Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The State of Palestinian Governance

In August 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and forcibly evicted Jewish settlers. Israel was criticized for this by Jews and Arabs alike.

In June 2007, elections were held in the Gaza, and Hamas won, although the legitimacy of the election is disputed. Be that as it may, the terrorist organization, Hamas promptly evicted the vanquished Palestinian Authority to the disputed territories of Judea and Sumaria, more commonly known as the West Bank. It is more accurate to say that Hamas won a civil war in Gaza than to credit with an electoral win. In no way, can the so-called election be considered a victory for democracy.

The Palestinian Authority, dominated by the terrorist organization formerly known as the PLO, are the same people who invented airplane hijacking and who ripped off their constituents to make Yassar Arafat fabulously wealthy.

Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza, rockets have rained down on Israel from Gaza continuously. Hamas does not dispute that its goal is to destroy Israel, and any peace treaty that may be arrived at is seen by them as a first step towards that goal.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority held elections and Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party became President. However, his term has expired and there is no legitimate leader of the Palestinian Authority, which has re-named itself the Palestinian National Authority. Abbas clings to power by the conceit of refusing to convene Palestinian Legislative Council on the transparent pretense that there are not enough people to constitute a legislative body.

In April 2011, Fatah and Hamas came to an agreement which allowed Hamas to join in the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and calling for elections within a year. If the coalition of Fatah and Hamas can hold together until the elections they will surely have a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council. In other words, the proposed Palestinian state will be governed for a coalition that includes members who make no secret of their desire to destroy a member state of the U.N.

To review: Abbas is not the legitimate leader of the Palestinian National Authority, and the Palestinian National Authority is not the legitimate representatives of the Palestinians living in the disputed territories of the Gaza strip and the West Bank. The application to the United Nations for recognition as a state does not refer to recognized boarders but does include a government committed to the destruction of Israel. Of course, the application should be rejected.

Love or Obama or hate him, but give him credit for standing up for Israel at the United Nations and for opposing the idea of rewarding Palestinian intransigence with a state.

“… and tell ’em Big Mitch sent ya!”