Appearing at a news conference November 12 alongside British prime minister Anthony Blair, U.S. president George Bush said, “Prime Minister Blair and I also share a vision of a free, peaceful, a democratic broader Middle East. That vision must include a just and peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict based on two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.”

The U.S. rulers hope that Arafat’s death has removed an obstacle to their goal of establishing an institution of Palestinian self-government with no continuity to the revolutionary nationalist movement that the PLO arose from (see article on this page)—one that will work with U.S. imperialism to keep a lid on Palestinian resistance. To that end, press reports have branded Arafat and the PLO during the height of the mass Palestinian national struggle in the 1960s and 70s as “the architects of modern terrorism,” while expressing hope that his successors will usher in a new period of “peace”—on Tel Aviv and its imperialist backers’ terms.

Pointing to the upcoming elections for Palestinian president, scheduled for January 9, Bush continued, “We look forward to working with a Palestinian leadership that is committed to fighting terror and committed to the cause of democratic reform. We’ll mobilize the international community to help revive the Palestinian economy, to build up Palestinian security institutions to fight terror, to help the Palestinian government fight corruption, and to reform the Palestinian political system and build democratic institutions.”

The new PLO chairman following Arafat’s death, Mahmoud Abbas, had been appointed Palestinian Authority prime minister in March 2003 after Washington and Tel Aviv refused to deal with Arafat. Abbas resigned in September of that year after he failed to gain support within the Palestinian Authority for a crackdown against Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups. He was the chief representative for the PLO during negotiations that led to the 1993 Oslo accords.

Two days after being appointed PLO chairman, Abbas found himself dodging bullets at a memorial service for Arafat. Some 40 armed men marched into a tent where Abbas was presiding over a memorial service and began firing their weapons, shouting, “Arafat Lives!” and “No to Abu Mazan [Abbas]! No to Dahlan!”

Mohammed Dahlan, the security chief for the Palestinian Authority, was one of the key officials under Arafat assigned to work closely with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Israeli secret police to set up the Palestinian police in the occupied territories. He is well known for having a close relationship with former CIA director George Tenet.

The new Palestinian Authority prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, is similarly viewed with favor by Washington. Qurei, a wealthy banker, has held the post since Abbas resigned in 2003.

Bush also praised the Israeli government’s so-called disengagement plan, pledging to “work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to complete the disengagement plan from Gaza and part of the West Bank.”

Under the cover of this plan, Tel Aviv has escalated its offensive against groups organizing armed resistance to the Israeli occupation. The Israeli rulers have built more than one-third of a 420-mile wall, annexing a section of the West Bank to the largest Israeli settlement blocs and forcing the majority of the Palestinian population to the other side. At the same time, the Israeli government has honed its tool of targeted assassinations, killing hundreds of leaders and cadres of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and other armed Palestinian groups in the occupied territories.

“We seek a democratic, independent and viable state for the Palestinian people,” Bush added. “We are committed to the security of Israel as a Jewish state…. All that we hope to achieve together requires that America and Europe remain close partners.”

Blair’s presence at the press conference was part of the efforts by Washington to draw a number of European Union member states behind the U.S. rulers’ course. Paris in particular has often been at odds with Washington’s plans in the region, presenting itself as a greater friend of the Palestinian people in an effort to defend French imperialism’s broader interests in the Middle East.
 
 
Related articles:
The evolution of the Palestine Liberation Organization  
 
 
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