Hamas on the Ballot
Editorial
The New York Times
December 22, 2005
The messy thing about democracy is that people tend to vote for the candidates they want - a point that seemed lost on Israel yesterday when it threatened to ban East Jerusalem Arabs from voting in the scheduled Palestinian elections if Hamas took part.
Israel is concerned about a strong showing by Hamas. That's understandable, but democracy doesn't work this way. Israel allowed Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to vote in Palestinian Authority elections in 1996 and earlier this year, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected president. Israel can't just decide to take away that right because it's afraid of who may win next time.
The choice here is between two evils, and the greater would be to take extraordinary measures to keep Hamas out of the running. The more that Israel and the United States are perceived as meddling in the vote, the more Palestinians will seek to defy them. If Hamas is forced off the ticket, or the elections are canceled, Hamas will come out with an even higher standing among the Palestinians.
To be sure, the other option, letting Hamas run, is hard to stomach. But it is the lesser evil because any movement, once in power, is compelled to supplement its bluster with deeds. That's what happened to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which once seemed even less acceptable than Hamas. In fact, many of the Palestinians who voted for Hamas in the municipal elections did so not because they approve of Islamist terrorism, but because the P.L.O., which was supposed to be their sole legitimate representative, has proved corrupt and incapable of giving them peace or happiness.
We can only hope that if Hamas wins a share of power, Palestinians will expect the same of it as they did of the P.L.O. If the Islamic militants persist in provoking Israeli incursions, roadblocks and assassinations, their welcome will soon wear thin.
The Bush administration must continue to urge Israel to abandon its threat to prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting. The real intent of such a move would be to force Mr. Abbas to cancel the election. If the administration and Israel really believe that a democratic Middle East is the only road to peace, then they must give it a try.
The New York Times
December 22, 2005
The messy thing about democracy is that people tend to vote for the candidates they want - a point that seemed lost on Israel yesterday when it threatened to ban East Jerusalem Arabs from voting in the scheduled Palestinian elections if Hamas took part.
Israel is concerned about a strong showing by Hamas. That's understandable, but democracy doesn't work this way. Israel allowed Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to vote in Palestinian Authority elections in 1996 and earlier this year, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected president. Israel can't just decide to take away that right because it's afraid of who may win next time.
The choice here is between two evils, and the greater would be to take extraordinary measures to keep Hamas out of the running. The more that Israel and the United States are perceived as meddling in the vote, the more Palestinians will seek to defy them. If Hamas is forced off the ticket, or the elections are canceled, Hamas will come out with an even higher standing among the Palestinians.
To be sure, the other option, letting Hamas run, is hard to stomach. But it is the lesser evil because any movement, once in power, is compelled to supplement its bluster with deeds. That's what happened to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which once seemed even less acceptable than Hamas. In fact, many of the Palestinians who voted for Hamas in the municipal elections did so not because they approve of Islamist terrorism, but because the P.L.O., which was supposed to be their sole legitimate representative, has proved corrupt and incapable of giving them peace or happiness.
We can only hope that if Hamas wins a share of power, Palestinians will expect the same of it as they did of the P.L.O. If the Islamic militants persist in provoking Israeli incursions, roadblocks and assassinations, their welcome will soon wear thin.
The Bush administration must continue to urge Israel to abandon its threat to prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting. The real intent of such a move would be to force Mr. Abbas to cancel the election. If the administration and Israel really believe that a democratic Middle East is the only road to peace, then they must give it a try.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 10:10 AM
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