The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, September 23, 1993-Page 9
World
in the desert
By LEORA FRUCHT
JERIGHO — A picturesque, sleepy town barely touched by the intifada. An island of calm in the stormy waters of the West Bank. If the Gaza strip is as close as one gets to a living hell, then Jericho represents the other extreme: an oasis in the desert, a placid paradise of palnfi trees and palaces.
These are the images that are evoked by Jericho — one of the first two areas — together with the Gaza strip — where Palestinian self-rule is to be implemented. But the town Where 75 percent of Palestinians are said to suppon the peace accord, according to a recent poll, and the town where residents danced in the streets upon the arrival of Israeli Police Minister Moshe Shahal la.st week is not as serene as it seems.
Beneath the surface, the Palestinians of Jericho are deeply suspicious. Even the 75 percent who claim to support the accord, the ones who call^ themselves "moderates" in favor of the peace process, do not feel a sense of euphoria, instead they aire plagued by knawing doubts. The main one: that the Gaza/Jericho First plan will mark the end, rather than the beginning of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.
"Maybe Israel is doing this just to stop the intifada. Maybe the Israelis have no intention of implementing autonomy beyond Jericho and Gaza." suggests Hadaya. a 30-year-old high school teacher who. despite her fears, supports the accord. "Wie/ll have to wait and see."
Some Jericho residents have even greater reason to be doubtful. Their support for the accord is based on terms that Israel can never agree to: a return to the pre-1967 borders, the establishment of an indef)endent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the right of return of aill refugees, and the formation of a Palestinian army.
"If this is the first step towards all that then it i$agood plan," says Shukri Ibrahim, another self-proclaimed supponer of the agreement. He insists that the accord mu.st lead to an independent Palestinian state with its own army.
"Maybe if this region Were like Switzerland we wouldn't neesd an army. But that is not the case, Israel can re-occupy the West Bank in two hours if we don't have our own army," he contends.
His friend, Subhe Awajni, is more flexible. "What do we need an army for if we have peace and security?"
Awajni, shot by soldiers during a demonstration, spent four years in prison for intifadarrelated violence. He was released six months ago. Today the Fatah supporter is one of the more vocal voices of moderation in Jericho. ^ \ "Now I believe in negotiations; not violence. I've changed. So has the situation. Once I couldn't dare say in public that I support Fatah (the centrist pLo faction led by Arafat), today I can. So I am ready to try politics."
Peace, he says, will bring prosperity, a good life, a good future. It's a point he makes regularly in arguments with Jericho residents who oppose the accord and the entire peace process.
Awajni's viewpoint is clearly the prevailing one in Jericho — as evidenced by the ubiquitous Wall graffiti. In the rivalry between the green-lettered declarations -of Hamas, thej-ed penwork of other rejectionist fronts,.and the black calligraphy of Fatah, it is the fatah slogans that predominate."Yes to peace: Yes to the accord. Yes to Arafat."
Like most Palestinians who support the accord; Awajni says he no longer dreams of a Palestine that would replace Israel. "Israel is here to stay," he says. "We
can't push the Israelis into the sea. Besides they are human too."
He favors a two-state solution. "The West Bank is enough for me. I've had my share of war. I want my children to live in peace," explains the father of two, whose toddler-aged son was injured by gunfire during the intifada. "I want my children to live:"
To live in peace, however, is something that will take a long time to learn. At least that is the impression one gets inside Suhne Awajni's home where the scars of the Arab-Israeli conflict are far from healed — despite Awajni's endorsement of the peace process and the accord.
ts coming
"Arafat is. coming! "chime Awajni's two boys, aged six and four. The younger one, Hamad,, offers to let the PLO chairman play in his inflatable swimming pool. The older one, Hassan, is equally hospitable, offering to let Arafat dwell in the family's living room. While Hassan knows that "peace isbetter than war." ., his request of Arafat does not entirely reflect this conviction. "I want his uniform arid his gun," he says. What does he need the gun for? "To shoot at soldi-^ ers because they shot my father." The boy recalls how the army took his father away and how he used to cry at night because he had ho father to buy him presents. He. steps out of the room and returns a moment later, wearing a police helmet and brandishing a toy pistol. And what if the army goes away? Hassan pauses fora moment, then says:"I'll still need the gun — in case of thieves, or Jews."
His younger brother is even more resolute. When asked "what is better— war or peace?" the child blurts out: "War." . The parents, surprised, explain that peace is better — and Hamad dutifully changes his answer. But the A\yajnis seem mildly amused by their son's response, rather than deejply disturbed, The tinie has not yet come to re-educate their children. It does not yet seem Worth the effort as long as theyi the adults, still have their own nagging doubts about the peace process:
"What about Nablus? What about Bethlehem? What about Hebron? the aC-. cord is not complete," says Subhe Awajni. adding that he is dubious about the promises of Israeli politicians.
Hadaya: the high school English teacher, says the agreement will give both peoples a way to live in peace. "It is a first step." And the final step? "To take all the cities in the West Bank." she replies. It is an interesting choice of words — the vocabulary of war to describe the aspirations of peace. It brings to mind the well-known saying: "War is diplomacy by other, means. "But in the case of Hadaya — and other moderate Palestinians — it seems that diplomacy is war by other means.
Indeed the armed struggle is not far from the thoughts of the more moderate Palestinians in Jericho. "If the Jews do not give the Palestinians the West Bank then the intifada will intensify," warns Hadaya. ^
Ibrahim concurs. "If the agreement is a mistake, then the uprising will be stepped up until Palestine is our own country. The time has not yet come to stop the uprising,'' he ajhtends.
Awajni, the former intifada activist who was shot by Israeli troops, is less adamant. He believes the uprising shojjid be gradually phased oiit. "Step by step,''
But while the ex-security prisoner argues publicly in favor of the peace process and the accord, he can't sha^ce his private doubts. "I had a dream the other night," he recalls. "I dreamed that Arafat came to Jericho and planted an olive tree, Un- -fortunately, I awoke too soon. I didn't have a chance to see whether the tree grew or whether it died."
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