Back to the future in the PA

The Palestinians are taking Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan" seriously. The reason is not his talk, but his actions. The construction of the separation fence according to the route officially published by the Defense Ministry can be seen clearly on the ground, and lies at the very heart of the disengagement. Without the fence - there is no disengagement.

A few days ago, political scientist Ali Jerbawi of Bir Zeit University, a leading Palestinian professor, published a proposal for a Palestinian response. Because the Sharon plan presents a kind of ultimatum to the Palestinians (if they don't dismantle the terror infrastructure in accordance with the road map, we will begin the disengagement), Jerbawi proposes responding with a similar step: First it must be made clear to the Israelis that if they want a solution on the basis of two states for two nations, they must freeze the settlements, stop construction of the fence and announce their willingness to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, and to solve the refugee problem. Afterward he wants to give the Israelis six months in which to study and discuss the issue.

If at the end of the six months Israel rejects this Palestinian initiative and continues with its unilateral disengagement, then Jerbawi proposes that the Palestinian Authority declare that is is voluntarily disbanding, so that Israel will be forced to bring back the military government in all parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Debates on the subject are being conducted among senior members of the PA. Some support Jerbawi's proposals, some are suggesting amendments. The main problem, from their point of view, is the proposal to disband the PA. The opponents of this idea say that Israel can avoid taking full governmental responsibility for the West Bank and Gaza, with the result that chaos will reign in the territories, which will be controlled by armed gangs. That is already beginning to take place on the ground.

PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and the entire senior echelon of the PA are united in their opinion that the disengagement plan and the construction of the fences and walls along the existing route are the decisive step on the part of Israel, which is meant to finalize a renewed occupation arrangement unilaterally. "This is a reorganization of the Israeli occupation, because in the arrangement to be imposed by Israel, a Palestinian state cannot be established, and not a single Palestinian will agree to that," say all the Palestinian spokesmen.

That is what lies behind the words of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), who said at the end of last week that in light of the Israeli policy, the Palestinians will have to adopt the idea of the binational state. About 30 years ago, a similar idea was formulated in the Palestine Liberation Organization, and at the time the Palestinians favored the establishment of "a democratic secular state" in the entire territory of the country. Israel rejected this idea out of hand, because it saw in it a Palestinian tactic to avoid recognizing Israel, and a recipe for the destruction of the Jewish state.

At the height of the previous intifada (in the summer of 1988), the turning point took place in the PLO, and since then the Palestinian national movement has adopted the idea of two states for two nations. And now, when this idea is collapsing and being eliminated, in light of the unilateral arrangement being imposed by Israel - the Palestinians are going back to the 1970s and returning to the old proposal: one state for two nations.

On Saturday the Palestinian media gave major coverage to Israel's responses to Qureia's suggestion. The PA was also impressed by the immediate reservations about the idea expressed by the Americans. Yasser Arafat therefore hastened to convene the PLO Executive Committee on Friday, and to pass a decision there to the effect that the Palestinians are completely entitled to declare the establishment of their state within the 1967 borders. In other words, the PA is not yet rushing to change its position supporting the road map and two states, and the binational idea is only a warning to Israel for now.