By Reihana Mohideen
"Today is a historical day in Palestine", Radwan Abu Ayyash, chair of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, told Green Left Weekly on May 19 as the last Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza and Jericho.
Under the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Israel was supposed to start troop withdrawals in December 1993. Some five months later, Israel has finally agreed to implement the troop withdrawals in a "first stage" agreement signed in Cairo on May 4.
Television reports showed young people, emboldened with the knowledge that they wouldn't be shot at, hurling stones at Israeli troops, who ran as they withdrew.
According to Ayyash, the Palestinian people and their community organisations have swung into action, taking over a range of administrative functions from the Israeli authorities. "The Palestinian police are patrolling the streets, and the local Palestinian National Council is functioning on the ground. They are now organising the traffic, taking over the official buildings with the responsibility to make the lives of the people easier."
A range of people's organisations have been functioning in these areas. "But now they can work freely and openly, and they can manage to have things function fairly well. But of course we do have various kinds of organisations such as NGOs which have now become governmental organisations."
By May 20 all public departments except the Department of Taxation were functional. However, all the taxes collected in May were taken away by the Israeli authorities. In some departments even the computers, tables, chairs and fans were taken by the occupation forces.
Water is a crucial resource. Apparently the water systems are losing up to 90% of water due to disrepair.
After 27 years of occupation, the Palestinians are now rebuilding these areas from scratch. "In my own area of responsibility, to set up a radio and television network for Palestine seems to be an impossible mission. We have to negotiate over the frequency. We have to start building up the personnel, the studios. The old broadcasting equipment doesn't work. So we have to start from the beginning. Really, we are facing tremendous problems, and I think the Palestinian authorities face a big challenge on the economic front."
International aid, Ayyash said, is crucial. "We can't overcome this easily without the support from our friends all over the world and big donations. For instance, our streets haven't been maintained for years and years. So there are a lot of basic services that need to be given to the people ... We need around $13.4 billion over the next seven years."
One of the criticisms of the accord has been that all aid will have to go through the Israeli government. Responding to this, Ayyash said: "Concerning Gaza and Jericho, I don't think it is true that everything has to go through the Israelis. It will be coordinated since we are not talking about a totally free country ... So it is natural that there will be some cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians in terms of delivering the authority to the Palestinians."
Some in the PLO argue that the accord represents an unnecessary compromise of Palestinian interests. Scholar Edward Said describes it as a "Palestinian Versailles". Critics argue that one of the major compromises is that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories still remain intact and under Israeli rule. According to Said, these settlements plus the land designated for expropriation could amount to 55% of the occupied territories.
They also point out that there are some 13,000 Intifada prisoners still rotting in Israeli jails. Under the Cairo agreement, some 5000 will be released. The issue of the right of return of those Palestinians who are not from the West Bank and Gaza also remains unresolved.
Responding to these criticisms, Ayyash argued: "The target is the two-state settlement. You can deal with it on two levels. If we are talking about history, yes we have granted historical concessions. If we are talking about real politics, and what is possible on the ground, I will say that this is the first time that we are allowed to govern ourselves.
"Gaza and Jericho are not comprehensive settlements. It is an agreement on the road to a comprehensive settlement. Those who are opposing this settlement, maybe they are right, if they are using the historical telescope. But I don't want to wait another 50 years to see all of the West Bank and Gaza to be Palestinian settlements. I don't want to wait and see more and more children killed, to see my country being totally destroyed. This is a step towards a total settlement for an independent Palestinian state."