Palestine; 5 years after Arafat’s death

Mehdi Shakibaee (chief editor of Qodsna): 5 years had passed since the assassination of Yaser Arafat, the late Palestinian Authority chief in late 2004 and Palestine as well as Middle East has since experienced some serious developments.

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar was a Palestinian leader.

He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959.

In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat became ill, fell into a coma and died on 11 November 2004 at the age of 75. While the exact cause of his death remains unknown and no autopsy was performed.

Some of these events and developments are includes:

Selecting Mahmoud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) only two months after Arafat death

Two months after Arafat death, Abu-Mazen was selected as the chief of Palestinian Authority. He received over 40% of vote.

after taking power, Abu-Mazen lashed out at armed resistance against Zionist regime. He said that no one has right to use weapon against Israel during his term.

Abu-Mazen believes that negotiation is the only way for achieving Palestinian right.

Challenges of security services and prime minister post

The issue of Prime Minister Post and transferring some authorities of Palestinian Authority to the newly ministry was one of contentious issues between Arafat and U.S. before his heath. 

By offering the new post and putting pressure on Arafat, America brought Abu-Mazen into executive affairs of PA.

Arafat formally appointed his deputy, Mahmoud Abbas to new post of prime minister in the Palestinian Authority.

When the office of prime minister was created under pressure from the United States and Israel - who sought to marginalize Arafat and create a more acceptable negotiating partner for Israel, they asked Arafat to give some authorities of PA to Abu-Mazen but he rejected their request.

Arafat died and two months later Abu-Mazen was selected as Arafat replace and Ahmad Qureh being the prime minister. Abu-Mazen also never agrees giving some authorities in his new post to prime minister. 

Israel's withdrawal from Gaza Strip

Zionist troops completed their withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005.

The "Disengagement plan" or "Gaza expulsion plan" was a proposal by then Zionist regime’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon which was adopted by the regime on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Zionist from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank.

Sharon claimed the withdrawal was to increase security of residents of Occupied Palestine territories, relieve pressure on the Israeli occupation Forces (IOF) and reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians.

Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, said that the withdrawal is the result of Palestinian resistance to Zionist regime’s occupation.

International peace conference at UN in return for withdrawing from Gaza Strip

Simultaneous with Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the U.S. and western diplomatic made efforts for holding International peace conference in United Nations aiming at normalizing ties between Zionist regime and Arab and Islamic countries.

America believed that Arabs must normalize ties with Zionist regime in return for Zionist regime’s Withdrawal from Gaza.

Victory of Principlists in Iran

Ahead of Israeli disengagement in Gaza, IRI held presidential elections. The Principlists won the election and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad known as anti-Zionist was elected president. He called for removal of Israeli regime from the page of time.  

U.S. and Israeli anger-Hariri assassination in Lebanon

Following failure of Zionist regime in holding peace conference in New York due to Tehran’s propaganda, the U.S. and Zionist regime staged another plot in the region by charging Iran.

They drew the assassination plot of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 in Beirut. They drew such plot to expel Syria as Iran’s ally in region from Lebanon and disarm Hezbollah movement in order to ruin the resistance chain.

Forming new Kadima Party and Sharon mental death

After withdrawing from Gaza, Sharon who was under pressure by his likud members, decided to form a new party like Kadima in order to define final borders of Israel.

By late 2005, Sharon went to coma and ended his political life.

After Sharon, his deputy Olmert continued to lead the party. Kadima was founded as a centrist political party in Israel.

Hamas victory in Palestinian parliament election-Lebanon’s 33-day war

Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement that became a great power after Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006.

Hamas voiced nointerests in cooperation with Zionist regime so the EU and U.S. tried to boycott the elected government of Hamas.

The pressures were so that Abu-Mazen announced on December 2006 he would hold early parliamentary and Palestinian Authority elections.

Ismael Haniyeh, premier of Hamas movement voiced the movement’s opposition and said Hamas won’t participate at any early elections.

During such internal conflicts, Zionist regime kicked off a new war against Lebanon in July 2006. The outcome of the war was only defeat of the superficially great army.

Palestinian internal conflicts in 2007

Israeli defeat in Lebanon was equal to defeat of Palestinian Authority. Abu-Mazen didn’t want to accept the victory of resistance in which Hamas is a loop, so the internal conflict emerged.

Hamas took full control of Gaza in June 2007.

Political, economic sanctions against Gaza 

Like EU and U.S. as well as some Arab countries in support of Abu-Mazen, Israel also imposed an economic embargo on Gaza after Hamas seized control from the rival Fatah group in June.

It is also limiting the movement of people in and out of the territory to provoke Palestinian people against Hamas.

Israeli regime continued the blockade for over two years but the people are still firm.

Military incursion into Gaza late 2008 and early 2009

After blockades of Gaza residents, Israeli regime started a new war in Gaza in order to occupy the besieged area.

Even after using most advanced military tools and banned weapons, the regime failed to achieve its goals of destroying Hamas and resistance movements in Palestine.

Israeli defeat in Gaza 22-day war and the steadiness of Gazans against Israeli blockades and restrictions changed the conditions in the region so that all groups all over the world announced solidarity with Gaza.

Many international bodies also lashed out at Zionist regime’s aggressions and crimes and even the U.S. described for the first time the Zionist regime as hurdle to fulfillment of its plans in Middle East.

Goldstone report

Israeli crimes in 22-day were confirmed for the first time in international level by UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly.

Now, Palestinians are waiting for another victory and trial of Zionist criminal leaders in international courts.

Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission Justice Richard Goldstone presented the report of the Mission to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 September 2009, urging the Council and the international community as a whole to put an end to impunity for violations of international law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Drop of Fatah popularity and Abu-Mazen resignation announcement

Palestinian authority chief Mahmoud Abbas announced on Thursday that he will not be a presidential candidate in the upcoming January 2010 elections.

Abbas called for the January elections after his Fatah party and its rival Hamas failed to achieve a national unity agreement last month.