Do the Palestinians know their organization?

Logo of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (Al Jazeera)

Does anyone know who is the representative of the General Union of Palestine Students in the Palestinian National Council? Personally, I tried years ago to find out but was unable to. I asked members of the National Council and did not find an answer. They told me things like that the last elections for this union took place in 1992, and that consensual restructuring processes took place, or are happening, and that through them people - who are now in their fifties - have reached the seats of the union, and even the National Council. I asked the last elected president of this union, who is an ambassador who is about to retire now, and he said: He handed over the secretariat and resigned a long time ago.

Young people with whom I discussed the importance of commitment to the Palestine Liberation Organization say: “You are talking about something we do not know,” and “We do not remember anything about it until we are careful about it,” and “The majority of the Palestinian people under the age of thirty have not experienced anything tangible related to it,” but they say; We desperately need an organization that brings us together.

Double jeopardy

The speech of these young people seems understandable, when we remember that the Palestinian National Council has not met in a real regular regular session since 1991 except once in 2018, in addition to the session to amend the Charter in 1996, which had a special status. In any case, it is unthinkable for the Council not to meet. The Palestinian National Council in thirty-three years excepted two or three times, the primary goal of which was to fill the vacancies of the Executive Committee and the vacancies of the office of the Presidency of the Palestinian National Council that occurred; Due to death, illness and dismissal. Therefore, it is natural that the organization is outside the minds of young people, unlike the older generations.

The status of representatives of the General Union of Students applies to representatives of all professional and popular unions. There are no published lists of the names of all representatives of the federations, the date of the last elections held in which they were elected, and how many of the new generation (under the age of 30) are in these federations, as members at least?

You are browsing the Palestinian National Council website, but you do not find the names of its members. About fifteen years ago. The question is why are the names not announced in a clear place?

There is no alternative to the Palestine Liberation Organization, nor to an official Palestinian National Council representing the Palestinian people. The PLO cannot and must not be allowed to be bypassed, as the only legitimate representative, as it is the national Palestinian entity that must and can unite the energies of the Palestinian people around the world and mobilize their forces towards liberation, return, steadfastness, construction, protection, and legitimacy.

But if its National Council and its Central Council are not held regularly - and the membership of this Council is not renewed in accordance with the approved statute, or according to mechanisms approved by the Council, or according to a true national consensus, which the Council later approves, as it is the highest national authority, and it is the authority of the Executive Committee of the organization, and it is the one who He elects this committee, he is the one who changes it, and he holds its members accountable, including its chairman - the danger threatening the Palestinian entity is double.

It is not true that factional division prevents the activation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, prevents the National Council from convening, or prevents the renewal of its membership, especially in a circumstance such as the genocide that the Palestinian people are currently going through.

Popular conferences

The Palestinian National Council needs an amendment to its statute; To review the method of its formation. This matter was the subject of a factional discussion in which the main factions from inside and outside the organization participated, but nothing of what was agreed upon was implemented.

However, even in the current system of the Council, the Council’s membership can be renewed, and this system may even eliminate the need for factional consensus. In other words, there is no need to wait for the “Hamas” or “Islamic Jihad” movement to agree on something or to impose conditions on the organization. The basic system of the organization It includes, for example, broad representation of professional and popular unions, and these can and must hold elections, renew their membership, and determine their new representatives in the National Council, according to a transparent mechanism.

It can be taken for granted that electing members of the Palestinian Legislative Council to the National Authority is not possible. Because of Israel's refusal to allow elections to be held in Jerusalem, but what prevents the organization's membership and leadership from being renewed democratically, as was happening over decades, before the establishment of the Authority?

Why are there not public and public student, professional, and popular conferences held, as was done during the time of underground work? The representatives of these unions are members of the National Council, and anyone, from a faction or not, can participate in the elections of these bodies, so there is no mechanism of controversy. Entry of new factions is ongoing.

Student elections are held in the universities of the West Bank with a relative degree of regularity, and there are student forces in different countries in the world to organize student work, some of which are under the banner of the General Union of Palestine Students (the organization’s union), and some of which are separate from it, and this separation is not a protest or a split as much as it is a result. The absence of the Union, its institutions and representatives.

New powers

There are Palestinian activities everywhere, so what prevents the organization of general sectoral conferences, for doctors, for example, in which they discuss how to alleviate the health situation in the Gaza Strip and Palestine, and elect their new offices?

What prevents the student councils in Palestinian universities from forming the nucleus of a conference to which the Palestinian student sectors and student unions in the world are invited (as guests)? To discuss, first, the activation of global student work in supporting Palestine and its cause, and second, the election of representatives and permanent offices for Palestinian student work, including their representatives. In the Palestinian National Council. In addition to setting a vision for the exclusion of forces that no longer exist, such as some factions that no longer have a presence, and the introduction of new forces such as boycott campaigns, divestment, and others.

There is no debate about the legitimacy and status of the Palestine Liberation Organization, but debate is allowed about its leadership and leadership style. In the event that the PLO itself does not begin to mobilize energies and close ranks, organizing other conferences to fill the void and national mobilization will become a matter of time.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.