Suspending municipal elections indefinitely for Oct. 8, a Ramallah-based Palestinian court exposed the extent of division between Gaza-based Hamas and Ramallah-based Fatah AKA Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO]. With 81-year-old Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas no longer popular, the PLO fears that an election would repeat the Jan. 24, 2006 vote where Hamas won a majority in parliamentary elections. When Fatah refused to transition power to Hamas, Hamas militants overthrew the PLO in Gaza June 13, 2007, beginning the civil war that prevents world powers from working on a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians. With Hamas committed to the destruction of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understands there’s no peace partner to negotiate a two-state solution. U.N. and U.S. officials continue to deny there’s a viable Palestinian peace partner.
President Barack Obama squandered time and money pursuing a peace deal with Secretary of State John Kerry for over a year in 2014. When the deal crashed-and-burned July 20, 2014, it exposed the charade, knowing Hamas and PLO were deeply divided. Today’s court ruling sends a loud signal to peacemakers that there’s no Palestinian peace partner with whom to negotiate anything until the two warring factions resolve their differences. “The court decided in a meeting Thursday to stop the election planned for October 8,” said Hisam al-Hatto, Head of the Ramallah-based Palestinian High Court in the West Bank. Hamas was more than eager to hold elections expecting a repeat of what happened on the last vote Jan. 24, 2006 when Hamas won a strong parliamentary majority. Winning a new election in the West Bank would throw a monkey wrench into new peace talks.
If Hamas won elections in the West Bank, it could signal to Gaza it’s time to for another war with Israel. Hamas’s leader in exile Khalid Messal and its Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh have only one goal: The destruction of Israel. “This is a political decision,” said Hamas spokeman Sami Abu Zuhri. “We reject this decision to cancel this election and call on everyone to reject it,” knowing, that, if the election were held today, Hamas would be the unified ruler in the Palestinian territories. U.S. and U.N. officials officially list Hamas as a terror group for their long history of rocket attacks, suicide bombings and various terror attacks on Israel. Obama, Kerry and the State Department knows the situation in the Palestinians territories but continues to pretend there’s hope for a two-state solution. Nearly daily reports blame Israeli policies for obstructing the two-state solution.
Gaza officials objected to the slate of PLO candidates “violating election laws,” according to a Fatah spokesman Nael al-Houh. PLO officials fear a repeat of the 2006 parliamentary election where Hamas won overwhelming majorities. Recent as March 21, pollls show that 80% of Gaza residents support knife attacks against Israel compared to 55% in the West Bank. As many as 85% of Gaza residents back ongoing war with Israel, despite the devastating consequences to the July 8, 2014 war, causing some $5 billion in property damage in Gaza. Hamas officials have Gaza residents hyped into believing that Hamas will eventually defeat Israel. For whatever reason, West Bank residents, while actively engaged in knife attacks against Israelis, show less interest in war with Israel but there’re probably less degrees of separation between Hamas and the PLO than most polls indicate.
Whether or not the PLO and Hamas resolve their differences is anyone’s guess. Today’s situation with the PLO and Hamas still waging war against Israel makes peacemaking next to impossible. Most Palestinians because of constant propaganda don’t get that Israel is one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries. More sophisticated Arab states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia accept Israel’s advances, preferring to quietly trade-and-cooperate as long as it’s off the radar. It’s no accident that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi has Israel bomb ISIS militants now swarming the once peaceful Sinai Peninsula. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman trades technology and military intel with Israel, trying to beat back ongoing Islamist groups trying to topple the Kingdom. Hamas promotes the most absurd propaganda that it’s close to its goal of toppling the Jewish State.
Before there’s a chance of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, Palestinians must come under one leadership, renouncing armed struggle against Israel. As long as Israel faces rocket attacks from Gaza or knife attacks from the West Bank, there’s no chance of working on peace plan whether or not it’s backed by the U.S., U.N. or any other international group. Today’s court decision highlights the ongoing civil war between Hamas and the PLO, making peace with Israel impossible. U.S., U.N. and other foreign parties should help the Palestinians work toward unification and renouncing violence toward Israel. Letting Hamas win an election in the West Bank would give militants another excuse to attack Israel. If Palestinians vote for Hamas, they’ll have to come to grips with the current policy of destroying Israel—something that can only lead to more death and destruction.
