A visiting Palestinian minister has said that his people are hopeful that a Palestinian state will be declared during the presidency of Barack Obama, but they are wary of Israel's attitude to peace. "We are hopeful. Insha Allah (God willing), we will soon see a declaration of a Palestinian state," Palestinian Religious Affairs Minister Sheikh Jamal Bawatna said in an interview with The Sunday Times.
On Friday, he declared open the Yasser Arafat mosque, built with Palestinian funds, in Beruwala, delivered the sermon and conducted the prayers. Excerpts from the interview:
- With hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu going to be the next Israeli prime minister, what are the prospects for peace under the new Israeli government, which will include Yisraeli Beitunein, an extremist and racist party?
Our experience shows talking peace with Israeli governments often produce little results largely because of their attitude towards peace and lack of commitment towards it. President Mahmoud Abbas has made several overtures in the past. But Israel has failed to give peace a chance.
With regard to Netanyahu, I must say it was under his previous administration, the two sides signed the Wye River Agreement brokered by the Clinton administration in 1998. We are not sure how his administration will respond to peace overtures and how his coalition partners will react to peace moves.
- What are the steps President Mahmoud Abbas is taking to improve relations with Hamas?
President Abbas welcomed Hamas' entry into the democratic process and its decision to contest the Palestinian national assembly elections. When Hamas won, he respected the decision and agreed to work with the Hamas government. But gradually the situation changed and took a turn for the worse when Hamas staged a coup in the Gaza Strip. In spite of this, President Abbas was keen to work with Hamas. He has asked them to restore the Palestinian democratic institutions in Gaza. He is also keen to push ahead with the Cairo initiative for Palestinian unity.
- It is said that President Abbas' term has expired and yet he is continuing as president. When will the Palestinian presidential elections be held?
Let me clarify a point. Hamas and others say the president's term ended in January this year. It is wrong. It ends next year in terms of a subsequent resolution passed in the Palestinian assembly. Accordingly, the elections to the presidency and the assembly will be held in January 2010.
- Will there be a possibility of a national government?
President Abbas has been in favour of a unity government. But what is more important is what follows a unity government. We believe such an arrangement should lead to the end of Israel's siege on Gaza, the economic situation of the Palestinian people improve and lead to peace.
- US President Barack Obama has appointed veteran peacemaker George Mitchell as his West Asia special envoy. Do you believe that under Obama, there will be a just solution to the Palestinian crisis?
It is heartening to note that President Obama and his administration are showing much interest on the West Asia peace process. The Obama initiative is seen in a positive light by the Palestinian people who were displeased with the Bush administration's West Asia policy. President Bush promised to help the Palestinian Authority with economic aid and other facilities. But he failed to fulfil his promises.
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| Jamal Bawatna |
Obama, on the other hand, has already taken several positive steps. His first overseas call as president was to President Abbas. In that phone conversation, Obama assured he would pay more attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his first term itself. Besides, Obama is trying to improve America's relations with the Arab and Islamic world. We strongly believe, President Obama will do his best to bring peace to West Asia. We are hopeful. Insha Allah (God willing), we will soon see a declaration of a Palestinian state.
- But Obama in a speech last year to the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which is widely known as the Jewish lobby, said Jerusalem would be the capital of Israel. Don't you think this is outrageous, for no US leader has gone to such an extent to woo the Jewish lobby?
Yes, he said that. But we are not concerned about what he said as a candidate. We are concerned about his policy and statements as president. Perhaps, he was referring to West Jerusalem. On that score, we see nothing wrong. We have been saying that Jerusalem could be the capital of both Israel and Palestine - East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem capital of Israel. It is in East Jerusalem Islam's third holiest mosque is situated. It is where several Christian holy places are situated. Palestinian people are largely Muslims but there is a significant Christian minority who are Palestinians.
A majority of Israelis want the whole of Jerusalem as their capital. Recently, when the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israelis must be committing a big mistake if they claimed the whole of Jerusalem as their capital, he was severely attacked.
We are keen on peace. We long for peace. But unfortunately Israel is not serious about peace and shows little or no urgency to achieve peace.
Israel is continuing its aggression and more and more Israeli settlements are coming up on Palestinian land. The so-called security wall Israel has built is another stumbling block to peace. They are insisting on the release of one Israeli soldier in Hamas custody for peace talks to resume. But what about some 12,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children, being held in Israeli prisons?
Israel has been insisting that Hamas change its policies and its attitude for any peace process to become fruitful. But what about the period when the Palestinian Authority had been holding talks with the Israelis even before Hamas entered mainstream politics. Then there were no Hamas rockets. But Israelis had one excuse or the other to scuttle the peace process.
These activities and attitudes of Israel have made peace a difficult proposition. Israel kills the Palestinian people with the weapons supplied by the United States. We believe it is the US administration that can stop Israeli violence and usher in peace to Palestine.
- What did you discuss with President Rajapaksa? Did he pledge his continued support to the Palestinian cause?
We talked about bilateral relations and historic ties between two nations. Your president is our friend. He said that both Sri Lankans and Palestinians are hit by the scourge of terrorism. Of course, I must say that the terror the Palestinians face is Israel's state terrorism.
President Rajapaksa told me that he was sad when he saw the television pictures of children and civilians being killed in Gaza during the recent Israeli aggression. On behalf of the Palestinian president, I extended an invitation to him to visit Palestine. We respect your president, after all he had been the head of the Sri Lanka-Palestine Solidarity Movement since its inception and he had remained so for a long time.
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