Since I represent only myself in what I write, I say in the clearest possible terms that I do not accept any Palestinian concession in favor of Israel in Jerusalem, or any settlements of any kind anywhere in the territory of 1967 (I did not say in Palestinian territories because the whole land is Palestinian, from the sea to the river). I accept the Arab initiative and I do not want any war. However, these are the limits of what I may accept as an Arab, and if the Palestinian Authority negotiates on any of these “nonnegotiable issues” that it has itself declared thus, and not Hamas or other factions, the Palestinian Authority would lose its legitimacy. I do not know how true or accurate is the information carried by Al-Jazeera. All I heard was headlines, and I should first read the whole material and try to see whether it is complete or partial, or whether there are other leaks that have not yet been published. However, I have bad luck, perhaps as bad as the luck of the nation these days. I was in Damascus and left Sunday at four in the morning to Beirut airport, and arrived in London at noon. I write on Monday afternoon on my way to Davos to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Nonetheless, the subject at hand is too important for me to leave it until my return to London a week from now. On Saturday evening in Damascus, I was at a dinner with Khaled Mashaal, the head of the Hamas political bureau. We talked about many issues, on Palestine and other questions. However, the Al-Jazeera leaks issue began unfurling a few hours after our meeting, and it seems that Arab bad luck is endemic to the entire nation, including every citizen of this nation. Do the readers know how bad this situation is? For the first time in the years that I have known Abu Walid, our discussion on the ‘cause', which usually overshadows all else, was only a small part of our meeting. We went over the developments in Lebanon, and what will emerge from the parliamentary consultations on Monday; whether Omar Karami is the opposition candidate, or whether his name was proposed to divert attention from the read candidate, who could be Najib Mikati or Mohammed Safadi. We also discussed developments in Tunisia and their repercussions for other Arab countries. We even discussed the Syrian economy, inspired by an article in which I wondered whether Syria has the potential to become the Singapore of the Middle East. In what regards the Palestinian Cause, I had been involved in efforts for mediation between Hamas and Fatah earlier this summer, after I examined the situation with Egyptian officials concerned. I repeated the attempt two months ago, but failed miserably in both times. In the end, negotiations between Fatah and Hamas in Damascus collided with the rocks of the security situation and sank. Both sides had agreed on most issues, and disagreed only on the security issue. While Hamas wanted partnership in running security, Fatah wanted a role in Gaza, while not giving Hamas any role in the West Bank. I personally found that agreement on the security issue is more harmful than disagreement, because Israel would not allow any security presence for Hamas in the West Bank. Israel would detain or assassinate any or all Hamas members it may find, and would use security cooperation as an excuse to strike at the heart of all the economic achievements of the Salam Fayyad government (I hope that no reader will dispute this with me. I am talking about real economic achievements on the ground, and this information cannot be questioned. Readers have the right to express their opinions as long as they do not deny facts). Thus, Arabs are immolating themselves in the streets, Sudan is partitioned, al-Qaeda is actively committing crimes in Yemen, and Tunisia is without stability in the aftermath of the ouster of Ben Ali's regime. There is killing on a daily basis in Iraq, and Lebanon is approaching the tipping point. Then I read about Palestinian concessions to Israel and along with it the recent news that the bombing of the Saints Church in Alexandria near the end of 2010 was perpetrated by the Gaza-based group Army of Islam, an extremist group linked to al-Qaeda. The Army of Islam previously fought a battle with Hamas in Gaza, as it believes that the latter is not governing the Strip in accordance with Sharia law. The above means that an extremist faction is engaged in one-upmanship with Hamas, an Islamist resistance group. Also notice that – if the accusation is true – this group has left the struggle to liberate Palestine to God, or decided that is has already been liberated, to focus on attacking Christians in Arab countries. I told Khaled Mashaal, before the leaks on the concessions by the Palestinian Authority and the Egyptian accusation of the Army of Islam, that the present Arab situation is the worst that I have seen since I became conscious to the world around me, and in decades of my career as a journalist. Abu Walid had a different opinion, but he is perhaps now closer to my own opinion: With every new development, I feel that the nation is taking another step towards the abyss. All I ask is for God to have mercy on us all. [email protected]
