Naming of PM is an obstacle

Azzam Al-Ahmed Ramallah - Sauna El Deek   Azzam Al-Ahmed, a member of the Central Committee of Fatah, confirmed that the agreement on the choice of the next Prime Minister for the Palestinian government has become a major obstacle

in the way of the reconciliation. He stressed the important role of the reconciliation in the successful reunification of Palestinians. "Arabs Today” interviewed Azzam Al-Ahmad regarding this sensitive topic:

Q: Firstly, how far have the Palestinian reconciliation efforts gone? And why have Fatah and Hamas exchanged accusations again?
A- The accusations are not between Fatah and Hamas.  Some of the irresponsible statements made in this regard, and reactions to them were besieged, and what is more, obstacles are to be expected on the road to the implementation of the agreement. So far the main obstacle which has emerged, and which still stands in the way of the reconciliation, is the settlement of the name of the next Prime Minister. In fact, there is a fundamental dispute about the concept of compatibility. I do not say that this is merely between Fatah and Hamas, but also within the Palestinian arena in general. I want to stress that compatibility means that all the parties that signed the reconciliation must agree on any subject that was confirmed in the agreement, and this means that the Prime Minister must be agreed upon.  I have got in contact with Musa Abu Marzouk, in order to determine a new date to resolve this issue, and I hope that this is done in the near future.
Q: What alternatives do you see in the event of the failure of the reconciliation?
A- First of all, we will not allow the reconciliation to fail, and in my personal opinion, any Palestinian that cares and has a minimum level of patriotism, must not allow the reconciliation to fail. However, some Palestinians are talking as if they are neutral, as if they are from the cold Antarctic Ocean, and consider the news of the reconciliation to be ordinary news, thinking that it doesn’t mean a lot to them. This issue affects every Palestinian at home or abroad, just as it affects the graves of the martyrs, the groans of the wounded, and the pain of the prisoners.  How can a Palestinian allow himself to simply say that reconciliation will fail. Mahmoud Darwish said in one of his poems "the neigh of the horses on the slope, either ascending or ascending" - we say its either reconciliation or reconciliation, and beyond that, I doubt that there exists any patriotic Palestinian who assumes any solution other than the reconciliation.
Q: Do you consider that the “Arab Spring” has had any positive effects on the internal Palestinian situation?
A- We are a part of the “Arab Spring” that cannot be separated from it.  In Palestine we have a street that has been moved to demand the reconciliation. There are also moves within our ranks to prevent the reconciliation, and thereby to maintain the occupation, because the prevention of reconciliation means the continuation of the occupation.
When I was in the meeting of the Assembly of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliament in Barcelona a few days ago, one of the delegates from Belgium focused on the Arab issue, noting that Palestine was not mentioned during the “Arabic Spring” and its movements, and that the American flag had not been burned. I answered him with one sentence saying: “It is better for us to organize our home first, and to concentrate on our domestic affairs, before moving on to arrange the neighbouring houses.  I told them that they should pay attention, especially in Egypt and Tunisia to the Palestinian flag that was at the forefront of all the demonstrations and gatherings. In Cairo, more than 350 Egyptians were wounded during the revival of 7th of June defeat in the street near the Israeli embassy, meaning that there was a serious interaction. We already have to support, and demand more freedom and democracy in the Arab world, and greater freedom from underdevelopment. We must confront the occupation and foreign domination, which is extensive these days.
Q: Where is the real flaw in the issue of forming a government? Is it partisan interests or external intervention?
A- “If we say the issue is partisan interests, it is superficial thinking.  There is an agreement that the government will be formed by independent figures, where is the partisan interest there? Furthermore, it is not wrong for any party or organization to consider its interest, however the homeland’s interest should be the ultimate goal. There is no doubt that the partisans from the homeland will meet with parties, and express their interest.  Competing is acceptable, but talking about factions with a kind of transcendence as some journalists do, is unacceptable. We shouldn’t forget that the factions of the revolution in the PLO brought back the concept of the national Palestinian character, until the Palestinian became able to say proudly, “I am a Palestinian”.  Beforehand no one could say that because there are people who do not want a Palestinian state, and who seek to root out all those linked to the contemporary Palestinian revolution, and its liberating project.  As most of the current generation were born a quarter of a century after the start of the revolution, the idea of the national Palestinian identity is required to be removed by writing off the PLO and its factions through the separation between internal and external, so I say we should beware.”
He assured that there are foreign interventions, and that the world has become smaller, stating: “Over thirty-five years ago, we were sitting with a group of Iraqi intellectuals in the house of my friend Dr. Muhammad Shaaban, Allah's mercy be upon him, and the debate was that there would be one government for the whole world.  Even if we look now to the reality of the current situation, don’t you think that the United States dominates international decisions, and even the national decisions in different countries. Yes, external influence has a big role now, and I hope we can get rid of it.
Q: It seems that Hamas considers the insistence of President Abbas on the nomination of Dr. Salam Fayyad to head the government a problem that will led to the cancellation of the reconciliation. How do you view this issue? Is it the president's right to select a particular person to head the government?
A- I have stated clearly that I am the one who signed the reconciliation agreement with Hamas, and we all hope that we will overcome this issue. When President Abu Mazen backs Dr.Salam Fayyad, we must search for the criteria that President Abbas is searching for, and agree with him, even if there is someone who wants to invoke the cancellation of the reconciliation, we must not give them this excuse, be it Hamas or anyone else.
Q: Is the financial crisis of the Palestinian National Authority a real crisis? Or is it made out to be that way and fabricated by others? If it is a real crisis, how will you face it? Is the Arab support enough to get out of this crisis?
A- “It is not fabricated, Dr. Salam Fayyad has announced that loans received on a monthly basis from banks led to the refusal of banks to support the Authority. Fayyad should be honest with the Palestinian people since the crisis has been around for as long as we have not been a state.  When we hear about production and development, and all our life is aid, taxes, and fees, there is something wrong. Until now we haven’t had the elements of the independent national economy, which is the basis for political independence. Talking about an independent economy in the presence of the occupation is considered deceptive. Things are going in a positive direction, and there are projects underway.  For example, water wells to provide for houses are being built. It is a good thing to build, but we must not exaggerate, we are under occupation, we have a real crisis that will not end until the demise of the occupation.
We are used to getting aid.  This aid is not brought by any particular person, but by the political situation, and here I want to highlight the political ignorance of journalists, citizens and officials who believe that individuals bring aid; this is nonsense and misleading political silliness.  We have not been given aid for a long time, and the question that arises is why? When reconciliation took place people went around in a panic scaring everyone about the crisis in salaries, and a few days ago the U.S. Senate threatened that if we went to the United Nations in September, the US will cut off their aid to us.  So should we not go to the United Nations? Some say we must not carry out reconciliation so as not to cut aid.  Do we stop saying that Israel is our enemy so as not to cut off aid? Therefore the correct political thinking must be carried out, because over the last five years the U.S. and Israeli departments have attempted to distort the culture and thought of the Palestinian policy. We must ask why people (particularly otherArab nations) stopped sending us aid when the Palestinian National Authority was established.
Q: With regards to September, what do you expect and what is next?
A- Firstly, we should not uphold high of expectations, nor should we narrow them. We are going to the United Nations to request membership in order to convert our cause of the occupied territory to the occupied country.  If we succeed in this step, the occupation will be ended very soon.  However, I know that the American veto will be in ahead of us. Since the membership in the UN is done in the security council, and the veto there is guaranteed so that the American policy can show itself, we are heading to the UN to ask for membership no matter what, and any decision that will come from the General Assembly will be considered a recommendation. When the question of membership is considered, we need to two-thirds of the members, and this requires a large effort.
Q: How are you prepared to face the American veto?
A- “For our part, we move politically on an ongoing basis, while the United States continues its movements and its attempts to prevent us from reaching the threshold for submitting the membership application to the United Nations.  However, we must not be afraid of threats. When America threatened to cut the aid regarding the settlement issue, the leadership was determined to demand the halting of the settlement, and the response and the position of President Abu Mazen was clearly that he rejected all threats.  We took it step by step, and took the US veto, but fourteen countries stood by our side, including four permanent Security Council members - notably Britain, which voted in support of our position for the first time. This is a new asset for the Palestinian cause. What is needed, then, is for us to form a pressure tool by exposing the American dominance and its policy, and this in itself, would be a Palestinian victory.”
He added that the number of the countries that recognize the state of Palestine has begun to increase, as there are a number of countries which will recognize it within weeks.
"We will not forget that France also raised the representation of Palestinian as President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to Paris, as Head of State.”
He pointed out that there is progress, and that Palestine must not fear the threat from the U.S. Senate and White House administration, stating: “We will succeed in the end to end U.S. domination, leading to the rehabilitation of the United Nations, which would be another victory for the Palestinian people.”
Q: Do you think that next September represents a real alternative to the failure of negotiations and facing the Israeli occupation?
A- “ Going to the United Nations would serve the negotiations, and would lead us to the international foundations needed in order to obtain membership.  I think that both steps are as important as one another; the negotiations and going to the United Nations, but the U.S. does not want a peaceful settlement, and do not want to end the occupation.
There was a decision taken by the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona in early July 2011 confirming that the international community and the Palestinian side are fully ready to build a Palestinian state after the signing of a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, and this committee believes that granting Palestine a membership to the United Nations will led both parties into serious negotiations.”
Q: What would Arabs have to undertake in the next phase in order to take advantage of the Rights of September?
A- Up until now the coordination of Arab nations is considered good to some extent. The Committee of Arabs met in Qatar and will meet again in the coming days. It has formed a legal committee that works with the Palestinian side to recruit Arab movements to support the Palestinians’ demands, and to obtain the greatest possible support from countries worldwide, so we succeed in our endeavour, both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council.
Therefore, we are now satisfied with the extent of Arab coordination, and also the new Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil El Arab confirmed that he will proceed in the footsteps of former Secretary-General Amr Moussa with regard to the Palestinian case, which focuses on the announcement of a Palestinian state and the Palestinian case being the main concern of the Arabic movement in the next phase.
Q: There are rumours about a division within Fatah after the Central Committee’s decision to dismiss Mohammad Dahlan? What is the truth behind that?
A- As an experienced member of this side I know and understand that this issue shouldn’t be tackled in the media, as an organizational topic or issue.