Last update - 00:00 30/07/2007
Fatah officials slam PA probe into Hamas takeover of Gaza
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
The Palestinians now call the committee investigating the Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip "Tayebograd" a synthesis of the name of Eliyahu Winograd, who heads Israel's probe of the Second Lebanon War, and Tayeb Abd al-Rahim, who heads the Palestinian inquiry.
Three days ago, Abd al-Rahim presented Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas with a report on the Hamas takeover, and Abbas has already announced that 60officers from the various Palestinian security organizations would be put on trial for their actions in the Strip. However, the conclusions of the Palestinian investigation leaves many of the "Gaza refugees" the Fatah officials who fled to Ramallah following the Hamas victory, and who are mostly affiliated with Mohammed Dahlan, the former Fatah strongman in the Strip angry and
disappointed.
"A week prior to the outbreak of the fighting with Hamas," says Samir Masharawi, a Fatah leader from the Gaza Strip, "Abu Mazen [Abbas] called a meeting of the central committee of Fatah the leadership of the organizations. He asked seven of them to travel to the Gaza Strip and lead the organization, in view of the deterioration of Mohammed Dahlan, who was undergoing medical treatment, and due to the fact that Abu Mazen was busy with other issues. He gave them all the authority and explained, 'You are authorized to do whatever you consider necessary to bolster Fatah. You claim that Dahlan is the problem. Now Dahlan is not there, take care of the problem.'"
Masharawi adds that, "Two of the committee members, Tayeb Abd al-Rahim and Ruhi Fatah (Abu Mazen's adviser) agreed to travel to Gaza immediately. The other five found all sorts of excuses not to do so. In the end, none of the seven came to Gaza. How is it that a committee investigating the failure of Fatah and of the security organizations in the confrontation with Hamas, did not find them responsible? Where is the responsibility of the political leadership?"
"Does your Winograd Committee blame only the army officers or also the politicians? Like you [Israelis] say: 'Blame the guard at the gate.' Those really responsible have to surface," the Fatah leader said.
The grievances being aired reflect the rifts that have plagued the organization for many years: They revolve around the inter-generational struggle the veteran leadership of the central committee, whose members have been around since 1987, and the leaders of the Tanzim, the grass-roots figures that emerged and lead the Palestinians during the first intifada and include Dahlan and Masharawi, who belong to a middle generation and are unable to reform Fatah.
Dahlan and his supporters became, over the years, political rivals of the central committee members. Now Dahlan's supporters claim that that committee is settling old scores through the commission of inquiry.
Masharawi, 42, married and father of seven, lives in a new home in Ramallah, where his family fled with him. Prior to the outbreak of civil war in the Gaza Strip, he was responsible for negotiations with Hamas, and traveled regularly to Cairo, where Egyptian mediators sought to bridge the divide between the two sides. He was in Ramallah, briefing Abbas, when the fighting broke out. Now he is pointing a finger at the central committee and also at Abbas.
"The rais [president] made a big mistake," says Masharawi. "He opted to compromise with Hamas over and over because he thought they were partners."
As for the committee, Masharawi says that some of its members cannot be objective because of their roles in previous affairs. He also says that "the committee is investigating on behalf of the PA the failure of Fatah. Imagine the Winograd Committee investigating the role of Labor. This is not acceptable."
A committee member, Nabil Amar, told Haaretz that the accusations are not accurate. "The report deals with the responsibility of the central committee and its role in the failure. There are no personal accusations against members of the committee since they did not have specific responsibilities in the events."