But the power struggle between Abbas and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat in recent days gave U.S. officials a glimpse of the difficulties they may face as they try to advance negotiations. Israel is ready to talk to Abbas, and Washington hopes he’ll prove more reliable and more flexible than Arafat. But while Abbas appears to have secured his position as prime minister, Arafat showed this week just how determined he is to maintain power. Omar Karsou, a New York-based Palestinian businessman who heads a group called Democracy for Palestine, is among Arafat’s toughest critics. In this interview with NEWSWEEK’s Dan Ephron, Karsou says Palestinians will get international support for their cause only if they rid themselves of leaders he describes as corrupt and antidemocratic.
NEWSWEEK: Now that Abbas has managed to piece together a cabinet, how big an achievement is this?
Omar Karsou: Well, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. We were among the first people to say that Arafat needs to be kicked upstairs and leave the real authority in someone else’s hands, because in my mind the idea that Arafat controlled everything was antidemocratic and morally wrong. He’s made one mistake after another. There’s only one way out of this for Palestinians. We have to conclude a peace agreement with Israel. And Arafat has been unable to do that.
What about the makeup of the cabinet? Some people have pointed out that Abbas left in place many of the outgoing ministers who were viewed as corrupt or inefficient.
That actually has been disappointing as far as I’m concerned. Especially Mohammed Dahlan. His name has been tarnished. His appointment is mind-boggling. I think Abu Mazen has opted for loyalty over credentials. When you are a Palestinian, you’re basically looking for crumbs right now. And that’s what we’re getting … He’s not the perfect prime minister. He’s not Mr. Clean who was never tarnished with corruption, but this is what we have. And there seems to be universal agreement that the minute we have a prime minister the road map will be published.
You’re hard on Arafat but you have to concede that he was democratically elected. Maybe what he’s done in the last week is legitimate party politics?
Democracy is not just about elections. Elections are only one part of the democratic process. You have to have an open media, an open debate, to give people a chance to form their parties. He was elected in what was basically a one-party system. But more importantly, even if he was democratically elected, his term ran out a couple of years ago. Why didn’t he hold elections again? Would you say the same thing of Bush or Blair if they overstayed their term?
But Israel’s troop presence has created an abnormal situation the West Bank and Gaza.
Occupation does create an abnormal situation. But Palestinian society has been weakened by Arafat’s leadership. These people are supposed to be freedom fighters who devoted their lives to freeing their people but they came back from Tunisia after the Oslo agreement to control the economy and profit from it.
How much credit does Arafat have among Palestinians as a symbol of the struggle for independence?
There’s no doubt that Arafat embodies the Palestinian struggle. But that doesn’t give him the right to hold on to power forever.
You keep focusing on Arafat’s shortcomings. What about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon? Do you view him as a compromiser?
[President Bush] once called him a man of peace. I hope the president knows something I don’t. The record doesn’t reflect that. Do I like him? No. But he is an elected Israeli prime minister. I truly believe we as Palestinians should criticize ourselves. We can only attain our rights if we have a clear message and if we put our house in order. We saw what happened to Iraq just last week. You can never be strong under dictatorship.
What would make Sharon budge?
Sharon is not the only leader in the world. I might be naive but I do strongly believe in international opinion. International pressure can be exerted. Might is not the only right. But this requires the Palestinians to show themselves to be righteous. We are destroying our cause with small childish games.
What kind of games?
Like killing innocent civilians. Like corruption. Corruption is being cited against us for not solving our problem, even though we don’t benefit from it as Palestinians. We’re told that because our leadership is corrupt, we don’t deserve a state. So we’re between a rock and a hard place–Israeli occupation on the one hand and local corruption on the other. There’s an abundance of people criticizing Israeli occupation. We also need Palestinians to talk about the internal matters.
You’re saying Palestinians have trouble being introspective–criticizing their own leaders for their situation. Why is that?
I don’t think Palestinians have a monopoly on this. It’s probably more of an Arab thing. But as Palestinians, we consider this to be a time of war ,and during war you don’t criticize internally. It’s not wrong or right, but this is a natural state.
And your own decision to criticize the Palestinian leadership has made some people view you as an Israeli stooge. How do you defend against this?
It bothers me. But I don’t think the fact that Sharon calls for Palestinian democracy for his own interests makes the cause wrong.
What are your political ambitions?
I have none. I’m a businessman, not a politician. I like to trade in money. To become a politician would force me to look for political contributions and support. I’m not about to do that.
Some of your critics say it’s wrong for you to speak out like this while you’re living abroad, away from Palestinians who struggle day to day.
I lived most of my life in Nablus [in the West Bank]. I left just a year and a half ago. I know every street and most people in the city.
Why did you leave?
The main reason was that I wanted a base to speak out on my issues. But then September 11th happened, and we were all muted because another bunch of thugs stole the cause.
You’ve had a good deal of contact with administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney. How did that come about?
I spoke at different conferences and was invited to meetings. That’s how it started. I’ve had good reception in the White House, the National Security Council, some people in the State Department.
And many of your supporters are in the ideological wing of the administration. Are you a neoconservative?
I passionately believe in our cause as Palestinians. If what I said makes me a neoconservative I’m happy to be that, but most of all I’m Palestinian who believes in Palestinian rights and a two-state solution. And I think it can be done.
