Ha'aretz complains that Israel isn't doing enough to facilitate free and open elections among Palestinians in the territories. In seemingly unrelated news, Avi Dichter predicts that a withdrawal from the Philadelphi route will turn Gaza into "Southern Lebanon," and that the elections will not diminish PA terrorist activities. Mahmoud Abbas, on his end, is trying to get votes by indulging in combative rhetoric against Israel.
There's a lot of posturing in all this rhetoric, but Ha'aretz is right in pointing out that even the appearance that Israel is hindering Palestinian elections would be a public relations disaster. There is no way out of this conflict unless the Palestinians start the work of creating a stable, democratic, and peace-seeking society.
Israel is still committed to a troop pullout ahead of the election and, from what I've been able to find, hasn't interfered much with the voter registration or campaigning process (although the IDF has been pretty ham-handed in its treatment of Mustafa Barghouti). There will be about 700 international observers there on election day, so any interference will be documented, but on the other hand, the Palestinians won't be able to manufacture claims of interference where there is none. Hopefully Israel will be smart enough to stay out of the process.
Posted by: Jonathan Edelstein | January 06, 2005 at 06:13 PM