Will threats bring an end to security coordination?

A Palestinian source was quoted recently as saying that President Mahmoud Abbas has asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership to stop all forms of security coordination with Israel. The president has also requested official relations between Palestinians and Israelis to be limited to the most basic form of contact. His moves are seen as a response to Israel’s decision to hold on to Palestinian tax revenue as a punishment for the PA’s decision to address the UN Security Council.

According to Al-Quds Al-Araby, the source pointed out that the PA cannot end all coordination with the occupier without facing severe consequences. Nevertheless, all official Palestinian institutions would have to abide by an executive decision issued by Abbas in the event that he chooses to end relations with Israel.

In his recent speech to the Arab League, Abbas claimed that he would ensure that Israel pays the consequences for its occupation of Palestinian land if things remain as they are and if negotiations are not resumed as quickly as possible. He also said that he would take steps to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the event that Palestine’s new attempt to address the Security Council is obstructed. In fact, Abbas apparently sent a warning to the United States about using its veto against the Palestinian resolution in the event that it attracted nine or more votes.

The threats and warnings aim to bring an end to security coordination, hold the Israeli government accountable for the illegal occupation of Palestine and represent a proposal to the UN Security Council. The goal behind all of this is to re-launch a year-long negotiations process after an international conference to kick-start the newest attempt to reach a peace agreement, end the occupation within a certain time frame and halt Israel’s settlement expansion. Sadly, the Palestinian leadership’s newest proposal to the UN Security Council makes many concessions over Palestinian national rights, including those that are outlined by international law and countless UN resolutions.

There are now efforts to submit another proposal to the Security Council and a separate enquiry to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the coming year. The Arab League’s Nabil Al-Araby emphasised the importance of submitting what he called an acceptable proposal, one that would appeal to the members of the Security Council, especially those who have the right to veto, such as the United States. Al-Araby claimed that this would increase the chances of the Security Council being in favour of a Palestinian resolution.

If we add to this French President François Hollande’s remarks that his country will continue its efforts to introduce a draft resolution to the Security Council to ensure a return to negotiations, we must understand that the fate of the Palestinian threats will depend on the results of these efforts to resume the talks. Even so, the resumption of negotiations without a change in the balance of power and strengthening the Palestinian side will only result in a new black comedy; it is almost certain that this will play out due to the lack of Arab cards on the table. We could simply go from bad to worse.

President Abbas has also threatened to hand over the keys of the Palestinian Authority to Israel so that it has full responsibility for providing for the Palestinian Territories as occupied lands. He is frustrated that Israel continues to ignore the terms of its agreements with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and won’t stop building and expanding settler-colonies on occupied Palestinian land. Israel, as the occupying power, has placed before the Palestinians a fait accompli that would make the establishment of a viable and worthy independent State of Palestine virtually impossible.

Abbas has defended his cooperation with Israel in the past and argued that it was “holy” and in Palestine’s best interests to work with the occupier. Following widespread Palestinian outrage at the assassination of Minister Ziad Abu Ein, the PA claimed to have placed security coordination in the past; until, that is, Abbas’s close confidante Mahmoud Habash announced that such coordination with Israel was indeed in the Palestinian people’s best interests.

Thus, threats to end security coordination appear to be very like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In short, the PA’s unwillingness to stick to one decision in this matter has made the situation farcical.

The truth of the matter is that if we go back to the core of the issue of security coordination, we will find that it was wrong to begin with. The PA’s claims that it would help bring an end to the occupation were not only false but also did the exact opposite; it has strengthened Israel’s occupation and given it a sense of legitimacy.

The illusion behind it all was that security coordination abided by the political process outlined in the Oslo agreement and that it would, in turn, lead to ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state. The implementation of the mutual obligations were supposed to lead to a final agreement by 1999, five years after signing Oslo.

The Oslo Accords were error-stricken from the very beginning as no suitable peace agreement could be reached so long as Israel had the upper hand and continued to enjoy military superiority thanks to American support. The Palestinians have suffered from continuous international humiliation and Israel’s unwillingness to agree a proper deal. In reality, successive Israeli governments since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin have failed to meet their obligations towards the Palestinians in any way, shape or form.

Based on all of these factors, with hindsight it would have been proper to refuse to sign the Oslo Accords, as it was quite clear to everyone that they would not lead to a proper peace agreement. Since then we have witnessed the failure of the Camp David summit, Israel’s continued assaults on the PA and the assassination of Yasser Arafat, an iconic and historic Palestinian leader.

The PA’s threats hold no weight if it does not intend to see them through. Israel is no longer concerned with any threats to end security coordination because it knows that the authority has failed to do so until now; however, if acted upon, Israel would surely have no choice but to reconsider its actions as the collapse of the Palestinian Authority would place a huge burden on its government.

Threats to halt security coordination should not be made merely to put pressure on Israel or force it to resume futile negotiations; the latter have put us in this horrible situation and could make matters even worse. The goal of Palestinian action should be to lead us out of the dark tunnel that is Oslo and broaden our political horizons to achieve our goals. We must prepare ourselves politically and economically to deal with the consequences of making such a decision because it would most likely lead to a confrontation with Israel. We must begin by unifying and strengthening the PLO, as a potential confrontation could lead to internal chaos and lawlessness.

Translated from Masarat, 20 January, 2015

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.