This morning, exactly 16 years after the death of Yasser Arafat - the father of Palestinian refusal - his faithful disciple was brought to the grave • In years gone by the Palestinians learned nothing - the world progressed, and they remained stuck in the past • For them more than for us, Interpretation
The head of the Palestinian negotiating team and the secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee, Dr. Saeb Erekat, were laid to rest today (Wednesday) in the Jericho cemetery.
Symbolically, today the Palestinian Authority marked the 16th anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death.
Presenter: Little Shemesh // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
Arafat, as I recall, was the Palestinian leader who succeeded more than any other Palestinian leader, past and present, in raising the Palestinian issue on the international community's agenda, and the demand for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Arafat is the one who demanded a just and fair solution for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees around the world, even though most of them are second and third generation to the Palestinian refugee dispersal, who after more than 72 years still live in abject poverty, with no civil status, and minimal rights.
At this time it is worth asking the question: could the Palestinian leadership led by Yasser Arafat have acted differently after the signing of the Oslo Accords, of which Erekat was one of the architects?
Could it have guaranteed the millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip welfare life in an independent state?
Quite a few academics, politicians, military personnel and security officials have tried to answer this question in active service or in retirement, but it seems that the issue will remain the same, at least until a just and fair solution is found to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Things can, however, be examined as they appear to Palestinian and Arab eyes, through a recent event following the signing of the "Abrahamic Agreements" between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain;
And the peace agreement or "cessation of mutual hostility" between Israel and Sudan.
A few days after the signing of the "Abraham Agreements," Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen demanded the urgent convening of the Arab League in order to condemn the agreements, which he claimed did not address the Palestinian issue.
Arafat also expressed similar outrage at the time after the signing of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in the late 1970s.
However, with the signing of the Abrahamic Agreements, in contrast to the peace treaties with Egypt, the rulers of the Arab states were in no hurry to identify with the Palestinian sense of closeness, and with the rage that followed.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan were not thrown out of the Arab League - as was done with Sadat's Egypt after the signing of peace agreements.
Moreover, Arab states did not launch a weak protest against the Abrahamic Accords, nor did they stand behind the Palestinians and behind the "Palestinian national interest" - to establish an independent state within the borders of 67, whose capital is East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian leadership, from Yasser Arafat to Abu Mazen, has failed to read the regional map of interests.
Arab states are rushing forward with a face to the future, and only the national-Palestinian issue is left far behind, perhaps still dazzled by the famous Three Lawyers Conference held in Sudan after the Six Day War.
At the time, the leaders of the Arab states, led by Egyptian President Jamal Abdel Nasser, declared: No peace with Israel, no negotiations and no recognition of the State of Israel.
The current secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmad Abu al-Wright, tried to soften Palestinian anger and the sense of betrayal that arose from the Muqata in Ramallah due to the Arab League's refusal to comply with Abu Mazen's demands, emphasizing that the agreement between The Israeli in the Jordan Valley and the West Bank.
Abu al-Wright confirmed that the Arab League had rejected the Palestinian resolution to condemn the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and boycotted them, even foresaw the future and suggested that the Palestinians work harder to resume negotiations with Israel - whether Trump chooses another term or not.
In fact, Abu al-Wright has offered the Palestinians a "step down" and an end to the disputes with the Persian Gulf states, which seek to normalize their relations with Israel - and not just because of the Iranian threat.
Abu al - Wright's proposal fell on deaf ears.
Palestinian Authority senior Saeb Erekat called on him in response "to resign immediately due to his criminal and treacherous support for the Abrahamic Accords."
Yes, the same Saeb Erekat who a month later was rushed to a critical condition for medical treatment at a hospital in Israel, where the Israeli medical team worked for 3 weeks 24 hours a day in an attempt to save his life.
This is the man who on the one hand worked to thwart the Avraham agreements, and on the other hand succeeded with considerable talent in marketing on the left in the political map of Israel his vision as a man who pursues peace and justice.
And perhaps it is no coincidence that on the 16th anniversary of Arafat's death, the head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Dr. Saeib Erekat, will also be laid to rest. They will have to bury both the refusal and the stubbornness, as well as the inability to act in a pragmatism that will benefit not only the Palestinians and Israelis but also the rest of the countries in the region - it is time to bury in the ground.