The Palestine Papers
PA's foreknowledge of the Gaza war?
Did the PA know about the Gaza war in advance? That's a question raised by
several eexchanges in The Palestine Papers.
David Poort Last Modified: 26 Jan 2011 19:38 GMT
Did the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s leadership have foreknowledge of the Gaza
war? That question is raised - though never satisfactorily answered - by
several exchanges revealed in The Palestine Papers.
In defending their handling of the Gaza war, Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president,
has long held that the PA warned Hamas - both in Gaza and through its
Syrian-based leadership - that Israel was planning an attack on Gaza.
The PA always maintained that their information was only based on Israeli press
reports; however, minutes of meetings between the PA and Israeli leaders tell a
different story.
The Palestine Papers show that Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian Authority
negotiator, told George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, in a meeting on
October 21, 2009 that Amos Gilad, the director of Israeli military
intelligence, alerted Abbas prior to the Gaza attack.
Erekat: [
] Our trust with the [Israeli] government is zero. Amos [Gilad]
spoke to Lieberman [the Israeli foreign minister] - told them about the claim
that Abu Mazen [Abbas] was colluding with them in the Gaza war. He went to Abu
Mazen before the attack and asked him. Abu Mazen replied that he will not go to
Gaza on an Israeli tank. Amos Gilad testified about that. He was honest. So we
can maintain the channel.
The Palestine Papers confirm here what was previously revealed by second hand
sources that were quoted in some of the thousands of US State Department cables
published by WikiLeaks in December last year.
Among the diplomatic cables is a report from June 2009 on a conversation
between Bob Casey, a US senator, Gary Ackerman, a US representative, and Ehud
Barak, the Israeli defence minister.
In the report, the US officials said that Barak explained, that the "GOI
[Government Of Israel] had consulted with Egypt and Fatah prior to the Gaza
war, asking if they were willing to assume control of Gaza once Israel defeated
Hamas.
"Not surprisingly, Barak said, the GOI received negative answers from both,"
the document states.
Confronted with these leaks, Erekat disputed Barak's account. "We knew about
the war because the Israelis were saying there was going to be a war," Erekat
told The Associated Press news agency. But "there were never any actual
consultations between us and the Israelis before the war," Erekat maintained.
The Palestine Papers show, however, that Gilad, who continues to serve the
Israeli government as an adviser to Barak, held several conversations with PA
negotiators on the situation in Gaza prior to the war.
In a post-Annapolis negotiation on March 31, 2008 with Ahmed Qurei, the former
PA prime minister, Gilad and Tzipi Livni, the then-foreign minister,
foreshadowed a tragedy in the making.
Livni: Israel does not want Hamas. We cannot accept to have an Islamic
regime on our borders. This contradicts our strategic vision.
Gilad: My personal opinion, and I do not represent the government in this,
is that sooner or later we will collide withy Hamas because they, are like
Hezbollah, continue to build their military capacities. We will clash with them
but we will not stay in the Gaza Strip.
Livni: The last sentence represents the position of the government.
Qurei: You said that Israel is not negotiating with Hamas, but how do you
see Hamas if the situation continues as it is now?
Gilad: The West Bank is coming and this is Hamas' strategic goal. We are
not negotiating with them but we allow the entry of food and fuel into the Gaza
Strip for humanitarian reasons. My strategic advice for you is to be ready. It
is like Achilles' heel; if the situation goes on as it is for a year or two
more, you will become weaker and Hamas will have control over the West Bank.
They in Hamas understand the situation and they are fearful. Gaza was only an
example. They understand the mood in Israel.
After the war, Abbas and Erekat maintained that all the information on the
Israeli attack came from the media and that the attack was not discussed with
the Israelis prior to the war.
"We don't discuss these things, no," Erekat told Al Jazeera in an interview in
November 2010.
"There were plans, maps, charts published in the Israeli press and Abu Mazen
met with Olmert and Olmert raised the issue of missiles from Gaza and so on,
and nobody told him," Erekat said in the interview.
Some 1400 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three week long assault on the
Gaza Strip. Many of the victims were women and children.
The Palestine Papers also show a recurring theme as to what extent the PA
collaborated with Israel in its attempt to defeat Hamas and other armed
Palestinian groups.
In that same series of October 2009 meetings, Erakat recounted to Mitchell his
disagreements with Israel - as well as the Egyptian Government - on Gaza
policy. Erakat appeared frustrated that not enough was being done to maintain
the siege on the Gaza Strip.
Erekat: [...] I told Amos Gilad: "You are Egypt's man. You know the
Egyptians. 11km! [Referring to the length of the Egyptian border with Gaza].
What's going on with you and the US, the $23 million [given by the US Agency
for International Development to prevent tunnels] and ditches - its business as
usual in the tunnels - the Hamas economy [...]."
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PA, with US encouragement, blocked a UN vote on the Goldstone Report into war
crimes committed during Israel's war in Gaza.
PA's foreknowledge of the Gaza war?
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Robert Grenier: A letter to the Palestinian people
The PA vs. Al Jazeera
The threat of a one-state solution
PA negotiators are increasingly proposing an idea that's met with derision from
Israelis, sharp criticism from US.
"The region is slipping away"
Ali Abunimah: US sidelined Palestinian democracy
Mark Perry: The US role as Israel's enabler
A glimpse into the negotiation room
Playful banter, inappropriate jokes and bizarre rants: The "lighter side" of
The Palestine Papers.
Amira Howeidy: Erekat "told Amr Moussa to behave"
Alastair Crooke: What prospect for reconciliation?
The al-Madhoun assassination
"I can't stand Hamas or their social programs"
Expelling Israel's Arab population
PA selling short the refugees
Deep frustrations with Obama
"The biggest Yerushalayim in Jewish history"
Erekat's solution for the Haram al-Sharif
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