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Palestinians to Hold Referendum on Israel

With the news that a referendum is to be held on whether the Palestinian people wish to recognize Israel or not, the question seems to arise as to whether or not given the choice they will approve of a two-state solution. The referendum was announced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a way of bypassing the government of the Palestinian Authority, which is currently headed by the rejectionist/Islamist terror group Hamas. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel or give up terrorism as a means of pressuring the Jewish state to give into Islamist demands.

The common assumption is that on the Palestinian street itself there exists a strong desire for a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with two-states, Israel and Palestine, living in peace and security side-by-side. However, years of war and the Palestinians being used as pawns of the Arab world in the struggle against Israel might have led to the conclusion that it is better for the Palestinians simply to take over Israel (by democracy and demography) rather than set up a state of their own. Hence, even to this day you have demands by many Palestinians for a ?right of return? to Israel proper, which flies in the face of any two-state solution.

If the Palestinian people accept negotiations with Israel, leading toward the goal of a two-state solution, then this would be a blow of sorts to the Hamas-led government. Rejection of negotiations with Israel, and moreover a rejection by a majority of the Palestinian Arabs of the idea of Israel having a right to exist, would likely boost Hamas, which won a significant majority in elections earlier this year. After all, Hamas did not run on a platform that differed from its charter. We may find out in the next six weeks whether the Palestinians who voted for Hamas voted against the corruption of the formerly ruling Fatah party of the late Yasser Arafat, or if they in fact voted against a two state solution.