Jerusalem, Israel - I wish that Palestinian democratic institutions were mature enough that Daoud's important question could be taken at face value.
Palestinian "democracy" is a perfect illustration of the wide gap that can exist between two things that are often treated as synonymous: democracy and elections. People cannot effectively choose representative governments if there is no rule of law, no free press, and no true freedom of expression.
That said, to the extent the Palestinian elections were legitimate, Abbas was elected as much as Hamas was, so it is not clear that it is more legitimate for Hamas to have full control than it would be for Abbas. Moreover, unless Palestinians want to be in perpetual war with Israel, Hamas has strayed further from its mandate and reflects popular will less than Abbas.
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