During a conference organized by PNGO Network: Calls are made for the unification of the Palestinian Legislative Council, activating its role in enacting unified resolutions, and monitoring the performance of the executive power
Representatives of civil and human rights organizations, media officials and parliamentarians called for working hard to unify the Palestinian Legislative Council and to keep it away from political disputes so that it can monitor the performance of the executive and legal authorities and enact laws and regulations governing the lives of citizens and protecting their rights.
They stressed the importance of the independence of local media so that it can play an active role in calling for the unification of the PLC, and also in exposing violations of human rights whether on the local level, or the national level under the occupation authorities which kill, arrest and continue with settlement building, home demolition and judization of Jerusalem.
They called upon political decision makers to ensure the participation of civil society organizations in the decision making process that is of concern the Palestinian public interest so that everyone would bear collective responsibility. They also called for an end to the issuance of division based resolutions and presidential decrees as well as the reconsideration of the 157 presidential decrees adopted by President Mahmoud Abbas during the division period, and the 60 laws enacted by Hamas’s parliamentarian bloc, taking into account rights and justice through a unified PLC.
This came during a conference organized by the PNGO network in Gaza City on Tuesday, January 10th, under the title of "the implications of the Palestinian Legislative Council’s inactivity and the role of NGOs in its unification and activation," which is part of the project Enhancing Civil society role in achieving a unified Justice system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories" In partnership with ‘SAWASYA’ UNDP/UNWOMEN Joint Program: Strengthen the Rule of Law: Justice and Security for the Palestinian people.
In the opening session, PNGO’s board member Dr. Aed Yaghi spoke about the effects of the political division that has been lingering on all aspects of life saying: “the electricity problem, formation of the constitutional court, lifting immunity of MPs, violations of human rights, tightening of the blockade, the increase in the levels of unemployment, poverty and many other phenomena are all manifestations of this division, which require that we all raise our voices to stop the ongoing deterioration.”
Yaghi said PNGO network believes that national unity that is based on democracy and partnership away from exclusion and marginalization is a key condition to investing in diplomatic achievements, stressing that unity, resilience and democracy are important pillars which PNGO network sees necessary in the march toward freedom, equality and justice.
Yaghi expressed his hope for the Palestinian National Council Preparatory Committee meeting held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to come up with resolutions that seriously contribute to ending the division and unifying the Palestinian people.
Wafa al-Kafarneh, project manager of the SAWASYA project at UNDP, thanked PNGO Network for holding the conference and discussing the complications experienced by Palestinians in Gaza Strip which include the blockade, division, poverty and unemployment, in addition to people’s inability to obtain their basic needs in light of the three disabled authorities that only work to serve their own partisan agendas and the agenda of the ruling party.
She also stressed that civil society organizations have an important role in supporting the resilience of Palestinians in Gaza Strip pointing out that they need to unite in order to face the division and its implications. She added that there is a need for investing in leaders, young and women expertise, media officials and academics.
Kafarneh pointed out that during the past ten years of division, a lot of financial support was provided to the besieged people, but in light of the closed crossings, very slow production and the tight blockade, continuous deterioration on all levels was prominent.
The conference was divided into two sessions. The first session was headed by PNGO Network Director, Amjad Shawa and was titled “the reality of the Palestinian Legislative Council in light of the division”. Throughout the first session, three papers were presented. The first was titled “impact of the PLC’s inactivity on the reality of the most vulnerable sectors in the Palestinian Society” which was presented by Director of the Women Affairs Technical Committee Nadia Abu Nahla. The second paper was titled “the budget in light of the disabled PLC”, presented by Director of Palthink for Strategic Studies Omar Shaaban and the third paper was titled “the role of the PLC in monitoring the executive power in light of the division”, which was presented by PLC member Jamil Majdalawi.
In his opening speech, Shawa said that Palestinian burdens are very large in light of the suffering we are experiencing which includes poverty, high levels of unemployment, blockade, political suffocation and the terrible division. He clarified that the absence of a monitoring role for the PLC has the biggest role in the predominance of the executive power over the rest of the powers.
Shawa also pointed out that the absence of a unified political system plays a negative role in the performance of civil society organizations, stressing that Palestinian civil society organizations continue to play an important role in facing violations of the occupation and pushing for an end to the Palestinian political division.
Shawa confirmed that the civil society organizations will continue their work and will not be defeated in front of the current situation until the goals the people aspire for are achieved.
In her presentation, Abu Nahla said that the division is the darkest and the worst stage in the history of the struggle of the Palestinian people and that it has greatly affected the Palestinian national and social fabric adding that the inactivity of the PLC and the absence of its monitoring role led to the predominance of the executive power over other powers.
She pointed out that under the division, numerous decrees and resolutions have been issued by both sides of the division, Fatah and Hamas. Abu Nahla stressed that these division-based decrees and resolutions in general do not work for improving the conditions of marginalized groups or supporting their rights.
Shaaban pointed out that the general budget is the most important fiscal policy tool which reflects the political and developmental agenda of the government. It is also one of the most important tools of achieving justice and equality among people of the same nation, and it is the tool the state uses to bring justice to marginalized and vulnerable groups through positive discrimination.
He pointed out that the division manifested itself on the budget in the form of having two governments, and thus two budgets and as a result two separate governmental systems.
PLC member, Majdalawi, said that since the beginning, they have tried to take on their mission in the PLC, but there were signs indicating complications the Palestinian Authority has begun to go through with all its components and institutions because of the severe and visible contradictions shown by the results of the elections.
He added that in Gaza, the PLC convenes with the Hamas Bloc, and there are committees formed from the same bloc, but these committees, PLC members, and the entire Hamas Bloc who meet as a legislative council, do not have any authority over the ministers or ministries and that all they can do is meet with deputy ministers to get some clarifications about some points in order to promote their policies and resolutions and defend them, while in the West Bank there is no monitoring role for the PLC.
The second session of the conference titled "Visions towards the unification and activation of the PLC" was chaired by the Director of Culture and Free Thought Association, Mariam Zaqout. In this session, three papers were presented. The first paper, titled "The role of civil society organizations in pressing for the unification of the PLC," was presented by member of the coordinating body for PNGO Network, Mohsen Abu Ramadan. The second paper was presented by Dean of the Faculty of law at the University of Palestine, Dr. Mohammed Abu Saada where the paper was titled “a legal vision to unify and activate the PLC”. The third paper, which was titled “the role of the media in putting pressure for the unification and activation of the PLC”, was presented by journalist Hazem Balousha from the Palestinian Institute for Communication and Development.
In his paper, Abu Ramadan said that the two ruling authorities in Gaza and the West Bank have been enacting laws without the presence or participation of the civil society organizations or even the participation of experts and target groups. He gave the example of the law of social security, where it was important to have all those concerned and targeted by the law get involved in discussing it.
He added that in the general budget, the portion for social and service sectors such as health, education and agriculture and other sectors does not go over 21%, while the security sector gets almost 60% of the budget. This shows that the governments do not care about the living conditions of Palestinians or the marginalized and poor groups.
On the legal issue, Abu Saada said that the topic of this conference reflects the importance of the role of the PLC, because its presence and activation will mean that there is control over the performance of the executive power, and the enactment of laws governing the lives of citizens in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but only after its unification and convening with all its components and parliamentary blocs.
He stressed that the current PLC has lost its legitimacy since the beginning of its term 10 years ago, pointing that the law won’t be effective unless the rule of law principle is applied both internationally and locally. Anything other than that will remain in the framework of excuses, wasting time and not applying the law because the rule of law in itself is the goal and there is no room for improvising.
In his speech, Ba’loush said that Palestinian media, with all its components, is undergoing a difficult stage just as the rest of the Palestinian society. He added: "The General Palestinian situation is clearly reflected on the different media methods, including new social media."
He explained that the sharp division in the political reality was largely reflected on the situation of the Palestinian media adding that journalists and sources of local media took sides with the different parties of the dispute and internal conflict. He pointed out that the division of the PLC is a pure political division between the two main parties that dominate the PLC, the political reality and the ruling regimes in both the West Bank and Gaza.