STATEHOOD TURNS THE FURY INWARDS:

Militants Make Unprecedented Push To Gain a Voice in Palestinian Affairs (Molly Moore and John Ward Anderson, July 8, 2004, Washington Post)

The armed wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah political movement has called for a comprehensive campaign against corruption in the Palestinian Authority, recommending that Arafat relinquish some of his powers and that militant groups -- including Islamic organizations -- be granted a formal governing voice, according to a report obtained by The Washington Post.

The proposal presented to senior Palestinian officials by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the first formal attempt by an armed resistance group to seek a political role in the Palestinian Authority since the current uprising against Israel began nearly four years ago.

The 10-page document calls for the expulsion and prosecution of government officials involved in corruption, a wholesale purge of relatives and cronies of senior officials from government payrolls and a halt to the practice of government officials monopolizing sectors of the Palestinian economy to line "their private pockets."

The paper lashes out at "wives and sons and daughters of officials who are registered as employees and receive high salaries from the Palestinian Authority and are either at home or abroad." It attacks bureaucrats who "hold official titles and government jobs . . . when in fact they have no role other than the salary and position." It demands "eradication of the corruption in most of the PLO embassies and representatives" overseas.

Some Palestinian officials described the appeal as a major shift in the strategy of militant fighters and one of the most blistering internal criticisms yet of corruption in the Palestinian government.

"The impact of this initiative is that for the first time, something is coming from the ground up. It has credibility," said Ahmad Ghunaim, a member of Fatah's most influential governing councils and a representative of the movement's wing of young reformers.

In addition, Ghunaim said, "this is the first time the military part of Fatah is trying to force reforms."

The genius of imposed statehood.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 8, 2004 8:31 AM