THE PHRASE “democratic elections” can be misleading in its positive connotation, especially when the countries where the elections take place are embroiled in conflict. In the Middle East, during the past six months, we have witnessed three sets of elections.…
Article Author: Ben Efrat, Roni
Hamas Encounters Reality
WE’LL eat za’atar leaves, weeds and salt, but we won’t be traitors and we won’t be humiliated!” So spoke Ismail Haniyeh, the new Palestinian Prime Minister, who is thought to be among the moderate leaders of Hamas. Before a crowd…
The Big Fizzle
IN THE TWO years leading to the elections for the 17th Knesset, there was much talk of a “big bang” that would transform political life in Israel. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan for unilateral disengagement was causing major tremors. In…
Reality Now!
ON February 26, 2006, about a month after the Palestinian parliamentary elections, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas gave an interview to the Washington Post. He had just received an appointment by PA President Abu Mazen to form a government. Newsweek reporter…
Interview with Hamas’ Muhammed Abu Tir
MUHAMMED Abu Tir, 55, has spent 25 years, all told, in Israeli prisons. He finished a term just recently. Without any doubt, he was a man with lots of time on his hands. No longer. We met him on a…
Fatah: The (Ominous) Rise of the Younger Generation
DESPITE the brain hemorrhage of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel will likely go to the polls on March 28, 2006 with a strong show of stability. By contrast, in the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections will take place, on January 25,…
The Elections Card
WHEN the President of the PA, Abu Mazen, announced a date for elections to the Palestinian parliament (January 25, 2006), he had two things in mind. First, elections seemed crucial in order to close the Arafat Era and provide him…
Two Angles on Disengagement
1. The Disaster of Others THE SIX-DAY Tearjerker: that is one way to look at Israel’s evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 more in the northern West Bank, mid-August 2005. The event turned out to be…
Phony Trauma
ISRAEL IS SET to evacuate its settlements from the Gaza Strip in mid-August. Until recently, the right-wing opponents of disengagement were making inroads. According to a survey by Yediot Aharonot, the proportion of the plan’s supporters had declined from 64%…
Round Three
ISRAELI army officers warn of the following scenario: soon after the disengagement from Gaza, the Palestinians will realize that Sharon has no more rabbits in his hat, not for them anyhow, and they will go on a new rampage. The…