Statements by the US Ambassador to Israel Friedman about the possibility of changing the Palestinian president if he does not comply with US orders and agrees to enter talks with the occupation state regarding what was excellently named by Holodi as the 'Deal of the Century' embody the American cowboy policy and are an inevitable result of official Palestinian policy over the last two decades, especially since President Mahmoud Abbas took the presidency in the Ramallah district.
The same statement and the attempt to withdraw it later or clarify that it was misquoted are all part of a single well-crafted scenario aimed at one clear goal: increasing pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas and hinting to him that the 'Kaaba of his policy' is the White House... There, the path and goal are decided, and there the objectives others must reach are set according to what has been drawn for them... Compliance with American orders means staying in power, stubbornness means stepping down... The choice is yours!
Friedman's statement came simultaneously with Trump's statement about the imminent withdrawal of US forces from Syria... This was no coincidence but contains an important message to Russia, Iran, and the Arab regimes, and everyone must pay attention to this message and its repercussions after it became clear that the resistance project in Syria is close to complete victory and establishing the resistance alliance as a politically and militarily weighty party against the Arab betrayal alliance led by Saudi Arabia in shaping the future of the region.
The United States wanted through Friedman's statement to confirm that it holds the strongest and most important card in the Arab and Islamic region to arrange the region... the Palestinian card... and that Iran's victory in establishing itself as a key regional power and Russia's return as an important and central player globally and regionally does not mean America will leave the field entirely and withdraw. It also says it still holds winning cards it will use in the future to guarantee itself and its allies a central position in the region and secure Israel's security and military status.
The American message, both Palestinian and Syrian aspects, came from a position of weakness, not strength. The message was to reassure weak allies. The United States lost in its coups in the Arab world, lost the war with its allies in Syria, lost its battle with Iran, and the Saudi allies' failure in Yemen, the Turks in Syria and Iraq, and the Kurds in Syria and Iraq also became apparent. They realize the next battle in the region will see Israel as the losing party... This scenario justifies the suicidal behavior of American foreign policy in the region.
Trump tried with the 'Deal of the Century' project to lure President Mahmoud Abbas into a solution for the Palestinian issue and secure for America, Israel, and their Arab allies a foothold in the renewed Middle Eastern regional structure, exploiting the Palestinian president's weakness due to division and Hamas's weakness after the policy of walking a tightrope during and after the so-called Arab Spring and the near extinction of the national opposition in Palestine.
The Palestinian people, with all their political factions and social segments, standing behind President Mahmoud Abbas, condemning the extortion of the Palestinian reference and placing the independence of the Palestinian decision and the dignity of the Palestinian people as a red line against all threats, is a ray of hope that must not be underestimated and a clear signal to President Abbas and all players that the last word belongs to the Palestinian people.
The Land Day marches, days after Friedman's threat to President Abbas, confirmed once again that the Palestinian people are generous and respond to the calls of their political leadership if taken seriously and given a clear political program and a suitable struggle program derived from it... Recent days have shown that the Palestinian political elite, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, must review their strategies and political output in the recent era and draw the correct lessons to enable the leadership and the people behind it to confront the projects to abort the Palestinian cause by America, Israel, and their Arab allies... Everyone must scrutinize the following:
First, no one, whether Palestinian, Fatah, Hamas, opposition, or President Mahmoud Abbas, can stand alone against the projects to liquidate the Palestinian cause... The Palestinian division opened the door wide for external extortion tactics, and only moving forward on the path of overcoming division closes this door... All factions, leaders, and people with their various segments suffer day and night from the fire of division, and everyone has become a loser because of this disgraceful act...
Second, it is time to build the Palestinian political system on pillars different from those it relied on in the past quarter-century... Attempts to overturn the political system equation started by the late President Arafat, which made the Palestinian Authority not only the sole reference but, under the adopted marginalization of the PLO, the dominant entity in the political system despite representing, according to law and agreements, only a third of the Palestinian people... This imbalance, which has become a burden on the cause and the people, must be overcome by sharing functions between the Authority and the PLO... The latter is solely responsible for the political file as it concerns all Palestinians wherever they are, and the PLO is the national identity uniting all, not the Authority. The Palestinian Authority retains management of the daily administrative and life affairs of Palestinians in occupied Palestine since 1967... Only thus can we restore the Palestinian cause as the cause of a people of 12 million and escape the bottleneck and diminishment imposed by the Oslo Accords...
Third, the Palestinian leadership with its various political structures must realize that today we live in a renewed Middle East whose final features are not yet complete but it has become clear to all that the era of American solution and control in the region has ended, and we now face a region with two allies differing in the political agenda crucial to the peoples of the region, foremost among them the Palestinian cause, and differing in their vision for the region's future and state and people relations... This reality requires a new positioning for the Palestinian leadership... A positioning that puts national interest above narrow factional and personal interests... In short, the Palestinian leadership must act according to the popular Palestinian proverb 'If you associate, associate with a prince; if you wear, wear silk; and if you are insulted, make sure to insult back'... It is time to determine who is the faithful friend to the Palestinian people and cause and who is the enemy of the cause and people.
Fourth, yes, there are options for President Mahmoud Abbas within Fatah, and the Palestinian leadership, especially the brothers in Fatah, must not underestimate this threat, especially as loyalty to the movement has become for years only loyalty to the monthly salary, and only a few still believe in the national movement's agenda... The American side's figure being waved is from Fatah and its long arm in the movement and meets the requests of the side President Mahmoud Abbas has relied on since assuming office... More than that, this person is trusted by the United States more than the Palestinian presidency, and his relations with the American alliance in Europe and the region are stronger than the president's, holding keys to solving various crises that neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas could solve over the past ten years, such as the Rafah crossing key, electricity, reconstruction, and the chronic financial crisis of the Authority... Beware of underestimating this proposal... The way out of this impasse is not in America or Saudi Arabia... The key to the exit door is in the hands of the Palestinian people... Whoever wants to assert power over his enemies and the enemies of the Palestinian cause has only one weapon... The Palestinian people.
