MIFTAH
Sunday, 5 May. 2024
 
Your Key to Palestine
The Palestinian Initiatives for The Promotoion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
 
 
 

Thank you very much, Samar. Thanks to the Palestine Center and the Middle East Institute for this kind invitation. I came last night [to Washington, DC] and am leaving in two hours. I just had a good meeting with [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice and other meetings at the White House with Mr. [John] Hannah [National Security Advisor to Vice President Dick Chaney] and Mr. [Michael] Doran [Senior Director for the Middle East at the National Security Council].

I was also at the Senate for meetings. My message has been very clear. My message is that we are holding our legislative elections on January 25, 2006, and we want the United States to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us to ensure these elections take place. I am here to request not a single American soldier. I am here to request the good offices of American civil society to come and observe, and to help us to monitor the transparent and free elections we are determined to hold. At the same, to protect us from any Israeli attempts to sabotage these elections by arresting candidates, assassinating them, road-blocs, and to enable us to conclude with the Israelis as specified in signed agreements about East Jerusalem.

I believe that what is going on now with the primaries in Fateh is the most significant thing happening. It is not easy. We held these primaries in my hometown—the constituency of Jericho—and in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem with no incidents. Yesterday there were some difficulties in Gaza, which led us to postpone these elections until Friday. Today we are holding primaries in East Jerusalem, and on Friday—one day before the candidates are eligible to register—we will hold them in Hebron, Gaza, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya.

The Palestinian election law specifies that anyone over the age of 28 on January 25, 2006, may run in these elections. Any Palestinian who is 18 years of age on that day can vote in these elections. We have very strict rules of conduct in the election law vis-à-vis incitement, using arms, or anything that may influence the elections and the democratic electoral process.

On democracy and elections in the Arab world, I think the imbalance of the situation is that in the last 450 years, there has been an absence of well-defined Arab-Western relations. I believe that from when Vienna was besieged until now, these relations have lacked any clear-cut definition. Two hundred years ago, the Western countries chose to physically liquidate the Arab forces of change and democratic values, and they chose an autocracy for us. They saw fit that that would serve the interests of the colonial powers. Later on, they moved from an autocracy to theocracy.

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