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2020 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

5. The Advent of the Peace Process: From Rejection to Acceptance of the “Palestinian Versailles”

verfasst von : Francesco Saverio Leopardi

Erschienen in: The Palestinian Left and Its Decline

Verlag: Springer Singapore

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Abstract

This chapter tackles the first decade of the peace process era. Its first sections discuss the PFLP’s predicament in relation to the 1991 Gulf War and the downfall of the USSR as well as its shortcomings in attaining genuine ideological and organisational renewal during its landmark Fifth National Congress. Subsequently, the chapter addresses the PFLP’s response to the 1993 Oslo accords and the implementation of the PNA’s state-building process. Such response took the form of a renewed coalition building effort with all Palestinian factions opposed to the accords. As the goal was to delegitimise the Oslo peace process, what is stressed is the PFLP’s interest in acting on the institutional level and the tensions that this produced with Islamist coalition associates. This chapter describes two levels of policy fluctuation: a macro-level, namely the PFLP’s shift from rejection to acceptance of the new political order and institution; and a micro-level as the PFLP’s line appeared inconsistent due to the tensions emerging with other opposition factions. Ultimately, this chapter demonstrates the predominance of institutional integration over opposition priority as the latter entailed a stronger dissociation from traditional Palestinian platforms.

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Fußnoten
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23
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29
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30
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31
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32
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33
‘Al-Muʾtamar al-Watani al-Khamis. Al-Wathiqa al-Nazariyya: Afkar Awaliyya Hawla Azmat al-Marksiyya al-Lininiyya. (The Fifth National Congress. The Theoretical Document: First Ideas on the Crisis of Marxism-Leninism)’, 5–6.
 
34
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35
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36
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37
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38
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39
‘Al-Muʾtamar al-Watani al-Khamis. Al-Barnamaj al-Siyasi. (The Fifth National Congress. The Political Program).’, 7–8.
 
40
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41
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42
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48
Parsons, The Politics of the Palestinian Authority, 45.
 
49
See Chap. 1.
 
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56
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57
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63
Ibid.
 
64
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68
Graham Usher, Palestine in Crisis. The Struggle for Peace and Political Independence after Oslo (London-East Haven, CT: Transnational Institute (TNI) and Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), 1995), 18–20; Parsons, The Politics of the Palestinian Authority, 101–2.
 
69
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70
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71
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80
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85
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86
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87
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88
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89
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90
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91
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92
Usher, Barghouti, and Abu Jiab, ‘Arafat and the Opposition’. 24.
 
93
Al-Hadaf, no. 1217, June 11, 1994, 15–16; Al-Hadaf, no. 1225, October 1, 1995, 8–9.
 
94
Parsons, The Politics of the Palestinian Authority, 110–14.
 
95
As part of its state-building process, the PNA Presidency, namely Arafat, issued a draft law aimed at regulating the existence and activities of Palestinian political parties in the PNA system. Particular criticisms were drawn by an article of the draft law prohibiting the affiliation of armed branches to political parties.
 
96
Hawla Mashruʿ Qanun al-Ahzab al-Siyasiyya al-Sadir ʿan Sultat al-Hukm al-Idari al-Dhati (On the Draft Law on Political Parties issued by the Self-Administration Government)”, Al-Hadaf, no. 1227, October 29, 1995, 16–17.
 
97
Khalil Shikaki, ‘The Palestinian Elections: An Assessment’, Journal of Palestine Studies 25, no. 3 (1996): 17.
 
98
Al-Hadaf, no. 1229, November 26, 1995, 10–14.
 
99
Robinson, Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution, 195–97; Lamis Andoni, ‘The Palestinian Elections: Moving toward Democracy or One-Party Rule?’, Journal of Palestine Studies 25, no. 3 (1996): 15.
 
100
Jamil Hilal, ‘PLO Institutions: The Challenge Ahead’, Journal of Palestine Studies 23, no. 1 (1993): 49–54.
 
101
Robinson, Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution, 197.
 
102
Parson, The Politics of the Palestinian Authority. From Oslo to Al-Aqsa, 111.
 
103
Interview with former PFLP Politburo Member, Ramallah, July 10, 2017.
 
104
Al-Hadaf, no. 1229, 14.
 
105
Andoni, ‘The Palestinian Elections: Moving toward Democracy or One-Party Rule?’, 8.
 
106
Shikaki, ‘The Palestinian Elections: An Assessment’., 18–20.
 
107
Rema Hammami, ‘Palestinian NGOs since Oslo: From NGOs Politics to Social Movements?’, Middle East Report, no. 214 (2000): 17.
 
108
Anders Strindberg, ‘The Damascus Based Alliance of Palestinian Forces: A Primer’, Journal of Palestine Studies 29, no. 3 (2000): 64.
 
109
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110
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111
Al-Hadaf, no. 1252, December 8, 1996, 10–11.
 
112
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113
Parsons, The Politics of the Palestinian Authority, 146–47.
 
114
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115
Al-Hadaf, no. 1254, January 19, 1997, 9–15.
 
116
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117
Beverley Milton-Edwards and Stephen Farrel, Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010), 71–74.
 
118
Al-Hadaf, no. 1257, March 9, 1997, 10–12.
 
119
Al-Hadaf, no. 1267, August 31, 1997, 3.
 
120
“Al-Hadaf Tanshur Awraq al-ʿAmal al-Muqaddama li-Ijtimaʿ Amman Bain Wafday al-Jabha al-Shaʿbiyya wa Harakat Fath (Al-Hadaf Publishes the Working Documents presented to the Amman Meeting between the delegations of the PFLP and Fatah)”, Al-Hadaf, no. 1298, October 10, 1999, 20–27.
 
121
“Bayan Jamahiri Sadir ʿan al-Maktab al-Siyasi li-l-Jabha al-Shaʿbiyya li-Tahrir Filastin (Public Statement issued by the PFLP’s Politburo)”, Al-Hadaf, no. 1298, October 10, 1999, 16.
 
122
Al-Hadaf, no. 1298, October 10, 1999, 13.
 
123
Mustafa and Hawatimah, ‘The Palestinian Secular Opposition at a Crossroads’, 79, 81.
 
Metadaten
Titel
The Advent of the Peace Process: From Rejection to Acceptance of the “Palestinian Versailles”
verfasst von
Francesco Saverio Leopardi
Copyright-Jahr
2020
Verlag
Springer Singapore
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4339-5_5