"Demonstration" Government in Palestine

[mmven...@gmail.com]

by Stephen Lendman

In 1984 (a year of Orwellian significance), activist
and media and social critic Edward Herman wrote one of
his many important books titled "Demonstration
Elections." In it, he analyzed the US-staged
elections in the 1960s in the Dominican Republic and
Vietnam and the 1982 one in El Salvador. In the
book's Orwellian glossary of terms, he defined the
process as "A circus held in a client state to assure
the population of the home country that their
intrusion is well received. The results are
guaranteed by an adequate supply of bullets provided
in advance (and freely used as necessary to achieve
the desired outcome)."

This writer calls this ugly business
"democracy-engineering, American-style" backed by
force to win approval of a rigged process people would
never accept another way. Noam Chomsky refers to the
notion of "Keeping the Rabble in Line," the title of
one of his many books. It can be through soft or hard
methods to assure the public goes along with what
governments want imposed.

Herman's main theme was that "elections held under
conditions of military occupation and extensive
pre-election 'pacification' " aren't free at all but
aim to get an occupying force's puppet choice accepted
by the people it's installed to rule with influence
wielded more by bullets than ballots to create
"stability." Herman defines that term, too, as "a
political arrangement free of open warfare and
satisfactory to our interests." By that he means the
"rabble" is cowed, induced or pummelled into
submission.

Enter the dominant media stepping up to support the
effort as lead cheerleader for a process hard to sell
without heavy lifting convincing that what government
is doing is for the common good. Never mind it isn't
and that destroying democracy and the will of the
people to resist are the real aims. Herman's theme
works the same way today, and it's in play now in
occupied Palestine. The difference discussed below is
that the US and Israel tried running a "demonstration
election" there in January, 2006, but it failed. The
people didn't cooperate and the "wrong" party won.

Imperial powers never accept defeat and attempted to
subvert and crush the democratically elected Hamas
government ever since because it's too democratic and
refuses to be Israel's enforcer. So anti-Hamas
efforts started off by labeling it a "terrorist"
organization. That was followed by political and
economic isolation, cutting off all essential aid,
open conflict, and on June 17 brazenly installing an
illegitimate "demonstration government" with
Palestinian quisling President Mahmoud Abbas illegally
dismissing the elected government and appointing an
"emergency" one. All this is discussed in detail
below.

Imposed Illegitimate "Demonstration" Government in
Palestine

The beleaguered Palestinians are one of the world's
most victimized peoples of justice delayed because
it's been so long denied them. Long under the
Ottomans, they then had to endure imperial British
mandate rule after WW I until it ended in May, 1948.
Ever since, they've suffered intolerable hardships
under brutal Israeli oppression and illegal occupation
with little outside support to end it.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was
founded in 1964 as a result and Yasser Arafat became
its leader in 1969 to try. At first, it was
militantly, then later through negotiation and
international consensus. Nothing worked because a
hard line Israeli - US nexus with Western and Arab
state complicity prevented it. The predictable result
was festering anger in the Palestinian Territories.
They've been occupied since June, 1967 after Israel
seized them in its long-planned six day war of
aggression. The illegal occupation continues and
Palestinian anger boiled over in two Intifadas, first
in 1987, and ever since after Ariel Sharon's
provocative visit to the sacred Al Aqsa Mosque in
September, 2000.

By January 25, 2006, Palestinians had enough of
Fatah's institutionalized corruption and willingness
to be Israel's enforcer under the quisling governments
of Yasser Arafat and his successor Mahmoud Abbas.
They elected a dominant majority of Hamas members to
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) seats because
they promised change and its candidates were untainted
by corruption or willingness to serve as puppets of
Israeli interests at the expense of their own people.
They meant what they promised and proved it once in
office, even offering to partner with Fatah at the
outset in a spirit of unity. Under orders not to,
Fatah refused. It guaranteed Israeli and Washington
antagonism that erupted immediately once Hamas assumed
office.

Palestinians endured a life and death survival
struggle before the election and especially ever
since, and they've been on their own doing it. After
Hamas' election victory, all desperately needed
outside aid was cut off, and they've been mercilessly
persecuted under repressive Israeli rule. They've also
been attacked viciously and relentlessly by the
world's fourth most powerful military IDF forces and
enlisted Fatah-led paramilitary death squads with only
light and crude weapons and their spirit to endure and
fight back.

Hamas - From Its Charter and How It Governs

Hamas in Arabic means courage and bravery. It's also
an abbreviation of the Arabic words meaning Islamic
Resistance Movement. It was formed in 1987 during the
first Intifada and early on was supported by Israel to
counter Arafat's PLO the Jewish state opposed at the
time. Ever since, it's been an effective resistance
movement against repression and occupation providing
essential social services like medical clinics;
education, including centers for women; free meals for
children; financial and technical help to those whose
homes Israelis destroyed; aid to refugees in the
camps; and setting up youth and sports clubs.

It also has the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, an
elite military wing, headed by Abu Abieda and other
forces it needs for self-defense and law enforcement.
Included among them is the "special operational force"
known as the Executive Force (Tanfithya) used on the
streets for policing and security.

Israel, Washington and the West call Hamas' political
and social activities and its legitimate right to
self-defense "terrorism" and tried to isolate and
destroy its democratically elected government from
birth. So far, they haven't succeeded, or are likely
to, because Hamas' strongest assets are its will,
readiness, and majority support from its people.

Hamas is a heterogenous democratic Islamic Resistance
Movement allied with all resistance fighters for the
purpose of liberating Palestine from Israeli
oppression and occupation. Its method of choice is
through negotiation and international consensus, not
war or terrorism as falsely portrayed through the
dominant media. But it states in its charter it will
fight for its rights if they can't be gotten
peacefully and rightfully blames Zionist Israel for
its plight. They have plenty of evidence to prove it.

In its founding charter, it states it "draws its
guidelines from Islam; derives from it its thinking,
interpretations and views about existence, life and
humanity; refers back to it for its conduct....adopts
Islam as its way of life....Its ultimate goal is
Islam, the Prophet its model, the Qur'an its
Constitution....In the absence of Islam, conflict
arises, oppression reigns, corruption is rampant and
struggles and wars prevail....(The Movement) will do
its utmost to....support....the weak, (and defend) all
the oppressed.

(It) regards Nationalism (Wataniyya) as part....of the
religious faith." Peace initiatives and international
conferences are rejected if their intention is
renunciation of Palestinian land. It rejects Zionist
intentions to destroy Palestinian society, its values
and "wipe out Islam." It describes itself as "a
humane movement, which cares for human rights and is
committed to the tolerance inherent in Islam as
regards attitudes towards other religions. It is only
hostile to those who are hostile towards it....(Under
Islam) it is possible for the members of the three
religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism to coexist
in safety and security" as long as other religions
"desist from struggling against Islam over sovereignty
in this region."

It believes "World Zionism and Imperial forces have
been attempting....to push the Arab countries" to end
conflict with Zionism "to isolate the Palestinian
people." It states its members don't seek
"fame....nor material gains, or social status....It
will never set out against any Muslims....or
non-Muslims who make peace with it." Overall, Hamas
has moderate political and religious views in contrast
to militant hard line ones by ruling Israeli
governments and the current one in Washington and
other past ones.

It wants peace, equity and justice for all
Palestinians while Israel and the Bush administration
pursue an agenda of conflict, imperial domination and
firm intention to deny Palestinians all rights they're
entitled to and the UN General Assembly adopted in
December, 1948 in its Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. This historic (non-binding) document
guarantees them to everyone regardless of "race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status (including) the right to life, liberty
and security of person."

Hamas has always called for peace with Israel and is
willing to negotiate on the basis of "hudnah" or
temporary truce. It's founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin,
said Hamas was willing to end its struggle for the
legitimate rights of Palestinian people "if the
Zionists ended its occupation of Palestinian
territories and stopped killing Palestinian women,
children and innocent civilians." As the elected
Palestinian government, it declared a unilateral
cease-fire with Israel, ended all suicide bombings,
wants to negotiate, and is willing to recognize the
Jewish state if Israel accepts and recognizes a
Palestinian one. After being elected, it governed in
good faith and agreed to a national unity government
with Fatah to share power it democratically won to
have alone. Israel, the US and West rejected all good
faith efforts opting instead for a divide and conquer
strategy.

A New Stage of Occupation for Palestinians

Israel, Washington and the West, pursued an aggressive
agenda for months through armed conflict causing many
deaths. From the start, Washington's point man has
been Iran-Contra criminal and now deputy national
security adviser, Elliot Abrams. Documents have
surfaced in Middle East capitals with evidence of
Abrams' role in an anti-Hamas "hard coup" strategy of
violence and armed insurrection. They call for
"maintain(ing) President Abbas and Fatah as the centre
of (Palestinian) gravity....avoid accommodating
(Hamas), undermine Hamas' political status (and)
strengthen the Palestinian president's authority to be
able to call and conduct early elections by autumn
2007."

The document also called for Mahmoud Abbas to reject
Saudi Arabia's Mecca agreement leaving Hamas in
charge. It further indicated $1.27 billion would be
allocated to Abbas to add seven special battalions of
4700 new security forces to his 15,000 in place for
"safeguard(ing) decisions such as dismissing the
cabinet and forming an emergency government."

This all played out violently on Gaza streets leading
up to Hamas' defeating opposition insurgent forces and
seizing control of the Territory to establish law and
order. As planned in Washington and Jerusalem,
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas then
conspiratorially declared a "state of emergency." He
dismissed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and his
national unity government replacing it with his own
illegitimate "emergency" one.

It's illegally headed by newly appointed prime
minister Salam Fayyad whose electoral list posted a
2.4% showing in the January, 2006 PLC elections Hamas
won overwhelmingly. Fayyad's a pro-Western former IMF
and World Bank official chosen by Washington and
Jerusalem. His job is to do their bidding the way he
served capital interests during his tenure at the
international lending agencies. There he did it by
forcing borrowers into debt slavery and their people
into extreme poverty and deprivation for the sake of
profit. That made him a western darling now promoted
to enforce imperial domination on his people who want
freedom and won't likely tolerate his portfolio to
deny it to them.

Abbas, Fayyad and others in the "emergency" government
are shamelessly partnered with Israel and Washington
as their coup d'etat-installed puppets working against
the interests of their own people. They control the
West Bank alone with Hamas firmly in charge of Gaza
unless or until Israel intervenes which now seems
likely. It suggests a repeat of last summer's mass
assault on the Territory and its sure to follow
dreadful consequences for its near-defenseless people.

Plans to weaken and oust Hamas have been in place for
months with Washington supplying the Abbas leadership
tens of millions of dollars in aid and weapons. It's
gone to paramilitary militia death squad groups like
Gaza-based Fatah warlord and another Israeli-Western
darling Mohammed Dahlan (Fatah's security chief now in
the West Bank) and his "Preventative Security Force."
It's part of a conspiratorial coup d'etat effort
headed by traitorous Palestinians on the take for
their own gain. Abbas is their nominal leader.
Dahlan has the muscle and real power as it chief
enforcer. All newly appointed members of Abbas' sham
"emergency government" share equal guilt. They're
junior quislings serving their puppet-masters in
Jerusalem and Washington, but events are just
beginning, the struggle is far from over, and its
outcome very much uncertain.

Money and weapons will continue flowing into the West
Bank, and from what Hamas already seized in a Gaza
stash it found, it should be plenty. Unncovered were
huge amounts of mounted machine guns, assault rifles,
ammunition, armored personnel carriers, jeeps, armored
cars and trucks, military-sized bulldozers, water
cannon-dispersing trucks, large quantities of
munitions including rocket-propelled grenades and
launchers, explosives and various other supplies and
equipment.

In total, it appears enough to equip a small army of
fighters and may be worth as much as $400 million.
It's sure to be replaced so Fatah traitors are heavily
armed to continue fighting Israel's proxy war and
acting as its West Bank enforcer against their own
people. They almost certainly will resist with Hamas
leading them courageously. It means Fatah's hold on
power is tenuous at best and Abbas' fate equally
shaky. His shameless act may in the end cost him all
credibility, his job, and eventually make him liable
to be held to account for his open betrayal of his own
people.

Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, has no intention
stepping down and responded at length live on
Al-Jazeera rejecting Abbas' "hasty" moves saying 96%
of Palestinians support a unity government as the best
chance for peace and security. He affirmed his
democratically elected government would continue
functioning and maintain law and order. He also
called for an end to conflict and a general amnesty.
He stressed his fight is not with Fatah, but only with
rogue traitorous elements in it like the dominant one
headed by warlord Dahlan firmly doing Israel and
Washington's bidding.

He explained Hamas' takeover was no coup and only a
last resort attempt to end lawlessness, conflict and a
Dahlan-led conspiracy against all Palestinians. He
spoke of conciliation, unity, and conflict resolution
to heal divisions in contrast to Abbas' traitorous
behavior as Israel and Washington's pawn. He followed
Israeli and Washington-dictated orders responding by
denouncing Hamas as terrorists, refusing to negotiate,
and saying he'll (illegally as explained below) order
new elections that will exclude Hamas.

At this stage, Hamas' task is daunting as Haaretz
reports Israeli Labor Party Chairman, former prime
minister, and new Olmert government defense minister
Ehud Barak, plans to launch a large-scale military
operation on Gaza in weeks. It will include 20,000
troops and an air assault aimed at destroying Hamas'
military capabilities quickly. Haaretz cited a close
Barak aide saying Israel won't allow a "Hamastan" in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and an
attack on it is certain. Air attacks are now ongoing
daily, border crossings are closed, and Israel
cancelled Gaza's commercial customs code. That cuts
off essential supplies like food and medicines from
entering the territory. Israel is now increasing its
collective punishment against 1.4 million Palestinians
already enduring unbearable hardships in what's
considered the world's largest open-air prison with a
population density three times that of Manhattan.

Israeli-Washington-Directed Fatah Declared Coup
Illegal Under Palestinian Law

Virginia Tilley is a South African-based political
science professor. On June 18, her article appeared
on The Electronic Intifada titled "Whose Coup,
Exactly?" It documented in detail that according to
the Basic Law of Palestine, serving as the PA's
constitution, "Abbas has violated a whole stream of
Articles as well as the spirit of its checks and
balances" limiting the power of the presidency. He
"badly trashed numerous provisions" in it "with full
US and Israeli support." The Basic Law states:

-- Under Article 45, the President can remove a Prime
Minister but can only appoint a new one from the
majority party - Hamas.

-- Under Article 83, if the Prime Minister is removed,
the serving (Hamas-led) Cabinet is to govern until the
(Hamas-led) Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
appoints a new one.

-- Only the PLC has authority to confirm a new Prime
Minister and Cabinet.

-- Under Article 43, in emergencies, the President can
rule by decree subject to all decrees approved by the
PLC.

-- Under Article 113, in emergencies, the President
cannot suspend the PLC.

-- The Basic Law gives the President no power to call
for early elections.

-- No provision in the Basic Law authorizes an
"emergency government."

Conclusion: Abbas' actions constitute a lawless coup
d'etat usurpation of power, or as Tilley puts it: "The
(Fatah) Fayyad government is the step-child of an
extra-legal process with no democratic mandate. The
whole manoeuvre is not precisely a palace coup," but
enough like one, in fact, to be one. She also notes
"the diplomatic landscape is now in utter disarray"
with the extra-legal Fayyad government only a
"facsimile" of the real thing.

So far, its illegitimate creation hardly seems to
matter to Israel, the US and European Union
shamelessly flouting Palestinian and international
law. They're ending their political and economic PA
West Bank (only) embargo to bolster Fatah and Abbas
while continuing to isolate Hamas in Gaza. It's an
outrageous effort rewarding lawlessness and continuing
to crush democratic movements when they become too
democratic as Hamas did. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu
Zuhri denounced it accusing the West of hypocrisy. He
noted Hamas was democratically elected and added "This
confirms the falseness of the international
community's support for democracy."

>From Dublin, Ireland at a human rights conference,
former President Jimmy Carter denounced it as well.
He accused the US, EU and Israel of harming and
seeking to divide the Palestinian people by aiding
Abbas in the West Bank while withholding similar help
to Hamas in Gaza. Carter stressed Hamas is entitled
to be the ruling Palestinian government because it was
democratically elected. Representatives from his
Carter Center observed the election and judged it
free, open and fair. He urged the international
community to work toward reconciliation of Hamas and
Fatah but sees nothing being done to do it.

He condemned US, EU and Israeli efforts to undermine
Hamas as "criminal." He continued saying "The United
States and Israel decided to punish all the people of
Palestine and did everything they could to deter a
compromise between Hamas and Fatah." He then added
Washington and others supplied Fatah security forces
with superior weapons aimed at "conquer(ing) Hamas in
Gaza, but the plan failed because of Hamas' "superior
skills and discipline."

A Hopeful Look Ahead

Everything happening in the Middle East in Iraq,
Palestine, Lebanon and Afghanistan in Central Asia is
interconnected. In all of it, Washington is partnered
with Israel and the EU aiming to subdue the people in
both regions, control their resources, and rule over
this vast area in colonial-occupier fashion directly
on the ground or ideally with puppet-installed
governments. Washington leads the effort and intends
taking the lion share of what it can plunder provided
things go as planned. The EU is tagging along led by
Britain and Israel in key roles with the Jewish state
getting huge amounts of funding to do it. According
to a James Tucker American Free Press May, 2003 report
it was at a level of $10 billion a year then with
Israel wanting it upped to $12 billion.

This figure came from a Library of Congress "briefing
paper" titled "Israel: US Foreign Assistance." It
listed categories including direct funding aid, huge
amounts in loans and loan guarantees, military aid, R
& D help, and considerably more that noted academic
and author James Petras documented in his important
2006 book "The Power of Israel in the United States."
In total, Israel, with 5.2 million people in 2005,
about the size of a large US or other city, receives
more in total aid in all forms than all other nations
in the world combined. It uses it to seize
Palestinian lands for Jewish resettlement, build
separation/apartheid walls, and wage illegal wars of
aggression in pursuit of its own imperial agenda for
regional dominance as an adjunct to its US partner and
very generous funder.

Despite considerable effort and huge amounts of
financial and other resources employed, US and Israeli
imperial adventurism hasn't fared too well giving
reason to hope more of it will turn out as badly for
both nations. Palestinians have endured everything
Israel's thrown at it for six repressive decades. In
spite of it, they're still holding up maintaining
their courageous struggle for equity, justice and a
free and independent state they intend one day to have
and likely will regardless of Israel's determination
to prevent it. History is on their side.

In just the last century, nations around the world
struggled for the same rights and prevailed, though
for many it took decades or longer and what was gained
was far from perfect or even unacceptable too often
like in South Africa. The end of apartheid there was
replaced by neoliberal "Thatcherism" resulting in
greater poverty and hardship for the poor majority
than in the earlier era. However, progress usually
comes slowly and rarely without setbacks or
disappointments. The point is it can come when people
seeking it never stop believing it will or working for
it until it does. Palestinians have been doing it
since 1948, and one day they'll have what they and all
others deserve everywhere, their own state in which to
live free from foreign occupation secure at last on
their own land.

An early hopeful sign was reported in Haaretz by
correspondent Shlomo Shamir June 22. He noted in
spite of US, British and French pressure (with new UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's shameless backing) for
a Security Council declaration of confidence in the
Abbas government, it was withdrawn before its drafting
stage because of strong protests against it by Russia,
South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar. These countries
objected to anti-Hamas policies and attempts to
characterize it as a terror organization and isolate
it. In addition, Russia and South Africa questioned
the emergency government's legitimacy arguing instead
for a unity government as the solution to the conflict
in occupied Palestine.

It's a small, maybe temporary victory, but important
one nonetheless. It shows mighty America, Israel and
the EU can be challenged and forced to back down
giving Palestinian people hope more victories will
follow and in time the one they want above all others.
With faith, courage, patience and redoubtable will,
one day they'll prevail, their Nakba will have ended,
and their right to live freely on their own land will
be affirmed and recognized.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendman...@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to The Steve Lendman News and Information Hour
on TheMicroEffect.com Saturdays at noon US central
time.