Ex-US president Carter urges Palestinian elections

[oberliner]

Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Former US president Jimmy Carter on Saturday urged Palestinians to hold elections to end the de facto division of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.

He was speaking at a joint news conference with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the Palestinian political capital Ramallah in the West Bank.

"We hope that sometime we'll see elections all over the Palestinian area and east Jerusalem and Gaza and also in the West Bank," said Carter, a member of the independent Elders Group of global leaders.

No election has been held in the occupied territories for nearly a decade.

http://news.yahoo.com/ex-us-president-carter-urges-palestinian-elections-154220971.html

[Scootaloo]

1. Well, an earlier report said Meshaal was for it

so, we'll see what happens.

[King_David]

2. Nothing will happen.

Spoiler alert.

[Scootaloo]

3. And that will make you very happy, I'm sure

[King_David]

4. Nope just a realist.

3 state solution...

And 2 of them very bigoted homophobic.

[Scootaloo]

5. Your reality is a very strange place.

Three states?

So hey tell me, since you're concerned about LGBT rights. does the blockade on Gaza and the expanding settlement project in the west bank help gay people at all? As the occupying power, has Israel imposed any laws to improve conditions for Palestinian GLBT persons?

[King_David]

6. Can you imagine a 1 state and how it would affect gays?

If that state treated LGBT anything like Palestine does or any states that's not Israel ( or Turkey - for now) in the Middle East --- it would mean a transfer for the Gay peeps way way back to the Middle Ages era -- more likely stone ages- Gay wise---


no thanks.

[Scootaloo]

7. You make a lot of large assumptions there.

And not a one of them actually presents an answer to the question I asked.

[King_David]

8. Your questions were not relevant to the conversation

Hence they were ignored.

Israel being a bastion of LGBT rights in the area with a huge number of Palestinian Gays present , legal or not , is an example for the whole area.

Hopefully the Palestinian Gays flee to safety in Western Gay friendly countries like the USA and Canada and Norway...
Same as the French Jews are and should be fleeing to safety.

[Scootaloo]

9. Well, the conversation had already derailed with the "three states" silliness

I wanted to know if Israel, as the occupying power, had exercised its authority to institute protections for GLBT people in the territories it occupies, since you brought up gay rights.

Evidently the answer is "no"

And just as evidently, you couldn't care less.

[King_David]

10. Pfft

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1134&pid=102609

[Scootaloo]

11. It's like you're a parody of youtube comments.

[King_David]

14. Got no idea what that even means. nt

[azurnoir]

12. so does Israel protect Palestinian LGBTQ in the West Bank or allow asylum in Israel?

[King_David]

13. Not where Abbas is in control

Shameful

[Scootaloo]

15. But elsewhere? Can you provide documentation for that?

[King_David]

18. The only way Gays within Palestine could come out is by leaving

And they do , because they have to.

A single state for Gays would be a trip back to medieval times.

[Scootaloo]

19. So ,no, israel is not helping them at all.

You can just say so, Dave. Spare the rally speech.

I was just hoping that there might be some thin, very thin silver lining to the occupation.

[King_David]

20. No I don't go on tangents created by you to change topics

As usual.

Wasn't even a good try.

[Scootaloo]

21. You did, actually, which is the whole origin of this entire subthread

It started out talking about Carter calling for elections. You wanted to make it about LGBT rights. Okay, so we asked if Israel extends its LGBT protections into the territories it occupies. it has the authority to do so, as occupying power.

Clearly the answer is that it does not, which is too bad.

[King_David]

23. Link it up then

Because scootaloo says so doesn't cut it.

Just yesterday you got caught fabricating that Iran was the 2nd country to recognize Israel in 1948.

And you were caught out.

Link it up.

[Scootaloo]

26. Link what?

I'm asking you if Israel has used its authority as occupying power to put into place protections for Palestine's LGBT people. You're the one who brought it up, and frankly as you go on about it constantly I figure you have some knowledge of the subject.

You have refused to answer, instead you keep trying to talk about one state two state, Arab state Jew state bullshit.

You apparently don't know. and if King_David doesn't know a fact about LGBT issues that makes Israel look good, then it must not exist.

So, can you please show us Israel is doing this for the gay people of Palestine? 'Cause I really do want to see something good, and you've been asked a few times now.

[King_David]

28. I guess you can't back up your assertion

What is known is that there are absolutely no rights for LGBT anywhere in the newly recognized state of Palestine nor any neighbors of Israel .

There is absolutely just about every equal right ( except to marry) in Israel .

BDS "activists " wanting a single state think it's so easy for the Gays to accept being dragged back to Gay- Stone Age?

The rest of your post is waffle so unless you can link up or prove your ridiculous assertions I am done going in circles here.

[Little Tich]

16. Palestinian unity can only be achieved through elections, but I think Hamas

has little care for what the Palestinians need.

And I’m not so sure that Israel would allow for elections to be held in Gaza and the WB either. These elections could be seen as step towards a two-state solution, which is the last thing the current Israeli government wants.

[oberliner]

17. How would Israel be able to prevent elections from being held in Gaza?

Curious to know what you mean.

[Scootaloo]

22. Well, it has a habit of arresting Palestinian MP's...

And of barring travel between the two territories. Plus a lot of other inconveniences and restrictions that really start to add up until the whole thing looks like it might give Florida cause for reflection.

Up to and including walling off an entire chunk of Palestine to all export and import if a party Israel doesn't like gains a majority in the parliament, then helping arm and fund the other party to try to stage a violent takeover that sets the whole poltiical scne back at least twenty years.

You know, that sort of thing.

[oberliner]

24. How can Israel prevent an election from taking place in Gaza?

That's the question I am asking.

[Scootaloo]

25. Well, for starters, it's Palestine, not just Gaza

You know, sort of like how Alaska is part of the United States, even with another country in between them.

What that means is that candidates and operatives will need to travel between the two territories, to set up the infrastructure, to campaign and all the other work that goes into setting up an election.

So if Israel were inclined, it could very easily put on a kibosh by barring travel to or from Gaza. Which, honestly seems to be an Israeli pastime, elections or no. No travel effectively means no elections, and has been one of the hurdles facing any movement towards elections in Palestine. Not the sole hurdle, of course, but its presence can't be ignored.

[Little Tich]

27. Israel could withold taxes under the pretense that any election where Hamas

is involved is promoting terrorism. Israel already used a similar excuse when it threatened to or actually witheld the tax money (I don't remember) when PA announced a transitional unity government. I'm sure Israel can find other ways to sabotage an election; bombing Gaza on election day wouldn't be worse than what Israel usually does.

The main point, which I'm sure you don't want to address, is that the current / next government is totally opposed to the two-state solution, and it would see any form of democratic progress for the Palestinians as a step in the wrong direction.

The goal of the Israeli government is transform Israel into an Apartheid state. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t think Israel would be motivated to destroy a Palestinian election, and thus your question would have been meaningless.