PMW op-ed: The joke of Palestinian ‘democracy’
Op-ed by PMW’s head of legal strategies in JNS
The joke of Palestinian ‘democracy’
Apparently for the PA, holding general elections twice in 25 years is a sign of a “true democracy”.
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In a recent Conflict Zone interview, acclaimed journalist Tim Sebastian grilled veteran Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erekat. While Erekat may not remember the interview as his finest hour, it could—and should have—been much worse had Sebastian pointed out a number of ludicrous statements Erekat made.
During the interview, Erekat argued that the Palestinian Authority is “a true democracy”, that Mahmoud Abbas “won 62% of the vote” in the 2005 elections for Chairman of the PA, and that “Hamas carried out a coup d’état in Gaza” in 2007.
Closer examination of these claims shows their inherent contradictions.
While Abbas did indeed win 62% of the 2005 vote to be elected PA Chairman (i.e. the Palestinian President), Erekat “forgot” that according to PA law, the Chairman of the PA is elected to a four-year term. Since Abbas is about to start his fourteenth year of that four year term, it is irrelevant to point to the level of Abbas’ support in order to substantiate the claim that the PA is a “true democracy”.
When examining Erekat’s claim about the Hamas “coup d’état” in the Gaza Strip, Erekat again “forgot” that Hamas won 74 seats of the 132 seat Palestinian Legislative Council in the last PA general elections held 13 years ago. Hamas therefore formed the legitimate PA government. As a result of immense international pressure threatening to cut off a vast amount of aid to the PA, it was Abbas who deposed the democratically elected Hamas terrorist organization.
Accordingly, when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’ so-called “technocrat government” in the summer of 2007, Hamas was simply reasserting the mandate that it had been granted by the Palestinian population in democratic elections—control which had temporarily been usurped by Abbas.
When the party that wins the outright majority of the democratic election assumes control, it is not called a “coup d’etat”, it’s called “true democracy”.
Finally, on this point, despite Sebastian’s question, Erekat refused to clarify when the next PA general elections would be held. Apparently for the PA, holding general elections twice in 25 years is a sign of a “true democracy”.
When Sebastian pushed Erekat on the subject of the punitive measures taken by Abbas to punish Hamas for its “coup d’état” in the Gaza Strip, Erekat was once again “creative” with the truth. Rejecting Sebastian’s accusation, Erekat claimed that the PA spends almost half ($96 million) of its $196 million a month income evenly between the PA-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
Simple math indicates that Erekat claims that the PA’s annual income is about $2.352 billion. Scrutiny of this figure shows a number of anomalies.
First, the official PA budget for 2018 was actually closer to $5 billion.
Second, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) calculated that the approximately $350 million the PA allocated to finance its ‘Pay for Slay’ policy in 2018 (the policy by which the PA pays financial rewards to terrorists and their families) amounted to just over 7% of the entire official PA budget. If one were to accept Erekat’s “revised” PA income of $2.352 billion, it would mean that in reality, the PA squanders close to 15% of its entire budget on this repugnant policy rather than feed its population.
Third, according to statistics obtained by Palestinian Media Watch, the income from taxes Israel collected on the PA’s behalf in 2017 was approximately $2.5 billion. Does the PA not collect other taxes from its people, e.g., income tax, health tax, VAT or any other taxes for that matter?
The bottom line is that after 25 years of rule, the PA is still light years away from establishing itself as a “true democracy”. When the PA attempted to act like a “true democracy”, the Palestinian people elected an internationally recognized terrorist organization to represent them. Western democracies may chose to ignore the Palestinians’ choice, but it is nonetheless a reality.
Aside from its failed democratic process, the PA’s financial policy is also a major contributor to its dismal woes. Instead of supporting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, Abbas uses PA finances to punish Gaza Strip residents for their democratic choice to elect Hamas, while simultaneously squandering vast amounts of the PA’s income to reward terrorism. All the while, the PA is constantly pushing its hand out to receive additional international aid.
From an Israeli perspective, it is unclear which of the two options is the lesser evil – Deal with the Abbas dictatorship that prefers rewarding terrorism over providing the basic needs of its population or embrace the democratic election of a homicidal, Islamic fundamentalist terror organization that denies Israel’s right to exist and calls daily for the murder of Jews. Neither option is a recipe to achieving the long awaited peace.
During the interview, Erekat argued that the Palestinian Authority is “a true democracy”, that Mahmoud Abbas “won 62% of the vote” in the 2005 elections for Chairman of the PA, and that “Hamas carried out a coup d’état in Gaza” in 2007.
Closer examination of these claims shows their inherent contradictions.
While Abbas did indeed win 62% of the 2005 vote to be elected PA Chairman (i.e. the Palestinian President), Erekat “forgot” that according to PA law, the Chairman of the PA is elected to a four-year term. Since Abbas is about to start his fourteenth year of that four year term, it is irrelevant to point to the level of Abbas’ support in order to substantiate the claim that the PA is a “true democracy”.
When examining Erekat’s claim about the Hamas “coup d’état” in the Gaza Strip, Erekat again “forgot” that Hamas won 74 seats of the 132 seat Palestinian Legislative Council in the last PA general elections held 13 years ago. Hamas therefore formed the legitimate PA government. As a result of immense international pressure threatening to cut off a vast amount of aid to the PA, it was Abbas who deposed the democratically elected Hamas terrorist organization.
Accordingly, when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’ so-called “technocrat government” in the summer of 2007, Hamas was simply reasserting the mandate that it had been granted by the Palestinian population in democratic elections—control which had temporarily been usurped by Abbas.
When the party that wins the outright majority of the democratic election assumes control, it is not called a “coup d’etat”, it’s called “true democracy”.
Finally, on this point, despite Sebastian’s question, Erekat refused to clarify when the next PA general elections would be held. Apparently for the PA, holding general elections twice in 25 years is a sign of a “true democracy”.
When Sebastian pushed Erekat on the subject of the punitive measures taken by Abbas to punish Hamas for its “coup d’état” in the Gaza Strip, Erekat was once again “creative” with the truth. Rejecting Sebastian’s accusation, Erekat claimed that the PA spends almost half ($96 million) of its $196 million a month income evenly between the PA-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
Simple math indicates that Erekat claims that the PA’s annual income is about $2.352 billion. Scrutiny of this figure shows a number of anomalies.
First, the official PA budget for 2018 was actually closer to $5 billion.
Second, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) calculated that the approximately $350 million the PA allocated to finance its ‘Pay for Slay’ policy in 2018 (the policy by which the PA pays financial rewards to terrorists and their families) amounted to just over 7% of the entire official PA budget. If one were to accept Erekat’s “revised” PA income of $2.352 billion, it would mean that in reality, the PA squanders close to 15% of its entire budget on this repugnant policy rather than feed its population.
Third, according to statistics obtained by Palestinian Media Watch, the income from taxes Israel collected on the PA’s behalf in 2017 was approximately $2.5 billion. Does the PA not collect other taxes from its people, e.g., income tax, health tax, VAT or any other taxes for that matter?
The bottom line is that after 25 years of rule, the PA is still light years away from establishing itself as a “true democracy”. When the PA attempted to act like a “true democracy”, the Palestinian people elected an internationally recognized terrorist organization to represent them. Western democracies may chose to ignore the Palestinians’ choice, but it is nonetheless a reality.
Aside from its failed democratic process, the PA’s financial policy is also a major contributor to its dismal woes. Instead of supporting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, Abbas uses PA finances to punish Gaza Strip residents for their democratic choice to elect Hamas, while simultaneously squandering vast amounts of the PA’s income to reward terrorism. All the while, the PA is constantly pushing its hand out to receive additional international aid.
From an Israeli perspective, it is unclear which of the two options is the lesser evil – Deal with the Abbas dictatorship that prefers rewarding terrorism over providing the basic needs of its population or embrace the democratic election of a homicidal, Islamic fundamentalist terror organization that denies Israel’s right to exist and calls daily for the murder of Jews. Neither option is a recipe to achieving the long awaited peace.
[https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-joke-of-palestinian-democracy/]