The significance of the connection between Palestinian civil
society organizations and the various peace programs stems from the
centrality and presence of these organizations in all aspects of
Palestinian life - financial, social, developmental, political, and
cultural. Thanks to the vital role they played, they were a
fundamental component in the Palestinian national movement,
impacting on the course of Palestinian history. How effective this
role was manifested itself repeatedly in the way these
organizations dealt with the various crises the Palestinian people
have faced, especially the measures and policies of the continued
Israeli occupation.
The Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cover 70
percent of service-provision to the occupied areas, including to
marginalized sectors and groups. Over 65 percent offer development
services; more than 60 percent are engaged in awareness-building
and social education; and close to 36 percent are involved in the
promotion of institution-building and human resources development.
Their contribution in food-provision to Palestinian families came
close to 20 percent in 2004, compared to no more than 23 percent on
the part of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in spite of
the fact that, between 1994 and 2004, the share of these
organizations from external funding to the Palestinian areas did
not exceed 8 percent compared to the 87 percent received by the
PNA.
Such an achievement has enhanced the presence and legitimacy of the
NGOs in the fields of social and political struggle, which is
reflected in the growing confidence these organizations are
enjoying among the Palestinian population. The many public opinion
polls carried out indicate that the level of confidence in NGOs
exceeds 50 percent in contrast to the loss of confidence in the PNA
and the private sector. The surveys also show that the proportion
of the contribution of NGOs in the building and consolidation of
Palestinian society amounts to 55 percent in contrast to 45 percent
by the PNA. The fact is that many NGOs are deeply attuned to the
needs and priorities of the Palestinian population, and tend to
promote their latent creative powers and to strengthen grass-roots
participation. Forty-eight percent of NGOs are engaged in this area
as opposed to 34 percent of PNA institutions.
The Establishment and Development of Palestinian NGOs
Historically, the rise of Palestinian NGOs is closely tied to the
developments on the political scene, and they remained an important
subsidiary to the national struggle, with the political parties
serving as their backbone. Thus the NGOs have played a crucial role
in confronting the British Mandate, the Balfour Declaration and the
Zionist project with its various facets, and the successive
occupations. The receding role of the parties during the 1950s and
the1960s led in turn to a diminished presence of the NGOs.
Subsequent developments on the ground brought back these
organizations to the fore as they embraced the struggle against the
Israeli occupation. In the 1980s, an extra dimension was introduced
predicated on the concept of growth or development for the sake of
steadfastness. The strengthening of the relationship between the
political-national and the social-democratic was reflected in the
strategies and visions of the NGOs. It helped them stand in the
face of the political agendas of funders and to greatly minimize
their influence on the NGOs programs and orientations.
It is worth noting that the conditions of the establishment of
Palestinian NGOs and their experience distinguish them from their
counterparts in the Arab world and many other parts of the world.
The Palestinian NGOs have experienced divergences in their
positions, roles and visions. Some arose from their conception of
the cause-effect relationship between developments and changes in
Palestinian society, the fast-growing social mobility and the
implications these had on new social, political and democratic
configuration. Others were internal issues inherent to the
organizations that led to discrepancies vis-à-vis many
national and democratic questions, as well as the substance and
objectives of current international developments.
Among the most salient issues and indicators of
divergence:
a. The presence of a democratic structure pertaining to the
internal life of the organizations and their relationship with the
recipients;
b. The extent of the continuity of the national objectives of
liberation and the organic ties between liberation and the
social-democratic components as a frame of reference for these
organizations;
c. The level of adaptation of these organizations to the political
and developmental agendas of the funders and their conditions and
priorities. Also, the position of the organizations regarding
progressive social values, their place within the context of the
political and democratic alliances and orientations, as well as
their position regarding secularization and its damaging
effects;
d. The degree of authenticity of the national factor and the
experience of the organizations in interacting and dealing with
international concepts and understandings in order to forge their
strategies and programs.
The Present Condition of NGOs
The present condition of NGOs can be viewed as part of the general
process of transformation within Palestinian society and as an
important mechanism within that process. In spite of the apparent
differences between the traditional conservative organizations and
the new progressive ones, the following facts can be noted:
* Both types are still influenced to a large extent by the same set
of traditional values regarding performance and general mental
attitude. In addition, the position of both types still revolves
within the general parameters of the national liberation
program.
* The relationship between the traditional and the progressive is
characterized in the case of most organizations by the fact that it
is largely based on pragmatism and utilitarianism rather than on
genuine partnership in matters pertaining to the national
project.
* There is a current of realism among many of the Palestinian NGOs
to go beyond the relief-provision aspect and to deal with social
development through the empowerment of their constituencies and the
strengthening of their potentials.
* The concepts of democratic and social developmental action on a
grass-roots level are not yet well entrenched among most of the
NGOs due to the failure of these organizations to internalize those
concepts and mechanisms.
* The shortcomings inherent in an important part of Palestinian
civil society organizations and the extent of their acquiescence to
traditional sets of value, which is evident in the mode of their
internal functioning, which has impeded their capacity to effect
any serious democratic changes within the general social
context.
* Many of the agendas of sources of funding have negatively
influenced a good number of these NGOs, weakening their impact in
the consolidation of social and economic democracy. They have also
been instrumental in eliminating the role of popular democracy
which was embodied in the national struggle against the occupation
and supplanting it through funding with examples of a sham
democracy based on liberalism, market economy and elitism. The
pressure by donors has led to a disconnection between the
national-political, on the one hand, and the social-economic, on
the other, for the purpose of marginalizing these organizations and
the volume of their contribution towards the realization of the
political and national project. According to one study, only 6
percent of NGOs encompass within their program a national and
democratic content against 27 percent that are geared towards
relief and charitable activities.
* The predominant approach regarding the internal structure of the
majority of these NGOs is a continued coexistence both in vision
and action between the traditional organizations and the new
progressive ones. That said, there is a definite tendency among
many of the organizations to respond to the necessities of good
internal governance in order to better face the new
challenges.
In spite of the above-mentioned indicators, reflecting a struggle
on the general NGO scene between tradition and modernity, the
private and the societal, the national and the foreign, a number of
organizations have managed to avoid such conflict. Prominent among
these is the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) that
grew from the depth of the Palestinian rural areas. Together with
some other organizations, PARC's modus operandi is a participatory
one based on the mobilization of the latent potentials of their
constituencies and on an active interaction with the rural
population, serving thus as a model of bottom-up democracy in those
areas. These organizations have stood fast in the face of the
pressures of conditional funding and have become a good example of
resisting political and social agendas that go counter to
Palestinian priorities and the national projects.
NGOs and Political Parties
Since their inception, the Palestinian NGOs have been an important
component in the evolution of the Palestinian question and the
crystallization of Palestinian political life. The increasing
complexity of the Palestinian problem led to the expansion of the
parameters of the national struggle which has enhanced the position
and role of the parties and political forces and with them, but on
a lesser scale, the civil society sector. When the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip came under occupation rule, the Palestinian national
movement grew and solidified and its connection with and
mobilization of the population deepened. This was the main
characteristic of the left wing. The rise of national and popular
movements led to the retreat of a good part of the traditional
organizations that had failed to keep up with this development due
to their stratified and tribal structure. Instead new movements
came into being which had leftist social tendencies and which had
been the popular arms of active leftist parties.
With the occupied territories moving at the heart of the
Palestinian national struggle, the other factions of the
Palestinian national movement began establishing parallel and rival
civil organizations which often led to inconsistencies and
divergences among the new organizations and institutions. The
active role played by the popular institutions and civil
organizations during the intifada of 1987 as extensions to the
political parties drew the attention of the international community
on both official and popular levels. This marks the beginning of a
serious attempt on the part of the international community to
contain the new developments on the scene of the Palestinian
national struggle, and funding represented the most notable tool of
this containment procedure. All this was taking place in the
absence of an independent sovereign Palestinian state and without
the complete achievement of the national aims of liberation. It
continued even after the signing of the Oslo agreement which, in
effect, did not produce any crucial change except the establishment
of the PNA as an administrative bureaucratic body.
The new unfolding of events gave rise to conflicts between the
political parties and the organizations and institutions. This
meant that the line of struggle with the occupation moved inwardly
and led to a rift between civil society organizations and those of
the PNA. This state of affairs has been having its ups and downs up
to the present, with some notable consequences:
* A reduction in the ceiling of the mandate and activities of many
of civil society organizations to the narrow social and
occupational spheres, the consequent erosion of their role, and the
disintegration of their historical connection with their allies the
political parties;
* An attempt on the part of some of these organizations to
incorporate the political parties or to attract some of them and
have them comply with the demands of the funders' agendas;
* The increase in the adoption by many NGOs of the discourse and
values of secularization, whose aim is the stunting of political
life and the undermining of the bases of sovereignty.
* Changes among some civil organizations regarding their frameworks
and their ideological and developmental references which led to
shifts in their relationship with political parties and
factions.
* A diminishing in the legitimacy of many of the organizations
emanating from their connection with the parties and political
forces for the sake of a legitimacy derived from external funding
sources and, similarly, the beginning of a growing legitimacy among
some civil society organizations based on relations with the PNA,
especially after the passing of Yasser Arafat.
NGOs and the Political Order
Based on the developments and changes in the relations between
Palestinian NGOs and political life, there is a clear indication of
a tendency towards independence and flexibility based on the
perception of power by the NGOs, as well as on their reputation and
legacy in building popular and democratic movements and social
frameworks. As a result, a number of NGOs have decided to
disengaged from the political parties, especially the leftist ones,
and went on to forge election alliances underpinned by a liberal
base representative of the new trends of NGO actors. This election
alliance participated in the Palestinian presidential elections and
it looks like it is preparing for the legislative elections as
means of sharing in the new Palestinian political system. Some
other Palestinian NGOs have taken another approach towards
partaking in the political system through restructuring and
strengthening their connection with the political parties and
supporting their candidates in the presidential elections. Although
this did not achieve the desired results, it has reinforced the
importance of forming partnerships and alliances based on parity
and symmetry within the framework of political and ideological
references geared towards freedom, justice, equality and genuine
democracy.
Experience shows that the political transparency of organizations
and civil societies weakens their capacity to withstand the
pressure of secularization and, specifically, pressures by funders
with their mounting conditions aimed at creating secularized groups
whose only connection with their nations would be through
international monopolies. For the Palestinian NGOs to safeguard
their continued existence which derives its legitimacy from the
Palestinian people, it is incumbent upon them to reevaluate and
rebuild their alliances on bases of popular, national, and
democratic partnership. This way they can expand and galvanize the
forces of change while preserving the basic components of the
national agenda and working towards the achievement of
independence.
Civil Society Organizations and the Peace Projects
The positions of Palestinian civil and civic organizations
regarding the various peace projects - beginning with the
Palestinian peace initiative, to the Road Map and Sharon's plan of
disengagement - follow the same measures and divergences pertaining
to other topics, albeit to a lesser degree, given the sensitive
nature of national questions as they are the raison d'être of
these organizations. Although disagreements exist regarding matters
of details, the majority of NGOs support the Palestinian peace
process which was ratified in Algiers in 1988, with the exception
of organizations and civil groups connected with political Islam -
whose position lately has been drawing closer to the Palestinian
peace program.
Some of these organizations see that the implementation of the Road
Map will lead to the achievement of the Palestinian peace project
while others disagree. Additionally, some organizations consider
Sharon's plan of withdrawal from Gaza as an important stage in the
implementation of the Road Map and, ultimately, the Palestinian
peace process and the national project. A number of organizations
consider normalization with Israel an important and helpful factor
in the realization of the national project.
And there is an important and prominent number of organizations
that consider the Palestinian peace plan as the political project
that will ensure a just and comprehensive solution to the struggle.
These believe that the plan should be carried out within an
international framework that can be reasonably balanced and
even-handed, weakening thereby the American political monopoly in
the solution to the Palestinian problem.
The divergence in opinion among the organizations is a reflection
of the varied positions of the constituencies and actors on the
Palestinian political map. Nevertheless, the consensus of the civil
society organizations on the Palestinian peace process forms the
basis for an increasing agreement across the board of civil and
civic organizations. This could lead to a more conducive atmosphere
for positive interaction in building the bases of ideological,
social and democratic frameworks.