On June 27, 2002, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy held a special full-day seminar on reforming the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Among the seminar's participants were Ziad Abu Amr, chairman of the Political Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC); Dr. Abu Libdeh, director of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and professor at Bir Zeit University; and Dr. Shikaki, associate professor of political science at Bir Zeit University and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah.  It is encouraging to hear voices for change from leaders in the Palestinian community.  Whether those voices will be successful remains to be seen.  Following are selected sections of the June 27th presentations. For additional excerpts, visit www.washingtoninstitute.org.

The Need for Accountability:
Ziad Abu Amr

Citing a recent speech given by Yasir Arafat to the PLC on the importance of reform, Abu Amr said, "For the first time, he acknowledged that there were mistakes, but he takes responsibility, something I personally did not like because this meant from the very start, suppressing the process of accountability and actual reform. The idea of the president was, 'Okay, there were mistakes. We close the files. We start afresh.' That was not acceptable."

PLC Response:
"We asked for a change of government. We asked [Arafat] to sign the Basic Law. The Basic Law was not then signed, and we asked him to sign all pending laws, and not only to sign laws, but to make sure that these laws are implemented because signing laws is one thing. Implementing them and respecting them is another. And all along, we have been having a problem of not implementing laws or respecting the rule of law.

"With regard to elections, the president did not issue a decree...with specific dates, and we need specific dates, and we need a decree because there is a great deal of work that needs to be done, if the elections are to be conducted in January. Time is running out."

Broadening Palestinian Electoral Participation:
"...In order to allow for the formation of parliamentary blocs, we need to open the system and allow for the participation and representation of political groups who have so far been excluded..." This is bound to create a meaningful opposition, and if we have meaningful opposition, then the president will no longer be able to co-opt the Council the way he has been able to do all along.

Changing the Cabinet
"Also, how do you do reform without accountability? In eight years since the establishment of the PA, not one single Palestinian senior official was questioned or held accountable, or tried for failures, misdoings, abuse of public funds, public office -- you name it, violations of the law. And we demanded that this time, we want accountability. We are not going to let people come and become new ministers or accept the new government without exercising some accountability."

Palestinian Political and Economic Reform
Hassan Abu Libdeh

Why Reform?
"While Palestinians should embark on a reform process guarded by Palestinian interests and internal conditions, Israel, with all the might and influence it has on the country, may play a determining role in the Palestinian infrastructure, good governance, and alter the current mode of governance. With current realities at hand, it is only logical to ask whether a political, social, and security situation on the ground permits for a genuine reform agenda in the absence of a roadmap to Palestinian independence.

"On the other hand, reform should be embarked upon as the only means for survival of Palestinian aspirations. The apparent conditioning of resumption in the peace process on reform and changes of leadership in the PA will likely backfire and lead to further deterioration on the ground. For a typical Palestinian, reform should be seen as the most proper means for empowerment and enhancing personal security and the standard of living -- not as a response to conditions set by external pressure. The suggested framework for reform will have to be in response to internal needs, while taking into consideration commitments set out by the interim agreement with Israel..."

Political Reform
"One of the major weaknesses of the Palestinian cabinet is the fact that it does not meet. They meet every week for three hours, but they never discuss issues relating to governance and the work of the government. There is a great mix-up between the role of the cabinet as overlooking the interests of the people, and the program of development...and the fact that this cabinet deals with issues relating to the political context of the relationship with Israel and negotiations...and the government is left without any directions or guidance to follow.

"A primary step in the reform process should be a genuine and comprehensive review of government conduct, perceived mandates, and programs in relation to needs and potentials, efficiency, track records, the ability to respond to needs, and service orientation. The PA should also work toward following up on ratified laws in order to make them applicable, and this is extremely important. It is not enough for the president to sign laws. It is not really enough for the Legislative Council to ratify laws. Ratifying and signing them does not mean application of these laws.

"There is a culture of not applying laws in [Palestine]. Many of the laws that have been ratified and signed are still sitting there, not being practiced. And not only the basic law -- we are speaking of the most recent, just before the intifada -- the labor law was ratified, but it was never put into application. So, signing laws is not enough in this regard..."

How to Advance Reforms
"In the meantime, the PA has to launch a rigorous campaign within the Palestinian public in support of peaceful means of expression. I think one of our problems is that up to this point, officially, the PA has not led in the efforts of convincing the public, or leading the public, influencing the public opinion that we have agreements, and probably some activities could take place, but they have to be through peaceful means. The PA is neutral in this regard...

The Rationale for Palestinian Reform
Khalil Shikaki

Why Do Palestinians Need Reform?
"First and foremost, every political system needs legitimacy, and the search for legitimacy has been one that every Palestinian, at one time or another, wanted to address...If we agree on the nature of the legitimacy that we would like to use as a source for governance, then it becomes easier to determine what kind of priorities we need. Should that source of legitimacy be the PLO legacy? Or should it be the will of the people and elections, statebuilding in the normal sense, like any other country? Palestinians have not yet made that choice...

Old Guard vs. Young Guard
"We need strong institutions because we want to build our economy. We've failed to do that. We want to provide security, for us and the Israelis. We've failed to do that. We want [a] strong judiciary so that we can have rule of law, so that business can come and invest. We've failed to do that...The intifada, as I believe, weakened tremendously . . . and marginalized the old guard and has led to the creation of a new leadership. It's a de facto leadership. The next elections, I believe, will basically institute this change. The old guard will be out, and the new guard will be in."