Syria's recognition of a Palestinian state:
End of relations with Hamas and the radical wing of the PLO?
By Pinhas Inbari
Last week, the Syrian government issued a low level announcement in which it recognized the state of Palestine along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. In 'ordinary' times, such a proclamation would have solicited a strong reaction due to the fundamental change in Syria's historic positions. This time, however, it went almost unnoticed as most commentators understood that the Palestinian problem was no longer a top priority for Damascus, as much as the very survival of its regime. It is important to understand that this proclamation, issued as a statement on behalf of the Syrian foreign ministry, was yet another diplomatic maneuver aimed at rescuing the Syrian government from its current internal duress.
According to the fundamental dogma of the ruling Baath party, which, according to the Syrian constitution is the leader of the country, there are no legitimate borders in the Middle East. All the existing borders are fake and 'imperialist', imposed on the Arabs by the Sykes-Picot Agreement that artificially dissected Arab lands into tiny states better controlled by the West. Hence, the Baath ideology not only does not recognize Palestine, but Syria proper, as reflected in its formal name 'al-Qutur a-Suri' (The Syrian Province). Thus, the Syrian statement can be understood as readiness to waive the Baathist ideology as the only reference for internal reforms and recognize the Palestinian separate identity embodied by the government in Ramallah, as required by Western powers.
That is the manner in which Hamas understood the Syrian statement. In a piece published in Hamas' chat room The Palestinian Dialogue Forum, it was said that the Syrian statement reflects a desire to divorce Palestinian "rejectionist" groups – Hamas included – because they did not support the regime during its troubles and preferred to resort to "lukewarm" or "neutral" positions.
According to this piece, Khaled Mash'al, Hamas' leader residing in Syria, is about to visit Cairo later this week in order to discuss moving Hamas headquarters there. This move would mean the softening of Hamas' positions in all matters on the agenda, including the reconciliation with Fatah. Although it is still too early to tell, Iran would not easily let Mash'al move to the Egyptian sphere of influence.
Among the pro-Syrian supporters in Lebanon, this announcement triggered surprise and uneasy reactions. Pro-Syrian figures such as Lebanon's former Prime Minister Salim al-Huss, began asking questions about the issue of Palestinian refugees once the state of Palestine is recognized along 1967 borders. What would this mean in terms of the right of return to their homes? Similarly, radical groups may now wonder what might be the fate of the principle of 'resistance', which bestows legitimacy on attacks on Israel proper, such as the launch of missiles from the Gaza strip, now that the Palestinian claim has been officially delineated along 1967 borders?
According Palestinian Authority sources, the Syrian declaration was triggered by the meeting of the Arab League's foreign ministers committee that convened last week in Qatar's capital, Doha. The reason for the session was the PLO's request that the Arab states submit the application for Palestinian statehood to the UN. While the Arabs agreed, the overall mood was not in favor of the statehood bid, but rather against it. The spirit of the meeting did not signal the launch of a full-fledged statehood campaign, but a way for Mahmoud Abbas to climb down from atop the tree of demands that have led the PA to a dead end.
Also according to PA sources, at one point the other Arab nations asked the Palestinians if they would accept their opinion about endorsing a formula to renew negotiations, in case the bid for statehood failed. Abu Mazen repeated his conditions of the 1967 'borders' and Obama's principles, and then proceeded to challenge his Arab brethren, saying that at least they were obliged to recognize Palestinian statehood along the 1967 borders. Therein Abbas exposed the crux of the problem: no Arab state has yet to adopt the positions they are supposed to present at the United Nations in September. This fact gave Syria the idea to embarrass the Arab states, and Qatar especially, by being the first, or the only state to do so. [The Arab states recognized the PLO's declaration of independence in 1988, which greatly differs from the current bid, as it does not include the principle of 1967 borders.]
Syria's declaration recognizing a Palestinian state could have been a dramatic shift in the hard-line dogmatic pan Arab state's history had it been announced under 'normal' circumstances. Now, many express doubt in its merit and importance. Nevertheless, it appears to have rattled Hamas in its already shaky status within the evermore unstable Syrian regime.
