A German-educated engineer, Al Hassan has opposed military struggle and suicide attacks for decades. He was also once a vehement opponent of both Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and the Oslo accords that were supposed to bring peace to the region. Last October, however, Arafat named him interior minister–and the official responsible for overhauling Palestinian security forces–in a cabinet shuffle that followed strong American and Israeli pressure for Palestinian Authority reforms.
Al Hassan’s next position–at least according to some Middle Eastern analysts–could be as prime minister to Arafat’s president in a new Palestinian state. The minister’s personal wealth has given him a reputation for incorruptibility; he is respected by American and Israeli officials and he is said to have enormous prestige with many ordinary Palestinians. Others, though, have denounced him as a turncoat for his opposition to suicide bombings. The Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade–a group linked to Arafat Fatah movement–recently distributed a leaflet warning of a “martyrdom” attack if Al Hassan tried to enter Nablus. The pamphlet said Al Hassan had “betrayed the blood of our Fatah martyrs” for criticizing the Jan. 5 suicide bombings that killed 23 people in Tel Aviv. (Al Hassan, determined to show he was not intimidated by the threats, went to the West Bank city, where he met with armed Al Aqsa militia men. A new pamphlet was issued that denounced the previous warning as a forgery.)
Al Hassan is refusing to discuss his talks with the Sharon government. But in a rare interview last week, he spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Samir Zedan about Mideast politics and his desire to bring peace to the region. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returned to office during Israel’s recent election. To what extent do you believe that Palestinian actions contributed to the defeat of the Israeli left?
HANI AL HASSAN: We weren’t surprised that Sharon came back, but we were astonished that the left–Labor and Meretz [parties]–went down. In Fatah, we have established a committee to determine why Israeli society has moved so far to the right. I believe killing Israeli civilians has contributed to it, but it’s not the single reason….The move to the right is also the responsibility of some Israeli politicians. Some leaders feel they don’t have to be integrated into the [Middle East]. The Israeli army is one of the strongest in the world, but Israelis always feel under siege. The normal Israeli citizen always feels afraid. Maybe the history of the Jewish people leads to such a feeling. We, as Palestinians, have to help them move away from that feeling.
Can there be peace with Sharon as prime minister?
Peace in the Middle East is not a regional decision, it’s an international decision. So, does the U.S. want to make peace with Sharon [as Israel’s Prime Minister.] The time is suitable. The Israeli economy is deteriorating every day. I’m sure the Israelis will come to the conclusion that the occupation [of Palestinian territories] can’t guarantee their security. Both sides are ready for peace, a peace of necessity, not just a wish. If the U.S. wants to establish peace here, maybe Sharon is the man to convince a majority of Israelis to go toward peace. We Palestinians are ready for peace.
Why has the Cairo dialogue between Fatah and the militant Hamas movement failed?
The problem is with them [Islamists] because they have an ideological line and not a political line. Ideologies only end when one finishes off the other. We are trying to develop the Islamic side, so that they adopt a political line. That’s the aim of the [Cairo] dialogue. Right now, the outcome is not known. They have promised to give their answer in about 10 days-after [the Muslim festival of] Eid.
How can you prevent Israel taking advantage of a war in Iraq to crack down on the Palestinians?
The question should be what the United States, supported by Europe, will do to protect the Palestinians. [Israeli chief of staff Moshe] Yaalon is waiting for the Iraqi war in order to finish the war against the Palestinians. [On Feb. 6] I told the [Palestinian] Legislative Council that there is a typhoon coming to the area in the form of an American Iraqi war. It won’t only affect Iraq. For that reason we hope we will develop new ideas with the quartet [a diplomatic grouping comprising the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia] on February 17 in London.
Are the United States and Israel are working independently on a new road map to peace in the region?
It wouldn’t surprise us…. Already, they have changed the road map three times. The road map in its first version gives both sides something to do. Now Israel wants us to start while they look on. It’s always Israel’s escape route. But if the United States really wants a state by 2005, the way is there. There are peacekeeping forces all over the world. Why aren’t international forces accepted in the West Bank and Gaza? We are ready to have these forces all over our land as long as they are there to implement a Palestinian state.
The majority of Israelis supported the peace process before the second intifada began 28 months ago. Now Palestinians are seen as the aggressors.
Doesn’t it make you laugh when the side that loses 4,000 is [said to be] the aggressor and the one that did the killing is not responsible? The Palestinians didn’t choose armed struggle. During the first month after Sharon went to al-Aqsa [a visit to a holy Muslim site in Jerusalem that is widely blamed for restarting the intifada] Israel killed 107 and two Israelis died. Yet there were no suicide attacks….I believe the Israeli army killed [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin because they were against a peace treaty; they want a security treaty, not a peace treaty. Mofaz wants to stay in the West Bank while the Palestinian security should work under Israeli domination. That’s why [the Israelis] escalated [the conflict.]
But sympathy for the Palestinian cause deteriorated in the United States because of the intifada.
That is in the United States only, in Europe it is different. U.S. support fell after Sept. 11, but our popularity in the United States was never high. After Sept. 11 a new enemy–Islamic terrorism–was created and it created political trouble for the Palestinians. There are regional forces in the area that are against a solution, so they want to destroy the Palestinian authority and the political solution. Whenever Sharon was about to visit the U.S., they planned a big murderous suicide bombing [inside Israel]. That influenced American policy and public opinion.
We are against anyone who wants to shift the fight from the West Bank to Israel. We are against any operation inside Israel. We are against killing any civilian. A lot of money is coming from outside to kill Israeli civilians and we refuse that in spite of Israel’s killing of Palestinian civilians.
Where is that money coming from?
I do not want to name countries involved because we will have more trouble with them…. Israeli children have been killed, but [dozens more] Palestinian children have been killed. I want to say to the American people that we Palestinian people have chosen peace. Armed struggle is not to our benefit, it’s not our strategy and it’s not in our interest. We would like to coexist with Israel and are ready for a partnership with Israel and a common concept for security. But since they killed Rabin we don’t have a partner. We are ready to forget the past and our formula is that if Israel ends occupation, Israel’s security will be assured.
The United States and Israel say that Yasir Arafat is irrelevant. Do you think that Arafat will eventually create a prime minister’s position that would allow him to serve as more as a figurehead in the role of president?
What they are asking us is to cut off our head before they deal with us. It’s not a reasonable demand. Arafat made the peace and everyone knows his role in the Oslo [peace] process and how he shifted from armed struggle to peace.
We don’t like Sharon, but after the Israeli election we have to accept him. Arafat has said that if there is an election for a [Palestinian] state we will have a [government with] a president and prime minister. [But] on the prime ministership, we don’t allow ourselves to discuss something that is not there… We are ready to shift [from the American political system] to the Egyptian or the French system. Offer us a state, we will go to elections and elect a prime minister.
