Sept. 10, 2019
Israel Returns to the Polls, while Palestinian Democracy Is Frozen (AFP-RFI-France)
When Israelis vote next week it will be their sixth general election since 2006, when Palestinians last had the chance to cast ballots in parliamentary polls.
30-year-old Palestinians have never had the opportunity to choose their leadership.
“For both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, governing without elections is very comfortable. The split provides a cover – you can say you want elections but the other side doesn’t,” said Khalil Shikaki, a prominent Palestinian pollster.
Shikaki’s polling found little optimism about new PA elections, but also that democracy was not a top priority.