Arab Leader Challenges PLO and Hamas On Peace, Offers His Own Bold Vision
A powerful Arab leader today boldly offered himself and his connections as a bridge for Arab-Israeli peace, in what may prove to be one of the few real fruits of the so-called âArab Springâ as well as an indirect challenge to the traditional Palestinian leadership of the PLO and Hamas.
âAfter all the experience with war and peace and secret peace talks, there is a missing link that we have not used,â declared Sheikh Farid al-Jaâabari, the leader of the biggest hamoulahâclanâin the West Bank area that Israel conquered in 1967.
Sheikh Jaâabariâs remarks were unusual not only for their content but for their public nature, Â offeredânot behind closed doorsâin a public session with Jewish settlers, Â American and Israeli reporters, and even senior representatives of the European Union.
âI want to concentrate on this missing link,â said the 64-year-old sheikh, explaining this meant  educating the younger generation not to hate non-Arabs. Sheikh Jaâabari stressed that the PLO and Hamas had not moved away from a deliberate policy of hatred, but that he would do so unhesitatingly.
âI am determined to continue on this journey no matter what it costs,â Â said Jaâabari, whose clan is said to number between 33,000 and 35,000, but whose overall backing may be over a million.
Sheikh Jaâabari. Photo: David Wilder, Hebron Fund.
The sheikh greeted invitees in a tent encampment near Hebron, the town of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, Â and he underlined the symbolic significance of the place to underscore joint movement for peace. Â âIn my view the Israeli people are ready for peace, and I think the Palestinians want peace.â
Sheikh Jaâabariâs remarks came at a time when public opinion polls and political foment show that both the PLO and Hamas seem to have lost legitimacy in the eyes of many, if not most, Palestinian Arabs.