The Palestinian War on Palestinians

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Since 1917 the Palestinian people have been subjected to successive wars of many different kinds, waged by numerous parties. The British waged a war to impoverish the Palestinian people and cripple their ability to resist the Zionist tide; the Zionist movement waged several wars both before and after Israel’s establishment; Arab intelligence services waged wars of pursuit and persecution against the people, and some of their armies waged devastating wars against the forces of the Palestinian factions. Many states contributed to imposing the siege on Gaza in order to bring its people to their knees and change the political order prevailing there, and the people of the West Bank were subjected to yet another war, one we might call the war of trivialization, aimed at diverting Palestinians from their national concerns and focusing their attention on their personal interests, even at the expense of others.

Now there is a hideous Palestinian war being waged by the Ramallah authority, through its security apparatuses, against Palestinians — the harshest and cruelest of all, because it comes from a Palestinian against Palestinians, from a brother against his brother, from a neighbor against his neighbor. It is a repulsive, degrading war, and history will record it in letters of shame that will pursue Palestinians forever. Israel used to tell the world that the Palestinian had sold his land of his own free will to the Zionists, that the Zionist movement had not seized any land and had not trespassed on anyone’s property; now, however, the whole world watches what Palestinians are doing against Palestinians, and watches Palestinians cooperating with the Zionist state in order to bring Palestinians to their knees and destroy the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian security apparatuses are waging a relentless war on Palestinians through numerous methods and means. I had hoped to present live examples, with names, of this war, but I run into a major problem: people have become afraid to the point of cowardice, and refuse to speak of their experiences except in closed, private gatherings, without recording or authorization to pass the information on. I have spoken with many people who explained to me what they suffered at the hands of the Palestinian Authority and its security apparatuses, but they refused to authorize publication. I consider this behavior itself a consequence of the ongoing war, since it has broken the hearts of many people and turned a considerable segment of them into a circle of cowardice — and how could a people who have learned to be cowardly and retreat ever liberate land and reclaim rights from the Zionist Jews?

Arrest

The Authority’s security apparatuses arrest anyone they suspect of belonging to the resistance factions, particularly Hamas. Recently the honeymoon with Islamic Jihad ended, and these apparatuses have begun stepping up their pursuit of Jihad members as well. The Authority deploys a considerable number of its soldiers, armed with Kalashnikov rifles modified in a special way so as not to harm the sons of Zion, and uses siege and arrest tactics resembling those the Zionists themselves use in their arrests. Soldiers wearing masks enter homes scowling and keyed up, sometimes for searches, sometimes to arrest wanted men. In the early days of the Palestinian Authority these men carried instructions not to provoke people and to treat them gently, but they have now shed that garment of gentleness and behave like hostile soldiers, as though on a battlefield facing a bitter enemy lying in wait for the homeland and its citizens.

Many detainees suffer harsh treatment at the hands of the security apparatuses, are thrown into dark cells, and are beaten severely. Thanks are due to the Europeans who intervened on the matter of torture and warned the Palestinian Authority against continuing to torture people so harshly. The Europeans have shown themselves more merciful toward the Palestinian than the Palestinian himself. Of course the Europeans are partners in the displacement of the Palestinian people and the rape of Palestine, but they remain more merciful than the Palestinian who works according to their will and the will of the Americans. A number of Palestinians have died in Palestinian detention, some have been left permanently disabled, and some carry the marks of torture on their bodies.

Naturally the Palestinian Authority justifies its actions as defending what it calls the Palestinian national project, and as defending people’s security, on the grounds that acts of resistance endanger people’s security since the occupation retaliates.

Through such actions, the Palestinian Authority cultivates feelings of hatred and loathing, hardens grudges, and undoubtedly hastens acts of revenge.

Dismissal from employment

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…this person or that one because he belongs to Hamas or supports it, or supports an organization that believes in resistance. Even some officials at the universities appear to be employees of security apparatuses, applying security policy inside the universities, which are supposed to be a foundation for reviving freedom and a culture of liberation. They have pushed people to the point of turning a university professor into a spy informing on his colleagues and students. This is a lower depth of moral collapse and degradation.

Pursuit into private employment

The security apparatuses are not content with dismissing employees from official bodies; they also pursue some people in their private jobs, or their work at commercial companies and the like, and press for their dismissal. Because the employer is cowardly, and fears for the continuity of his financial and commercial interests, he complies with the pressure. There are ordinary people, owners of small shops, and others with large business interests, who are summoned and asked to get rid of some of their employees.

Good conduct

Since the beginning of its rule, the Palestinian Authority has operated by a standard fit only for degraded nations: the “good conduct” certificate. Anyone wishing to establish an association, a media center, a research center, or the like must submit a licensing request. The request passes through the various security apparatuses for approval, and if even one security apparatus rejects it, the license is not issued. In principle, the police examine such requests to protect people from thieves, drug traffickers, and criminals, while intelligence confirms that the person concerned does not work with the enemy — that is, does not pose a threat to national security. But in the Palestinian Authority the criteria are inverted, such that whoever wishes to resist the enemy is the one accused, the one of poor conduct and character. As for those who issue or grant the “good conduct” certificates, they see no shame in cooperating with the enemy in one way or another under the Oslo accords and the agreements that followed. Some of them even carry a VIP card from the enemy and move about in comfort and reassurance.

Intimidation

Many informers are spread among the ranks of the Palestinian people; they watch people, eavesdrop on their conversations, pass on news about them, and know their political and social leanings. Informers and watchers are numerous and are paid salaries, at the people’s expense, to watch over the people — and it is clear that the Palestinians now surpass a number of the criminal Arab regimes whose main concern is instilling terror in the hearts of their “subjects” so that they remain like rabbits or sheep led to slaughter without the slightest rebellion or question. Citizens are frequently summoned to be questioned about a remark they made or an article they wrote, or are warned in the field without even being summoned.

The upshot is that what is happening in the West Bank amounts to a war on Palestinians, and the actions of the Palestinian Authority threaten the security of the homeland and its citizens on both the civil and national levels. The Authority says its security apparatuses have provided security for citizens because they cleared thugs off the streets and imposed order. This claim can be turned against it, since it is the Authority itself that created and encouraged the phenomenon of thugs, following the pattern of the Fakahani-style politics practiced when the PLO was based in Lebanon. Instilling terror in citizens’ hearts through gangs was necessary in order for Oslo to survive, flourish, and bear fruit. If the Authority were honest, it would gather those it speaks of in prisons and try them for the crimes they committed, and restore rights to their rightful owners, but any observer knows that most of these people are themselves employees of the security apparatuses.

Gaza

Someone will surely come forward, not to refute what I say, but to say that the Hamas government does the very same thing in Gaza. As a matter of principle, I never defend anyone who recognizes Israel, and I consider recognition of Israel a supreme act of national treason. But I am against the monopolization of jobs, and I have previously criticized Hamas, after its victory in the legislative elections, for its bias in favor of its own members in new appointments. People elected Hamas to be just among the people, not to practice the very same practices the Ramallah authority practices. In any case, disagreement with Hamas remains a disagreement within the homeland, whereas disagreement with the Palestinian Authority is a disagreement over the homeland itself.

In the end the equation is simple: if Israel, Arab regimes, and Western states are besieging Gaza, then Gaza is right, a thousand times right; and if the West Bank is to receive VIP treatment from Israel, and money from Western states, and to coordinate on filthy matters with Israel, then the West Bank is wrong, a thousand times wrong.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “الحرب الفلسطينية على الفلسطينيين” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.