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The Future of the Palestinian National Movement (PNM): Resistance against or Authoritarian Cooperation with the Colonialist Occupation?
Abstract
This paper is building its analysis on empirical and analytical research data (collected by the author over the years when researching both Fateh and Hamas)as well as on the results of the first four papers in this panel which examine in detail either Fateh or Hamas, respectively the relationship between Fateh and Hamas, and finally between the two movements individually and the PNM. The last war against Gaza has somehow crystallized a perception that Hamas represents the option of resistance, while Fateh stands for authoritarian cooperation with the Israeli occupation and its supporters in the North, in particular the USA and the EU. Both conceptions will be examined critically and in detail, working with the same approaches as the previous papers, i.e. colonialist domination/occupation, authoritarian rule in a colonized context, and Political Islam in both an authoritarian and colonized environment. It will be argued, that the political elite in Fateh respectively in the PA has opted for authoritarian cooperation. This has been facilitated by the rentier-character of the PA and the concomitant "buying up" of its political elite. Assuming there are no changes pending in international policies towards the PA (and towards Israel), no changes are to be expected from the PA and from Fateh. The political leadership of Hamas, on the contrary, has clearly opted for resistance. However, while clearly popularly based, Hamas has also shown increasing signs of authoritarian tendencies, clientelist practices, and dogmatic approaches to the concept of resistance. This will lead to the final argument of this paper focusing on future scenarios in the development of the PNM. From the perspective of early 2009, it would seem that the split in the PNM is going to increase, short of clear changes in external approaches to the problems and challenges in Occupied Palestine. On the other hand, if those voices inside Fateh who criticize and oppose the current elite and its policies do gain ground, and if Hamas is building on these very voices, a unification of the major forces inside the PNM and the construction of a new PNM respectively a new PLO integrating all forces from the Islamic Jihad to Fateh and the old Palestinian Left, might seem possible. It will be argued, that this unification and the building of a new PLO are a necessary prerequisite for a potentially successful resistance option against the Israeli occupation.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Palestine
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries