestinian people."

Al Natsheh is explaining the catch-22 by which the Fatah government must live.
Because the PA government needs international support, they must recognize Israel.
But, he is also pointing out that non-governmental Fatah is not obligated in the same way - they are neither required to recognize Israel nor to give up the resistance against Israel.
And we all know that resistance is just a euphemism for terror.

This conference opens the door on an entirely new set of issues for the US and Israel. I am not certain that the White house will be briefed on the importance of nuance in Middle East politics and language.
In many ways, on Pennsylvania Avenue, ignorance is bliss.

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