Yoshie wrote:
On 1/16/07, Marvin Gandall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Fatah - or rather, the PLO, which it dominates - still represents the
Palestinian left, such as it is, against Hamas and the rest of the
Islamist
movement, which was set up in opposition to it.
So, that means Tel Aviv and Washington are supporting the left against
Hamas, in your view? I very much doubt that's the way the
Palestinians see it.
===============================
Depends which Palestinians, I suppose. The ones who would like to see more
Western investment, an end to the state of war with Israel, a Western-style
judiciary and political system, and who look to European social democrats as
political allies would still see Fatah as representing their aspirations -
even while acknowledging that that the party is corrupt and badly in need of
reform - and of being to the "left" of Hamas. There's probably a sizeable
Palestinian constituency of this sort, which extends beyond the nascent
bourgeosie, as there was in the USSR and Eastern Europe, which harbours the
same illusions about the benefits of being a "normal" society in the Western
orbit. The more devout Moslems who support Hamas because of its Islamic
ideology would also agree that Fatah is on the political "left", with all of
the negative connotations whichthat implies for them, including that its
supporters are being seduced by the material comfort and decadent culture of
the West.
But I don't know if the Palestinians are still as ideological as they once
were. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that many are politically worn out
and distinguish between Hamas and Fatah less in relation to their political
programs than in their potential to relieve the desperate living conditions
in the occupied territories. If despair and exhaustion have overtaken
struggle and steadfastness as the predominant political mood, then Fatah
will have an advantage, even if the West supports it - and perhaps even
because the West supports it. I don't know how reliable it is, but Ulhas on
the LBO list today posted a Reuters report of a survey of Palestinian
opinion showing that Fatah would decisively defeat Hamas if new elections
were held, as Abbas is threatening to do. The punishing sanctions will have
then accomplished what they were designed to do.
Incidentally, while Marxists and anarchists oppose Tel Aviv and Washington,
left liberals and social democrats, who are much more numerous, generally do
not. But you know that, so it is a question of what we mean when we we talk
of the "left" and whether the latter are included in discussing the
political character of parties such as Fatah.
