‘A revitalized Palestinian Authority” – that is what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling it. His use of language is ethereal. At best, it means absolutely nothing. At worst, it means absolutely nothing.And yet, this new mantra has become “the plan,” as visualized by the United States of America under the leadership of President Joseph Biden, for “the day after” in Gaza and the West Bank.A revitalized PA, the day after the war between Israel and Hamas is over, would put the PA in charge. So, I ask, where’s the change, the improvement, the vision?
Blinken did mention new and free elections and a free and independent press within the Palestinian Authority. In reality, it means putting current PA leadership right back in charge.
ON WEDNESDAY, January 25, 2006, Palestinian Legislative Elections, free elections, were held in the Palestinian Authority including Gaza. Out of the 132 seats in the Palestinian legislature, Hamas won 74, and Fatah (the PLO) won 45 – an overwhelming majority.Hamas politically massacred the PLO.Certainly, elections are important, but understanding democracy and freedom are essential to building blocks leading to elections. Given the situation then and now, there is no doubt that Palestinians would overwhelmingly cast their ballot for Hamas.One of the most significant reasons Israel is embroiled in its current war with Hamas today is the 2006 free popular election.Here was the mistake: non-democratic parties must not be permitted to run for office in a fledgling democratic society. And the reason is simple: if they win, they will suspend democracy. That is exactly what Adolf Hitler did after he was democratically elected in Germany. In early 1933, almost immediately after assuming the position of German chancellor, Hitler quickly passed the Enabling Act. Hitler ended democracy only a few years after Germany became a democracy.Many democracies prevent anti-democratic parties from standing for elections. Israel does. Racist parties are banned from running in elections. For obvious reasons, Germany has very strict laws about this as well.In 2006, Hamas should have never been permitted to run. Neither should the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which won three seats. Democracy must defend itself, especially in fledgling new environments.Dictators reject elections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was elected in January 2006 for the first and last time. It has been almost 18 years, and Abbas has repeatedly delayed elections. He even removed a duly elected Hamas prime minister and installed his own; he could not permit Hamas to control the Palestinian parliament. While Hamas should never have been able to run in the first place, Abbas ended democracy.Should “a revitalized PA” come to pass, none of the old guards can be allowed to be up for election. They represent – they embody, they symbolize – the anti-democratic PA regime.A free election will succeed only after people are taught about equal protection under the law, minority rights, and an independent judiciary, to name a few. Only when those running for office believe in the concept of free elections can it work. Only after they are educated, strong, and willing to stand for true democracy can it happen. At this point, the pool of PA candidates is woefully small.The writer is a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS.