I'm Really Excited About This Election Thing
You can tell that the Palestinians really have their shit together when it comes to this whole "organized and well-run elections" thing:
In a dramatic turnaround, imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti registered as a candidate for the Palestinian Authority election on January 9, running against Fatah nominee and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, his wife announced shortly before the midnight Wednesday deadline.
So you're thinking: if the Palestinians elect this murderer, it would really show that they're not ready for peace. Because, I mean, his whole platform is to keep killing Jews (in Arafat's name, no less... hey, at least he's honest):
Barghouti said he is running "to protect the intifada"... Fatah leaders received a letter from Barghouti Wednesday in which he accused the Fatah leadership of trying to discredit the uprising and blame the late PA chairman, Yasser Arafat, for the misery of the Palestinian people. Talking about the possibility of achieving true peace now, after Arafat's death, is tantamount to discrediting his path.
So Barghouti isn't exactly the feel-good candidate of this election. But consider the alternative:
Abu Mazen may well be playing the same game that Arafat played - feigning moderation but adhering to a zero-sum position...
Recall that it was he who conducted the secret negotiations on Arafat's behalf with Shimon Peres's Uri Savir and Yossi Beilin; that it was Abu Mazen who wrote a doctoral dissertation riddled with Holocaust denial. That it was he who secretly financed the Munich Olympics attack that ended in the slaughter of 11 Israeli athletes... Palestinian incitement against Israel continues unabated. Perhaps Abu Mazen is incapable of changing this, assuming he wants to.
In a dramatic turnaround, imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti registered as a candidate for the Palestinian Authority election on January 9, running against Fatah nominee and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, his wife announced shortly before the midnight Wednesday deadline.
So you're thinking: if the Palestinians elect this murderer, it would really show that they're not ready for peace. Because, I mean, his whole platform is to keep killing Jews (in Arafat's name, no less... hey, at least he's honest):
Barghouti said he is running "to protect the intifada"... Fatah leaders received a letter from Barghouti Wednesday in which he accused the Fatah leadership of trying to discredit the uprising and blame the late PA chairman, Yasser Arafat, for the misery of the Palestinian people. Talking about the possibility of achieving true peace now, after Arafat's death, is tantamount to discrediting his path.
So Barghouti isn't exactly the feel-good candidate of this election. But consider the alternative:
Abu Mazen may well be playing the same game that Arafat played - feigning moderation but adhering to a zero-sum position...
Recall that it was he who conducted the secret negotiations on Arafat's behalf with Shimon Peres's Uri Savir and Yossi Beilin; that it was Abu Mazen who wrote a doctoral dissertation riddled with Holocaust denial. That it was he who secretly financed the Munich Olympics attack that ended in the slaughter of 11 Israeli athletes... Palestinian incitement against Israel continues unabated. Perhaps Abu Mazen is incapable of changing this, assuming he wants to.
