In a move of stunning brilliance, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has seized the initiative to quell rising Palestinian violence, and perhaps has co-opted Israeli PM Olmert's unilateral convergence plan as well.
The continuing violence between Palestinians loyal to Abbas' Fatah party and those loyal to Hamas has threatened to lead to full-scale civil war, derail any hope of resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and has given the Israelis an additional justification for their ill-advised unilateral convergence plan. Further, the unwillingness of Hamas to renounce its charter's call for the destruction of Israel, despite the contrary wishes of the Palestinian people, has resulted in the withdrawal of international funding and precipitated the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Territories, where already struggling Palestinians have gone without paychecks and there have been reports of deaths due to the lack of hospital services.
But according to a Guardian article published today, Abbas has issued a statement that amounts to an ultimatum. He has given Hamas 10 days to end the increasing violence, or he will submit a referendum to the Palestinian people:
The ultimatum appeared intended to push Hamas - which refuses to even recognize Israel - into moderating its stance.
...Mahmoud Abbas's referendum would ask Palestinians to endorse peace talks with Israel if it withdrew to its pre-1967 borders, in effect calling for popular support for a two-state solution over the heads of opponents in the Hamas political leadership. (emphasis mine)
But this move appears to go far beyond the dispute with Hamas. If the referendum is approved (and according to recent polls of Palestinian public opinion, it's likely that it would be approved), for the first time the Palestinians would seize the initiative in their dispute with the Israelis, and with one voice, call for Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders, putting to rest the "throw the Israelis into the sea" meme forever.
The five-page proposal was drafted by jailed senior members of both Hamas and Fatah, according to a related Haaretz article:
It calls for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the areas Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The plan was negotiated by leading prisoners from Hamas and Fatah over the period of four weeks at Hadarim Prison, where top Fatah prisoner Marwan Barghouti is being held.
This move could completely co-opt Olmert's unilateral convergence plan, a plan that is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, international law and the Geneva Conventions, which require occupying powers to withdraw from territory seized in war, and prevent settlement of such territory by the citizens of the occupying power. It would demolish many of the reasons the Israelis have used to try to justify the unilateral plan to the US and the international community. Israel stated previously that they could not negotiate with Abbas because he did not have the support of the Palestinian people (Olmert has recently appeared to soften on this stand - but only due to US pressure); they would not negotiate with Hamas because its charter calls for Israel's destruction, but a Abbas' referendum of the Palestinian people would completely negate these justifications. This proposal is a stroke of genius on Abbas' part, especially coming as it does on the heels of the recent vote in the US House of Representatives to deny funding to the Palestinians. It has the potential to change the outlines of the Israeli-Palestinian debate completely.
And it's not a moment too soon.