In an article entitled “Why?” an Al-Hayyat Al-Jadida columnist presents harsh criticism concerning the corruption in the PA and calls for a thorough internal inspection in order to carry out reforms in the authority. The PA is infamous for its corruption, and many in the PA have been condoning this trend for a long while. Yet, it seems that this article was written in light of a statement made by Nabil Sha’ath, who holds the portfolio of planning and cooperation in the PA. Sha’ath stated that in about a month and a half, a draft of the new Palestinian constitution will be presented, and this will conclude the reforms in the PA. The statement was given to the daily Al-Hayyat Al-Jadida on December 14th.
The columnist, Hafez Al-Barghouti, starts the article by discussing the roadblocks set up by the IDF on main roads and junctions. The roadblocks represent the difficulties the Israeli occupation presents to the simple Palestinian civilian. These difficulties are the framework in which Barghouti bitterly points out that “there has been no real effort from within to examine our problems properly, other than [meaningless] declarations, and no real initiative has been proposed from within [to try] and give vitality to the modern national consciousness, an initiative which can help act to prevent the crumbling process we are going through.”
Barghouti criticizes those who demand to put a stop to the Intifada and violence, “because these demands came too late. They should have been presented at the initial stages, while we still had alternatives and we were still strong. The fact that they are raised at present, only stresses the failure [of the Intifada].” He states that the Palestinian people has not yet given up and has not admitted failure, therefore “there is no choice but to initiate a courageous national endeavor of self-examination, and to place the past’s experiences under criticism.”
At this stage Barghouti raises some rather pertinent questions:
“Where did we succeed and where did we fail? Why did we allow the use of weapons and why were they misused? Why did we not learn any lessons from the first Intifada in a way that would prevent us from making the same mistakes? Why do we not demand justice from those who did not function and failed? Why do we [still] perceive those who failed as competent and remove [from key posts] those who are able? Why do officials stay in their high posts and in their filth, in spite of their inability, while the minor-league people stay in their minor-league posts in spite of their vast experience?”
After letting off steam on the PA’s top men, without, of course, mentioning the name Arafat (direct criticism toward Arafat is still considered taboo), Barghouti presents a poignant question: “Why are the PA’s resources being embezzled, such as [money] from customs, which is smuggled out? Why are petrol and goods smuggled from inside Israel? Why does part of the aid, meant for the needy, vanish – its crates thrown to the rubbish dumps, while its contents are emptied in trades peoples’ warehouses? Why is the Palestinian people being robbed of its blood, its land, its money and its dignity?”.
In this paragraph, Barghouti is insinuating an affair, which has received wide press coverage in Israel over the past week. Apparently, a corrupt cooperation existed between Israeli officials (mainly Yossi Ginossar, a key person in the security system and a counselor of Ehud Barak at the Camp David talks) and Palestinian officials (mainly Muhammad Rashid, Arafat’s financial adviser). The investigation is still at its preliminary stages, but the PA is definitely affected by its repercussions in Israel.
“The barriers we build around ourselves present a danger greater than the barriers of occupation, its walls and obstacles… should we be silent?” asks Barghouti, “or should we initiate a self examination which will grant us an extra chance and an advancement? An initiative that will enable us to maintain our social and political unity, will stop the deterioration and will restore our faith in ourselves vis-à-vis the occupation, which wishes to [see] us only as [fragmented] groups living in uneven territories?”
Barghouti concludes by stating “In the name of Allah, the responsibility for all this is a collective responsibility which falls upon the executive authority and the legislative authority as well as all the [Palestinian] factions. Is there anyone who is willing to take on this initiative and go into combat?”