ISRAEL AND GAZA: DEMOCRATIC DYSFUNCTION VS. TYRANNIC DYSFUNCTION


The degree of consensus in Israel regarding the Palestinian Question is for that fractious nation remarkable. With the fantasies of Greater Israel and Olso both exposed, there is solid support for a policy of unilateral separation. This consensus extends beyond mere principles to support of concrete proposals, such as the building of the West Bank fence and the evacuation of the Gaza settlements. And yet, despite this consensus, the progress of the Sharon Government towards these goals has been agonizingly slow. The reason for this is that with the exception of the Shinui party, no political force is wholeheartedly behind this agenda. Yossi Beilin and Meretz snipe at the project from the unreconstructed left, while the settlers and their allies who recently departed the government snipe at it from the unreconstructed right. The Haredim as they always do simply want to milk the budget for every last drop to preserve their radical project of subsidizing a mass movement of schnorr-pilgrims. And the two formerly major parties of Labor and Likud, who if they were at responsive to the electorate would have formed a unity government months ago are still fractured by their splits between their pragmatic and ideological wings. This is very much the dysfunction of a thriving democracy - with interest groups and factions putting their parochial interests in the way of national interests for as long as they are able. In the end however, the odd couple of Sharon and Peres, with their unique combination of pragmatism and idealism will most likely prevail and Israel can finally begin implementing a policy that will significantly ameliorate the conflict.

Unfortunately for the Palestinians, their is no similar hope for an end to their political dysfunction. The chaos in Gaza, while blamed internationally on a diabolical scheme by Sharon, is the direct result of Arafat's misrule. Far more concerned with preventing the rise of a rival to his power than providing basic security for his people, Arafat's divide-and-conquer approach has left competing gangs masquerading as security forces. The chaos keeps international attention on the conflict, and keeps would-be rivals such as Mohammed Dahlan from emerging with a sufficient power base to oust Arafat, but makes the possibility of basic law and order emerging in the Strip after the Israeli withdrawal a herculean task. This is result of tyrannical dysfunction, which is why a decade after Oslo the possibility of a functional Palestinian State is even less likely then before "Peave" arrived.