By Daoud Kuttab

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi blasted Israeli attempts to pre-empt the UN report on the Gaza Strip, saying that they’re trying to control the narrative. “They are trying to create a misleading and fabricated narrative so people can react to it,” Ashrawi told Al-Monitor.

The left-wing Israeli website Mondoweiss called the report and the accompanying coverage in The New York Times “a whitewash,” focusing on the fact that the report exonerated the Israeli army for the killing of four Palestinian boys playing soccer on the Gaza shore.

But Ashrawi sounded upbeat as to the changes in international public opinion toward Israel. “We are starting now to see a process of accountability for Israel,” she said.

Ashrawi strongly denied concerns in Jordan that the Palestinians are holding talks with Israel behind the scenes, similar to what happened in Oslo. “There are no secret talks,” she replied to Al-Monitor’s question on the subject, stressing it was the Israelis who stopped this process and they know what’s needed to get back. “They are trying to blame us for walking away, which is a total reversal of the facts. They refused cessation of settlement activities, which is what is needed to be in compliance with international law, they violated a signed agreement to release prisoners and they rejected the 1967 borders as a basis for talks.”

Ashrawi fully rejected Israel’s attempts to build on the idea of land swaps even before any comprehensive deal is agreed to. “They are distorting the borders of Jerusalem saying they will be naturally ours. Show me any agreement where we agreed to land swaps. The issue was raised in talks but not in any signed agreement. They pocket such ideas and want us to start with land swaps as a given,” she said.

The Ramallah-based former professor of English at Birzeit University did not hold much hope for US diplomacy even after the Iran agreement. “The US needs to act differently and I am not sure that they are willing to change or stop giving Israel favors. If the US wants to salvage whatever is left of its standing, it must move quickly and act to undo the damage it has caused by its bias and mistake,” she said.

Ashrawi also did not hold much hope for the talks about the expected French resolution, which she felt might include compromises rather than an actionable mechanism. “We need a resolution with teeth, one that has a follow-up mechanisms such as an international conference and binding arbitration.”

The text of the full interview:

Al-Monitor: Why did you react so strongly against the report of the Israeli investigation of the war on Gaza?

Ashrawi: It was clearly a pre-emptive maneuver aimed at sabotaging any independent investigation. They [Israelis] are trying to create a misleading and fabricated narrative so people can react to it and then it becomes a way of responding to distortions. Appointing themselves as investigators and as judges while they are the accused party is an act of chutzpah.

Al-Monitor: Maybe their aim has been to avoid the International Criminal Court, which only investigates war crimes against countries that do not investigate themselves?

Ashrawi: If they carry out a responsible, legally binding investigation, yes, but this is not case. They handpicked select individuals to guarantee the outcome at the end. If they are serious about pre-empting the war crimes charges, they would have to carry out a legal case and to try those responsible and not to exonerate themselves and label themselves as the most moral army. This is a PR exercise. If they are serious, they would not be busy exonerating themselves of all the cases to which they are liable.

Al-Monitor: Is this a maneuver aimed at responding to the momentum that the boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] campaign is causing to Israel and will no doubt escalate once the UN issues its report?

Ashrawi: This is not about BDS. This is the first time in the history of Israel that they are being questioned and the idea of Israeli exceptionalism is being shaken. They are no longer having impunity to have political and economic cover once the process starts moving. They are intimidating intellectuals in the US, using Big Brother spying tactics and waving the anti- Semitism card in an attempt to stop any kind of freedom of expression. BDS does worry them a great deal because it opens up the option of individual acts of conscience, not just official and private sector. They are unable to stop individuals. Individuals around the world wanting to show acts of resistance to the occupation and wanting to make the occupation costly use boycott acts. They might be able to influence traditional media but they could not control social media and now they have to recruit thousands of students to monitor and reply on websites and social media.

Al-Monitor: What process are you talking about? Is there any chance of a political process?

Ashrawi: We are starting now to see a process of accountability for Israel. A process that tells Israel there is a price to pay, a process of finding a weakness in the armor of Israel’s privileges and claims of exceptionalism. The idea that Israel is untouchable and that one cannot put Israel under scrutiny and [hold it] accountable is over. That is why they are hysterical and calling every attack against them an attack aimed at delegitimizing Israel.

Al-Monitor: But is there any talk of negotiations, or secret talks, as some in Jordan are claiming?

Ashrawi: There are no secret negotiations. We are in the least bit in a position that would create common ground with this [Israeli] government which is anti-peace and anti-legal solution and has rejected the 1967 borders that are the basis of negotiations.

Al-Monitor: So what is the Palestinian strategy moving forward?

Ashrawi: It is not entirely up to us. Frankly speaking, Israelis are the ones who stopped this process and they know what is needed to get back. They are trying to blame us for walking away, which is a total reversal of the facts. They refused cessation of settlement activities which is what is needed to be in compliance with international law. They violated a signed agreement to release prisoners, and they rejected the 1967 borders basis for talks. We did not start inventing new pretenses to derail the talks like the Jewishness of the state. They are distorting the borders of Jerusalem, saying they will be naturally ours. Show me any agreement where we agreed to land swaps. The issue was raised in talks but not in any signed agreement. They pocket such ideas and want us to start with land swaps as a given.

Al-Monitor: What about the disunity among Palestinians? Any chance to heal this rift?

Ashrawi: We need to work on reunification in a serious way. We had a women’s conference for reconciliation with 500 women attending. Unity is a Palestinian demand. We need revolutionary change. We need to change the people who are responsible. We, the women, have not created the rift. It was man made, but to solve it we need a new approach. We need change and we need a will to transcend factional and selfish interests. To have change we need to do it through elections. We need to be legitimized and we have to activate and reform the PLO and we cannot continue doing the same. You need legitimacy from your people by being elected and held accountable.

Al-Monitor: Do you expect more involvement by the Obama administration after resolving the Iran nuclear conflict?

Ashrawi: The political and human behavior that the US has allowed Israel for too long cannot be accepted. The US needs to act differently and I am not sure that they are willing to change or stop giving Israel favors. After Iran, it is not clear what will happen. Israel might want a trade-off to accept the deal with Iran, and to encourage Congress not to oppose it. The US has already upgraded military support and some would want the Americans to lay off pressure against Israel. If the US wants to salvage whatever is left of its standing, it must move quickly and act to undo the damage it has caused by its bias and mistake. It needs to work collectively with Europe and the Arab world and with us. This means that they have to reformulate their approach if they really believe in the two-state solution. Change is not lip service; we need to see it translated into policy lobbying.

Al-Monitor: What about the expected French resolution at the UN Security Council?

Ashrawi: A UN resolution will not do anything alone. It has to be part of a larger plan that talks about 1967 borders and Jerusalem as capital of the Palestinian state and that includes concrete steps. Then such a resolution could be the foundation of a new approach. If in any way the resolution detracts from existing positions or includes concessions from Palestinians like land swaps and gets Israel any advance rewards, I am afraid such a resolution would fail. We need a resolution with teeth, one that has a follow-up mechanism like an international conference, and binding arbitration. We need resolutions that will include consequences and a monitoring mechanism where people are held responsible and accountable for their actions.

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