Palestinians Weigh Whether They Can Deal With Barak

Iyad Khamis was clear on one thing: Labor Party leader Ehud Barak’s landslide victory over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Monday’s Israeli election will make no real difference to Palestinians, the young man said firmly.

“For the Palestinians, both [Netanyahu and Barak] are our enemies,” Khamis, 26, said Tuesday. “One had a government of fundamentalists and fanatics, the other will have a government of generals and army people. The policies of both will be the same.”

But just up the street in this Palestinian-ruled city, Abdel Rahim Daraghmeh expressed a hope that Barak, a former army chief of staff and commando leader, will show the same courage in his political life as in his legendary military career.

Daraghmeh said he knew that Barak, Israel’s most decorated soldier, had once led military operations that left Palestinian guerrilla leaders dead in Lebanon and Tunisia. “But it’s often the case that even a military man can be brave for peace,” said Daraghmeh, 32, who owns a music store called “Dreams.”

“For the Palestinians, Barak is better than Netanyahu,” said Abdel Khader Awawdeh, 34, selling green beans in a nearby vegetable market.

Across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinians reacted cautiously to news of Barak’s election as Israel’s new leader. Many said they welcomed the dramatic defeat of Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader who slowed progress toward a peace settlement, but added that they remained wary of Barak, particularly his military record.

In Gaza City, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat watched the returns late into election night and, according to a visitor, was in “good spirits” as Netanyahu went on television to concede defeat. Arafat said he considers Barak’s election a vote for peace.

But other Palestinian officials were sharply critical of the tough line Barak staked out almost immediately on key Middle East peace issues. In his victory speech to supporters, Barak pledged to keep Israeli control over all of Jerusalem and promised that under his government Israel would never return all of the West Bank lands it captured during the 1967 Six-Day War.

In reaction, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said it was “unfortunate” that Israel’s new leader chose to stress his negotiating limits rather than try to rebuild the trust shattered in the long months of impasse.

“We are all sick and tired of the language of dictation,” Erekat said. “We want meaningful negotiations, and we hope that’s the case with Barak.”

Later Tuesday, the Palestinian Cabinet, which met in emergency session in Gaza City to discuss the election, congratulated Barak and urged him to act quickly to move the peace process forward. The Cabinet also expressed concern over construction beginning anew at two controversial Jewish housing projects in disputed East Jerusalem and asked the incoming prime minister to halt settlement expansion.

Palestinian analysts, meanwhile, note that Barak’s election will put new pressure on Arafat, who has been able during the long months of stalemate in peace talks to improve his ties with the Clinton administration.

Compared with Netanyahu, Arafat and the Palestinians were able to win a lot of sympathy in Washington, these analysts said. Now that Washington has a less combative partner in Israel, Arafat will have to work harder to show that he is committed to peace. And he will be placed under greater scrutiny to enact long-delayed reforms within his own government and the embryonic Palestinian state.

“If I were advising Arafat, I would tell him that there is a new team coming to play with you, so you too have to change some of the strategy and some of the players,” said Hebron University political scientist Nabil abu Znaid. “He will need to bring in new blood and enact reforms.”

Among everyday Palestinians, many of whom also stayed up late to watch the returns, there was a sense of admiration for Israeli democracy, which several called a model for their own fledgling institutions.

Several of the Palestinians interviewed also chatted knowledgeably about the details of Israeli politics, offering their views on which of the smaller parties might make it into Barak’s new coalition government.

“Shas has 17 seats,” Khamis said, referring to the Israeli party with the third-largest number of members in the new parliament. “Maybe [Barak] will have to form a government with Shas, and they might not be very easy for him to work with.”

But not everyone was in the know. One woman, who paused during a vegetable-buying mission at an outdoor market, said vaguely that she knew there had been an election in Israel recently, but she had no idea who won.