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Deja vu — Judith Apter Klinghoffer

Judith Apter Klinghoffer

ELECTED HAMAS NOT IN CONTROL OF PA

The most important myth has just been exposed for the farce it is, i.e., that the Hamas leaders elected by the Palestinian people run the Palestinian Authority. They do not. UNELECTED Hamas leaders living in Damascus do.

The kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers was done without the knowledge of the elected PA president, prime minister, cabinet or parliament. Currently, these same people are not in a position to negotiate a prisoner exchange or any other international agreements.

How was the myth of PA ruled by elected Hamas punctured? Read this:

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to send member of the PLO Executive Committee, Taysir Khaled and head of the diplomatic committee at the National Palestinian Assembly, Abdullah Hurani to Damascus in order to hold talks with head of Hamas' politburo Khaled Mashaal, Hamas' leadership and Syrian officials, on Shalit's kidnapping.

In other words, the elected leadership of Hamas needs to negotiate with the unelected leadership to reach an agreement with Israel.

So what?

So plenty! Beyond the legalities involved (and they are important) the arrangement prevents the Palestinian people from influencing the results in a manner populations do in other countries run by elected governments. If Damascus (or its Iranian patrons decide that the Palestinians need to put up with living under siege for the "good" of the Islamist future, they have no choice but to do so.

Please, do not throw public opinion polls in my face, they are NOT reliable in restricted societies of the type that exist in the PA. People will play it safe and adjust their opinions to that of the thug ruling them. Remember that the polls that assured the Israeli and American analysts that it was safe to permit a terrorist organization like Hamas to run in the elections because they have no chance of winning?

Polls in tyrannies are meaningless!

What is to be done? Israel needs to increase the pressure on Damascus, not the PA, for the Palestinian remain the hostages they have always been though Iran and Syria have emerged as their most powerful captors.

Posted on Monday, July 10, 2006 at 4:06 AM | Comments (0) | Return

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