Palestinian Elections Pointless Under Israeli Occupation
Talk of Palestinian elections creates the illusion that Palestinians are in charge of their destiny, but the real power ultimately lies with Israel, writes Rana Baker.
An estimated 300,000 individuals in the Gaza Strip have registered to vote in the allegedly forthcoming elections. Many, however, have done so only to make clear their opposition to the entire electoral process. Those who registered but are not going to vote will affect the turnout rate, thus making their point. Individuals willing to boycott the elections, should they actually take place, constitute a small minority, but their motives are worthy of examination.
It is important to bear in mind that "Palestinian elections," with the current geographical designations, i.e., Gaza and the West Bank, are in fact not "Palestinian" at all. That is, how can they be Palestinian, let alone legitimate, when the vast majority of the Palestinian population will be excluded? In other words, the Palestinian majority is scattered in the diaspora, including the Arab world, and will be denied participation in determining the future of their country, which here means historical Palestine.
Excluding the Palestinian majority from future elections will effectively compromise their right to be represented, thus reducing the number of recognized Palestinians, and in effect Palestine too, from more than 11 million to a few million "residents" in Gaza and the West Bank.
As a consequence, the right of more than 6 million Palestinians, forcibly evicted in 1948 and 1967, to reclaim their lands and property as stipulated in UN Resolution 194 will not be vocalized by the "elected" leadership. This is one reason why the current Palestinian leadership is deemed illegitimate by millions of Palestinians. In addition, it is unclear whether Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the presumed Palestinian capital according to the internationally accepted two-state solution, will be allowed to participate in the elections.
