Ghassan Rubeiz; The Lebanon Daily Star, 09.06.06

Little is known about a community of several thousand Palestinian political prisoners being held in Israeli jails. These prisoners follow the news and discuss politics. A West Bank commentator, Daoud Kuttab, has explained that political prisoners are highly esteemed by Palestinian society. They do not have to prove their patriotism.
 
Recently, imprisoned Palestinian leaders issued a document calling for talks with Israel and (implicitly) recognizing its legitimate existence. The prisoners were united in calling for moderation and in accepting the June 1967 borders as the boundaries for a future Palestinian state. In so many words, these leaders, among whom was a Hamas official, endorsed a two-state solution. Their document reflected the sentiments of most Palestinians and was based on earlier secretive negotiations between various factions.
 
The prisoners gave Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an opportunity to propose a reconciliation plan. He has demanded that Hamas join him in peace talks with Israel and endorse an 18-point negotiation proposal. Abbas warned the Hamas-led government that if it rejected the prisoners' proposal he would call for a referendum on the document.
 
Hamas initially refused to accept the prisoners' appeal. On June 4, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya told reporters that "referendums are not permitted in the Palestinian lands." He cited "Palestinian law and unspecified experts in international law" for this claim. However, since then, Hamas officials have asked for more time to review the moderation proposal. In response, Abbas' spokesman declared that "the referendum is a political step that would help end the siege imposed on the Palestinian people and would help resume funds and aid to the Palestinian National Authority."
 
Israeli government officials see mixed signs in the prisoners' document, and in the referendum that Abbas intends to organize, and have refrained from supporting its proposals. Israel perceives threats in an initiative that highlights the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the government is not ready to endorse full withdrawal to the June 1967 borders. This would imply evacuation from all Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.
 
Increased suffering and loss of land and image should compel the Palestinians to adopt fresh ideas to unite and review the character of their struggle. The prison document is a face-saving mechanism designed to offer Hamas a graceful exit from the diplomatic hole it has dug for itself, as Israel dictates peace terms, as Abbas asks for leniency from threatening donor agencies, and as the Arab world pleads for patience with Hamas. Israel builds a wall of exclusion in the name of security and Hamas builds a wall of rejection in the name of patriotism. Both walls are built on irrational fear. 
 
If Hamas cares to heal the rift within its own ranks, to join hands with other Palestinian parties and to respond to the current sentiments of Palestinian society, it should accept the prisoners' proposal in order to avoid a risky referendum. If the movement wishes to gain international sympathy, to reduce Jewish fears of compromise, and to weaken the unilateralist strategy pursued by Israel, it should be more flexible.
 
While a referendum is a logical consequence of the likely Hamas rejection of the prisoners' document, administering such a poll will not be easy. A referendum assumes that Hamas can be peacefully defeated through a formal process of testing opinion. Moreover, Arab public opinion has been rallying around Hamas because of the punitive Western response that it has faced despite winning a democratic election. What may be logical may not be politically feasible. A national referendum in the Occupied Territories would face cultural, logistical and political hurdles.
 
Will the referendum be a step toward peace or another move toward Palestinian civil war? If Hamas accepts the proposal it would score a new victory for Palestinian unity and enhance the chances of an empowered nation winning out in its struggle for liberation from an awful occupation.
 
Ghassan Rubeiz is a former secretary of the Middle East at the Geneva-based World Council of Churches. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.