Palestine Papers– Fantasy and fiasco

Mondoweiss, Issa Khalaf- - Most of us who admire and respect Hanan Ashrawi are keen to hear her thoughts on the current Palestinian situation, especially on the recent, so-called Palestine Papers. In an Al Jazeera interview with David Frost, “Frost Over the World” on 29 January 2011 found on You Tube, her position struck me as curious. I’ll summarize using many of her words without inserting quotation marks. She said that leaks are acceptable but not if they’re used as a political weapon, for ill-will, and in order to steer leaked documents in a certain direction, that is, not if they form a certain type of incitement or provocation, if they’re taken out of context, and if they’re doctored here and there. This, she said, makes the Palestine Papers, unlike WikLeaks whose leaks are neutral, a PR campaign with serious political objectives seeking to destabilize the PA and put a certain spin on those leaks. Al Jazeera, she says, is suspect. Some of the documents are doctored, some are true, some selected out of context. They are a deliberate attempt to show everything that is negative and that would negatively resonate among the Palestinian public and undermine the Palestinian negotiators and the leadership. Sometimes, they serve to break certain taboos and expose hidden attitudes. However, the Papers will enhance the rift and polarization between Hamas and the nationalists, making it much more difficult to reach conciliation. The documents show absolute American bias for Israel, the helplessness and pressure on the Palestinians, and Americans trying to manage the conflict rather than solve it, presenting no position beyond legal, political, and public discourse cover for Israel. They show Israel will not accept anything nor reciprocate in contrast to Palestinian flexibility and creativity. The talks, she said, have long been non-existent anyway, and the documents are merely “chats,” nothing agreed or conclusive or signed, just exploratory, not official positions....
Read more