What Palestinian Moderation Looks Like

Conspiracy theories, duplicity and the glorification of terrorists.

David Feith
Wall St. Journal
21 August 09

What's Arabic for plus ça change? Because that was the message last week from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, where the "moderate" Fatah party held its first general congress since 1989. Fatah—founded by Yasser Arafat in the 1960s and led since 2004 by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas—demonstrated that Palestinian national politics remain as mired as ever in conspiracy theories, duplicity and the glorification of terrorists.

In opening the congress, Fatah elder statesman and former chief Palestinian peace negotiator Ahmed Qurei announced "We have in our midst the hero Khaled Abu-Usbah." Abu-Usbah's "heroism" derives from a 1978 terrorist attack that killed 37 Israelis. Time magazine (back then able to distinguish terrorists from "militants") described Abu-Usbah's mission: "The terrorists hijacked two buses filled with tourists and sightseers, took them on a wild ride down the road toward Tel Aviv, shooting along the way at everyone in sight, and finally destroyed one bus in an orgy of fire and death."

Lest anyone think the accolades accorded Abu-Usbah were merely a trip down memory lane for Fatah, the party still emphatically claims the right of "resistance"—code for killing Israelis, soldiers and civilians alike. "We stress that we have endorsed the path of peace and negotiations," said Mr. Abbas to the congress. But "we also reserve our authentic right to legitimate resistance."

An "Internal Order," published on Fatah's website, is clearer: "The armed popular revolution is the only inevitable way to the liberation of Palestine…The struggle will not end until the elimination of the Zionist entity."

Palestinian leaders have long made an art of doublespeak. As Mohammed Dahlan, elected last week to Fatah's chief governing committee, explained recently: "I lived with Chairman Yasser Arafat for years…Arafat would condemn [terror] operations by day while at night he would do honorable things."

Fatah's current leaders continue to walk in their founder's footsteps. Responsible state-building would require of them a level of accountability they scorn. When pressed last week by delegate Hussam Khader to account for Fatah's finances over the past 20 years, Mr. Abbas shouted him down. The congress offered no financial accounting—neither to Mr. Khader, nor to western taxpayers whose aid to the Palestinians has often vanished by the billions.

Instead, the delegates descended into conspiratorial fantasy, resolving unanimously to open a sham investigation into Arafat's 2004 death in a Parisian military hospital. Arafat displayed symptoms of Parkinson's and possibly other illnesses, but no autopsy was ever conducted. Now Fatah wants to investigate, even as it already concluded, reported the Jerusalem Post, that "Israel bears full responsibility for his death, that the issue continues to remain open, and that the investigation enlists international support."

The U.S. has invested huge diplomatic and economic capital in Fatah, beginning with the 1993 Oslo Accords and accelerating two years ago, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Some of this investment may even be paying off: Economic indicators in the West Bank have inched up, bolstered by the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, an independent appointed by Mr. Abbas. And the training of Palestinian security forces under U.S. Gen. Keith Dayton has allowed Israel to remove several West Bank security checkpoints. These are positive, albeit reversible, developments.

Then again, Fatah's demonstration last week that it remains ideologically stuck in the terrorist pleasantries of the 1970s ought to be a stark reminder that when it comes to Palestinian "moderates," moderation remains a highly relative term.

Mr. Feith was a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at the Wall Street Journal this summer.
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