Palestinian Reconciliation, Netanyahu's Rejectionism and American Drift

Palestinian Reconciliation, Netanyahu's Rejectionism and American Drift By Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi May 16, 2014 The recent Hamas-PLO agreement is long overdue and either terribly misunderstood or willfully misrepresented by Israeli and American politicians. The PLO-Hamas deal is about bringing back democracy for Palestinians. That is a goal Americans and Israelis alike should support. Instead, they have grown accustomed to pointing out Palestinian flaws while overlooking the overt support for colonization and domination that pervade Israeli politics. Currently, we have one-party rule in the West Bank (Fatah) though overall rule and control is clearly exercised by Israel. And in the Gaza Strip we also have one-party rule (Hamas) with Israel keeping 1.7 million people there under lock and key. This national consensus government, comprised of technocrats from neither Fatah nor Hamas, will be formed over an initial five-week period with legislative and presidential elections scheduled for six months from now. We are determined to right the terrible internecine struggle of the last seven years and return to a path of pluralism and power-sharing with a peaceful transition to a routine system of democratic elections with a functioning and strong legislature. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mustafa-barghouthi/post_7528_b_5326270.html