Monday, May 4, 2015

Palestinians Need Reforms, Not Elections

Gatestone Institute
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Palestinians Need Reforms, Not Elections

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  May 4, 2015 at 5:00 am
  • Jimmy Carter, Brundtland and their friends in the "Elders Group" are actually calling on Abbas and Fatah to commit political suicide by paving the way for another Hamas victory.
  • Carter, possibly wishing to believe anything he was told, declared that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was a strong proponent of the peace process. His defense of Hamas comes even as Hamas and its leaders continue to talk about their plans and wishes to destroy Israel, as they dig new tunnels and rebuild others that were destroyed in the Gaza Strip by Israel in the war less than a year ago.
  • Free and democratic elections are the last thing the Palestinians need now. Such elections would only pave the way for a Hamas takeover and plunge the region into chaos and violence.
  • Instead of pressuring the Palestinians to hold new elections, world leaders should be demanding accountability and transparency from the Palestinian Authority.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter hugs and kisses Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as they meet in Ramallah on May 2, 2015. Carter said the same day that he did not ask to meet Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel and the PA, because "it would be a waste of time to ask." (Image source: PA President's office)
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has recently come under pressure from Western governments and politicians to hold long overdue elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But those who are demanding that the Palestinians hold another free and democratic election are ignoring the possibility that Hamas will once again win the vote.
The PA leadership in the West Bank is well aware of Hamas's strong chance of winning the election. That is why PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah faction are not enthusiastic about the idea.
Abbas and Fatah have yet to recover from the trauma of the January 2006 parliamentary election, which resulted in a victory for Hamas and the subsequent expulsion of the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip.

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