Abbas asked us to prepare for his departure, reveals Shaath

Nabil Shaath is a senior member of the central committee of Fatah, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. He has revealed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked the movement’s leadership recently to “arrange its affairs so they are not taken by surprise when he leaves this world and meets his creator.” However, during an exclusive interview with Arabi 21, Shaath insisted that this does not mean that Abbas wants to leave politics: “He just wants us to be ready for all possibilities.”

The interview comes at a time when change is becoming ever more necessary within Palestinian politics. Calls for a meeting of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) have proven to be controversial, with accusations of excluding certain factions in order to ensure that Fatah retains its hegemony. The need to reform the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is also recognised in order to make it more inclusive.

According to Shaath, President Abbas wants to “regain the legitimacy of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” Given that a major player in Palestinian politics like Hamas is not represented within the PLO, and there have been enormous difficulties in getting Fatah and Hamas to reconcile for the common good, this could be an impossible task. Shaath believes that Hamas is “still hesitant on the issue of achieving Palestinian unity” and that “the price” of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel is the occupation’s “domination” over the Gaza Strip.

The following is the text of the interview:

There is talk that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is determined to leave politics; is there any truth to this?

President Abbas has spoken about this on many occasions, but this does not mean he wants to leave politics. He wants to remind us that he is over 80 years old and so Fatah must put its affairs in order so that it is not taken by surprise when he leaves this world and meets his creator. As such, Abbas’s continuous threats do not mean that he wants to leave politics, as he is committed to the national work to which he has dedicated his life; it means that he has reached an age that, according to him, should push us to be ready for all possibilities.

What are the most important arrangements that the president is working on regarding the PLO or Fatah?

They include holding the seventh Fatah conference, electing a new Central Committee and a new Revolutionary Council, and adopting a new political programme; these are the first steps. President Abbas has a specific vision in this regard which I will not talk about. It will be discussed during the Central Committee meeting. He wants to regain the legitimacy of the PLO, which has always been the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In order to do so, he wants to hold a PNC meeting. He also seeks to achieve Palestinian national unity, but he believes that Hamas is not serious about this as it does not accept all of the alternatives proposed. The president certainly wants to end the Israeli occupation but he believes that it is no longer possible to achieve a free, independent Palestinian state through the peace process he has sponsored since the 1980s. As such, there is a need to look for a new framework and new actions in order to liberate Palestine; he proposes this all the time and in every place.

In the light of this, what is the president’s vision for the future of the Palestinian people?

Abbas feels that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and activating the right of return has become elusive due to the current Israeli leadership and Zionist settlement strategy. He believes that the matter has become very difficult and so we must first restructure ourselves and arrange our affairs before employing strategies that can change this reality. This is the reason for our international action against Israel so that we can confront it everywhere, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), etc. This is not only his ambition; we all share it.

President Abbas insists on holding a PNC meeting, while the President of the council, Salim Zanoun, has stressed that “an extraordinary session cannot be held”; how can the two be reconciled?

Reconciliation occurs when we strive to have all members attend, and so the meeting will not be an extraordinary session, but a normal one. The difference between the normal and extraordinary session is the attendance of the members, and we are now working in order for everyone to be present.

What are your alternative arrangements in the event that the Israelis prevent some members from reaching the PNC meeting venue in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank?

There is the electronic alternative known as the video conferencing system, which is used for the Palestinian Legislative Council. However, before resorting to this, we will contact our friends everywhere in order to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to allow the PNC members from Gaza, Amman and Cairo to attend the conference.

How do you perceive Hamas’s position on holding this meeting?

Hamas is still hesitant with regards to the issue of achieving Palestinian unity and this is very clear. I am not accusing the movement of not wanting to achieve unity at all, but I do believe that it has considerations and calculations that are more related to the Arab situation than the Palestinian situation. The occupation will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza or both unless we put up a big and long fight. The indirect talks between Hamas and the occupation, which is what Hamas is calling it, will not change anything. The price of this will be Israel’s domination over the Gaza Strip by not allowing any breach of the upcoming truce and through close security monitoring of everything going on in Gaza. Therefore, I stress that there will be no Palestinian state without Gaza and there will be no Palestinian state solely in Gaza.

If Egypt and Jordan do not want the meeting to be held in their territories, what can we do? We must meet in Palestine. Without Palestinian unity, it will be difficult for us to achieve independence and establish a Palestinian state.

Why don’t the obstacles hindering the PNC meeting drive the call for the elected PLC to resume its work and solve this problem?

Hamas has a large majority of the PLC seats and this reflects its position from [the election in] 2006. Therefore, there is a problem of members moving between Gaza and Ramallah and we will face the problem of having to communicate via video conferencing. It is worth noting that between 2006 and 2007 (the year of the division) it had been using video conferencing. In this regard I would like to ask why video conferencing can be used for the PLC but not by the PNC.

On BBC Arabic, Mohammad Dahlan accused Abbas of seeking to arrange the PA in a manner that suits him, his sons and those close to him. What do you say to this?

Mohammad Dahlan can say whatever he likes, but ultimately there is the PNC and it decides. In fact, there was an opportunity to achieve unity before talk of the PNC, but Hamas thwarted this. Abbas wanted to achieve unity before the PNC in order to agree on a new PNC and form a national unity government that would elect the new PNC and new PLC, and this is the logical solution because the results of the elections would be reflected in the make-up of the new government. This would achieve a PLC and cabinet that expresses true Palestinian national unity.

What about the next Fatah Central Committee meeting? What is the main agenda for this meeting?

This meeting is important, serious and historical because it will, to a large extent, determine the form of the seventh conference, which will be held on 29 November. There are many important and sensitive issues that will be discussed and decisions will be made in this regard during the meeting to be held on Monday. The Central Committee Preparatory Group will present its vision for the political programme, national structure and a structural programme for the movement. We will also present the structural organisation to the members in attendance at the conference in terms of numbers, not names, i.e. determining the number of members from a military background, from popular organisations, etc.

Fatah is preparing for its seventh conference and it is clear that President Abbas is pushing you to prepare for the movement’s future in light of his departure for any reason. Who is your strongest candidate to replace Abbas?

There is no one candidate at the moment and it is not democratic to have a single candidate. At the time, we will choose a candidate from within the organisational framework of the movement, such as from the Central Committee or from the Revolutionary Council. The movement’s conference is coming up and whoever is chosen will be supported by Fatah in any upcoming presidential election, whether for the presidency of the Revolutionary Council or the PA. Fatah’s new Central Committee and Revolutionary Council will present what it decides during Fatah’s upcoming conference and then a new president will be chosen.

What if you, Dr Nabil Shaath, is chosen by Fatah to be the PA president?

If I am chosen, I would agree. Throughout my life I have been charged with many things and I have never backed down from my responsibility. However, I am not the only person who can do the job. There are many alternatives and the people must choose. If I am chosen, I will assume the position.

What about the position of vice president?

This requires a PLC meeting because it is the party responsible for this. For now, the PNC can recommend this, but this is not possible for the PA unless it completely transitions into a Palestinian state and its PLC becomes its PNC. This requires the election of a new PNC.

Are you in contact with Hamas?

Of course; I have never stopped communicating with Hamas or with any other faction. I always insist that we find the middle ground between us in order to liberate our country. I have never considered the movement to be the enemy. Hamas is a Palestinian faction and an integral part of the Palestinian fabric, but it must step up to reunite this country.

Translated from Arabi21, 1 September, 2015