Suddenly, it looked as if war had erupted and the PNA had decided to destroy civil society and its community organisations, especially those that deal with issues of human rights. Suddenly, voices from various media platforms called for the destruction of these human rights organisations and those who stand behind them. The voices accused human rights defenders of involving themselves in politics, before turning round to the donors and accusing them of wasting Palestinian public money by pouring huge resources into these organisations. As things stand at the moment, the PNA is accusing the human rights movement of deception and fraud!

One gets the impression that the PNA has declared this war as part of its national project to destroy the Israeli occupation, liberate the land, by means of eradicating and silencing any opposition. This may be a hasty evaluation of the PNA’s position, because everybody knows that it lacks any effective vision, plan or administration. It is therefore hard to believe that the PNA has come up with a plan specifically aimed at destroying NGOs. Let us not forget that the PNA is made up of a group of individuals who only meet, fleetingly, once a week and are hardly gifted at planning or decision-making. Despite all this, there are people in the PNA who are dissatisfied with NGOs in general and those that deal with human rights in particular.

The latest episode of this story began with the publication of the international report, which alleged that the Palestinian judicial system and the ‘rule of law’ were still very backwards, in spite of the money that has been spent by donors on improving this condition. The Minister of Justice mistakenly directed his riposte against human rights organisations, as though they were the ones to have disregarded Palestinian High Court decisions, or conducted arbitrary arrest campaigns, or tortured prisoners. Perhaps it was the human rights organisations who called for the formation of the State Security Courts which, ironically enough, the Justice Minister himself described as being “like a play in which the accused is a character who has not seen the events of the crime.”  Perhaps the Minister believes that HROs are the reason behind the PNA’s failure to appoint a Supreme Judicial Council, an Attorney General or a Chief Justice, all of which are necessary for the independence of the Judiciary and its separation from the Executive Authority.

Although a Chief Justice and an Attorney General have now been appointed, due to public and international pressure, it would be wrong to think that the judiciary has finally been respected. Far from it, the sweeping generalisations made by the Minister about HROs has harmed the human rights movement and opened the door to further attacks by mercenary writers who have no understanding of patriotism. These writers, in their ‘defence of public funds’, have done nothing but reiterate the same old accusations that they have been making for the past five years. Despite the triviality of their accusations, it is important to respond to them, and Dr Haidar Abd Ashafi, Raji Sourani, Khader Shkierat and Iyad Sarraj have now filed a suit against the people who made them.

The real battle for building a civil society and a democratic state based on the rule of law and the separation of the three authorities is still in its opening stages. There is a very real danger of creating not a democracy but a police state, inspired by false claims of a ‘struggle’ for which they never struggled by people who today claim ownership rights to the homeland and the national project.

I wish to confirm here that the battle is not between the public and the PNA. There are some good people in the PNA, people who firmly believe that the only way forward is to struggle for democracy and the rule of law. This path, however, depends on public awareness of the truth.

Let those who try to stand in its way know that the righteous voice shall prevail, gain momentum and become victorious. The corrupt shall soon be revealed, their documents, memories and statements disclosed. The corruption, which has for so long been camouflaged in the name of the ‘struggle’, shall be revealed. The true struggle shall be pronounced as separate from their crimes, just as the real martyrs and their brethren still incarcerated in prisons have nothing to do with their actions. Those who believe that they will get away with their deception forever should realise that the public is aware of their hidden agendas and dirty games. The public can see their brand new cars, their priceless villas and apartments. The secret bank accounts are coming to light.

It seems ironic that the writers, in their criticism of HROs, chose to completely ignore these facts in their talk about wasting public funds. The public has long known that struggle is an honour that cannot be used as a claim for protection. Let it be known that the NGOs’ success in laying solid foundations for their establishments cannot be blamed for the failure of those of the PNA. Instead of slinging blame, they should look at the reasons for their failure. The Ministry of Justice should do the same, and look at the reasons why the judiciary has so regressed. The Ministry of Health does not claim that the deterioration of its services can be blamed on the NGOs operating in this field.

The basic issue is the great need to organise NGO affairs. The President has still not endorsed the Law for this purpose, because he believes that NGOs should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. This challenges the will of Legislative Council members, who in their final reading decided that NGOs should be kept under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. This could have been resolved to the satisfaction of all, had those who languish under the President’s protection not resorted to using such aggressive tactics. A special ministerial committee was formed to discuss the issue, confirming the need for the Law to be issued. We took the appointment of the Minister for NGO affairs as a sign of good intention, but it should not be used as a way to get around the issuance of the above Law.

Finally, NGOs should also learn a lesson from this episode. They, too, must stand adamant in challenging corruption their institutions, respecting the principles of transparency and accountability, adhering to the public, identifying community needs and submitting to review of themselves, their missions and their visions in order to remain successful. Most important is that NGOs unite in the battle to consolidate democracy and the rule of law.