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Palestinian Arabs

Abbas preaches democracy to the US


By Ryan Jones
October 20, 2005

Mahmoud Abbas, the head of a totalitarian regime, took it upon himself Wednesday to preach to the United States regarding who should and should not be allowed to participate in democratic elections.

As he has for the past several months, Abbas insisted Israel and its American allies refrain from interfering in the Palestinian Authority's ?democratic? process by pressuring him to disqualify the Hamas terrorist organization from participating.

The ?Palestinian? leader told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that undermining his authority on this matter and disrupting the upcoming PA parliamentary election over Hamas' participation would constitute a ?blow to the emerging Palestinian democracy.?

Earlier this year, Abbas told an Italian newspaper that the virtues of true democracy obligate him to let anyone participate, even those who control armed militias dedicated to eradicating the PA's peace partner, Israel.

Israel, where private armed militias are not allowed a role in government, has threatened to hinder the election in every way possible if Hamas participates prior to disarming and disavowing its campaign of violence against the Jews.

Abbas is seeking American guarantees that Israel will be restrained in this effort.

Mindful of the PA's inability to conduct a successful poll without Israel's assistance, Washington has urged Jerusalem to back down on its demands.

The Bush Administration has apparently bought into Abbas' assertion that following the election he will have more political power to hold Hamas to the letter of the law.

?If they are elected, they will be bound by the laws and legislations passed by the legislature,? former US Consul-General in Jerusalem Edward Abington told reporters.

That position has been adopted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as well, who told Israeli opposition leaders this week that while he opposes armed groups sitting in parliament, Hamas' guns can be dealt with at a later date.

For its part, Hamas has vowed never to lay down its arms until all of Israel falls under the dominion of Islam.

According to recent polls, the group is expected to garner as much as 40 percent of the vote, giving it considerable influence over PA policies governing relations with Israel and the US and participation in the Middle East ?peace? process.

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