Palestinian politics in the 1948-occupied territory

We haven’t seen or heard many people discussing a Jordanian role in arranging relations between the Palestinian political forces and the positions of the leaders of the Palestinian Arab community in the Galilee, the Triangle, the Negev and the mixed coastal cities in the occupation state. Most of what has been written exposes a lack of knowledge and misinformation which hinders the hope and desire for an influential role for the three segments of the Palestinian people: those in the areas occupied in 1948; those in the areas occupied in 1967; and those Palestinians living in the diaspora.

With regard to the first of those, Sheikh Raed Salah has struggled for years to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian rights, as well as what he represents on a partisan and national level. He has adopted a principled and firm stance against participating in Israel’s parliamentary — Knesset — elections, because he regards this as an acknowledgment of the colonial state’s legitimacy and its unjust project on the land of Palestine. Sheikh Raed has adopted this position since 1996, when the Islamic Movement’s Shura Council in the areas occupied in 1948, headed by the late founder of the movement, Sheikh Abdullah Nimr Darwish, decided to participate in Israeli elections, and allied itself with the Arab Democratic Party headed by Abdel Wahab Darawsheh. This alliance led to four MKs being elected between the two groups.

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The participation of the Islamic Movement in Knesset elections led to Sheikh Raed stepping away from the movement with some like-minded colleagues who also felt that parliamentary elections were a step too far; they did, however, take part in local elections. He limited his political work in a prominent and very clear way at the forefront of those defending the sanctity of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque. He has paid the price for this with numerous arrests and deportations.

The main part of the Islamic Movement has continued to participate in the Knesset elections to this day through multiple alliances, and is known for the rotation of power in its internal leadership through the General Conference, the Shura Council and its Executive Officer elections. The most recent of these took place this year, with Safwat Freij from Kafr Qassim winning the poll for leadership of the movement, replacing Hammad Abu Daabis from the Negev, whose term of office expired.

The policy adopted by Mansour Abbas MK was approved, which gives priority to living conditions and issues in their political programme. This led to another split in the Palestinian political movement, after the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, the National Democratic Assembly, the Arab Movement for Renewal and the Islamic Movement succeeded in forming the Joint List on 22 January 2015 and winning 13 Knesset seats for the first time. In the following election the Joint List won 15 seats.

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However, after the Islamic Movement left the alliance to ally itself with the right-wing and extreme right-wing parties in Israel, Arab-Palestinian representation was reduced to ten seats: six seats for the Joint List made up of the three remaining parties, and four seats for the United Arab List, which is the Islamic Movement’s list. Palestinian votes also declined from 64 per cent of those who participated in the polls to less than 50 per cent, which suggests strongly that the Palestinians want unity and a coalition rather than division and discord.

The effort is now directed towards restoring the Joint List to the original four parties, although this is unlikely to happen. It is probable that the November General Election will again see two separate Palestinian Arab candidate lists, albeit with more understanding and an absence of the treachery of the past.

Major efforts are being made in this direction between the two parties, which Sheikh Raed Salah has nothing to do with. The most he can do in this regard is not to incite against the election and not call for a boycott. Anything else would be an illusion, miscalculation and lack of knowledge of the Palestinian facts and realities prevailing in the areas occupied in 1948.

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