Palestinian Civil Society Watch I - We're Not Sure About This 'Election' Thing
As Palestinians prepare to go to the polls on Wednesday, final electoral strategies are solid. In the past, Palestinian "militants" have attacked international donors, members of other Palestinian groups, and - of course - Jews. Then last week, the ruling Fatah party adopted a new strategy: attack people from your own party. While we expressed a healthy amount of skepticism as to the potential of this new tactic, the Fatah seems committed to seeing it through:
Less than a day before the Palestinian legislative elections, gunmen from a split faction of the ruling Fatah party on Tuesday shot dead an employee in the election headquarters of a the Fatah candidate in the West Bank town of Nablus. Youssef Hasona, 35, was gunned down while hanging posters of Ghasan a-Sha'aka, who is a former mayor of Nablus. Several armed Fatah groups in the town support a-Sha'aka, while others have opposed his candidacy. In 2004 a-Sha'aka's brother was murdered as part of the faction feud.
Gentle readers, we give you the lead-up to the future "legitimately elected representative government of the Palestinian people". Disaray within Fatah means that in most of the regional elections (which determine half of the 132 member parliament), multiple Fatah candidates are running against each other and splitting the vote. But if members of the ruling Fatah party keep shooting election workers, the Hamas's impending and unprecedented electoral victory might still be put off.
But probably not.
Less than a day before the Palestinian legislative elections, gunmen from a split faction of the ruling Fatah party on Tuesday shot dead an employee in the election headquarters of a the Fatah candidate in the West Bank town of Nablus. Youssef Hasona, 35, was gunned down while hanging posters of Ghasan a-Sha'aka, who is a former mayor of Nablus. Several armed Fatah groups in the town support a-Sha'aka, while others have opposed his candidacy. In 2004 a-Sha'aka's brother was murdered as part of the faction feud.
Gentle readers, we give you the lead-up to the future "legitimately elected representative government of the Palestinian people". Disaray within Fatah means that in most of the regional elections (which determine half of the 132 member parliament), multiple Fatah candidates are running against each other and splitting the vote. But if members of the ruling Fatah party keep shooting election workers, the Hamas's impending and unprecedented electoral victory might still be put off.
But probably not.
