MERIP
Media Resource List, January 6, 2005
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS on the following topics:
- US policy and Palestinian election January 9
- Palestinian election's effect on daily life and prospects
for peace
CHARLES D. SMITH
Charles D. Smith is the author of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli
Conflict, now in its 5th edition. He is professor of
Middle East history at the University of Arizona. Commenting
on potential tensions between the US and the likely new Palestinian
leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, Smith said today: "The Bush
administration may soon find itself caught by its own rhetoric
-- that Arafat was the obstacle to peace and that a functioning
democracy is the key to ensuring US willingness to work for
a Palestinian state. With Arafat gone and a free and fair
election of Abbas for president likely to occur, the Bush
administration will have no more excuses. However, complicating
the US role, since the Israeli occupation continues unchanged,
Abbas has no reason to appear any more moderate, at least
verbally, than Arafat. Abbas has called for an end to unprovoked
Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians. But if Israeli forces
continue to invade Palestinian areas, no Palestinian leader
will be able to maintain a moderate approach to the problem
for long."
CATHERINE COOK
Catherine Cook is an independent research consultant based
in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She is co-author of Stolen
Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children
(2004) and former senior analyst and media coordinator of
MERIP. Commenting on the upcoming election, Cook said today:
"What Israel does in the post-election period is equally
-- if not more -- important as the actions the new Palestinian
president will take. On an average day in the last quarter
of 2004, when preparations for the election were taking place,
Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinians and injured 9, arrested
or detained 25 Palestinians, carried out 35 raids and air,
ground and sea attacks of Palestinian locales, restricted
Palestinian freedom of movement, continued construction of
the Wall and the Israeli-only settlement network, and forbade
the population of at least 1 Palestinian community from leaving
their homes. On the same average day, Palestinian militants
launched 3 attacks on Israeli targets, the majority of which
resulted in no Israeli casualties. The extent to which Israel
continues such activity following Sunday's election will shape
considerably the extent to which the new Palestinian president
will be able to effectively govern and effect real change."
MOUIN RABBANI
Mouin Rabbani is senior Middle East analyst with the International
Crisis Group, specializing on Palestine and the Arab-Israeli
conflict, and a contributing editor of Middle East Report.
He has published widely on Palestinian issues and travels
to Palestine frequently. Rabbani said today: "Observers
of the election must understand that electing a new Palestinian
Authority president is only part of the transition process
after Arafat's death. Unless and until legislative and municipal
elections are also held, as well as those for the Fatah congress,
the process of creating new Palestinian leadership will not
be successfully completed. In addition, opportunities for
peace can come through rejuvenating Palestinian institutions
only if at the same time there is a commitment to reviving
the political process and achieving real change in Israeli-Palestinian
relations."
Note: The ICG recently published a briefing paper
on the transition entitled After Arafat? See http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?id=3197&l=1.
DEBORAH J. GERNER
Deborah J. Gerner is professor of political science at the
University of Kansas, co-director of the Center for International
Political Analysis and a member of the editorial committee
of Middle East Report. Gerner is editor of Understanding
the Contemporary Middle East (2004) and author of One
Land, Two Peoples: The Conflict over Palestine (1994).
Gerner said today: "With seven candidates in the running,
the second Palestinian presidential elections are continuing
the democratic processes and expansion of civil society that
have been in place at least since the 1980s and arguably longer.
However, regardless of the electoral outcome, the challenges
of living under military occupation remain. Economic conditions
are devastating, land confiscation and the growing separation
barrier exacerbates the problem, settlements and settler roads
continue to be built, and the permit system makes movement
virtually impossible for hundreds of thousands of people.
In addition, the new president will have to address peace
with Israel, the right of return for the refugees, and the
reestablishment of law and order within the Occupied Territories
-- all extremely difficult challenges. And while Hamas is
not fielding any presidential candidates, their successes
in recent municipal elections suggests the new president will
want to bring them into the national political process as
quickly as possible."
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information, contact Michelle Woodward, MERIP Media Coordinator,
at (202) 223-3677, or merip.media@merip.org.
Media Resource Lists are an initiative of the MERIP Media
Outreach Program.
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East Research and Information Project (MERIP), 1500 Massachusetts
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