The Palestinian Elections 1 

The results of the Palestinian elections cause a fundamental change to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I'm trying to look back and understand why the Palestinian people reacted and voted for Hamas, also those who have not been Hamas supporters before. Fateh has been ruling the Palestinian people since the Oslo Agreement in 1994. Fateh selected the negotiation track and accepted the Oslo agreement and also the Road Map. This is on the political side.

 As Palestinians, our people are very disappointed from the achievement of the negotiations. I think that Palestinians gave too much support to Abu Mazen in the presidential election. After the elections we did not get the hoped for improvements in our lives - reducing the checkpoints, improving the economic situation, or fighting corruption. So the weakness of Abu Mazen and the lack of support from the USA and the EU in the negotiations played a strong element in the Palestinian elections. 

I think that the interference of the American money in the elections hurt what the American Consulate called "support for the democratic political organization". This is what we call ‘you love someone until you kill him/her’. Also I think that the money from the US supported the elites who already have money but lack credibility in the public. 

So I think that everyone involved in this conflict and interested in peace has to evaluate the recent period and reconsider their policy and actions. I think that the Palestinian vote is a protest against the negotiation process, which lasted all these years without managing to open one checkpoint or cancel the British Emergency Laws, which rule since 1945, or have an impact on the corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Peace is not just an agreement, it is changing the life of people, it is giving our children hope, it is ending the occupation, and it is stopping using double measures from the democratic worlds. We – the Palestinian peace movement – will continue to struggle by nonviolent means against the occupation, the corruption and raise hope for the future of the children in Palestine and the world. It is difficult to be optimistic in this time, but we have to work hard if we want peace based on justice, respect, equality and reconciliation.

                                                                                               Dr. Noah Salameh