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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/06/netanyahu-abbas-palestinian-legitimacy-deficit
Netanyahu, Abbas and the Legitimacy Deficit
(Guardian-UK) Shlomo Ben-Ami - The Palestinian Authority has come neither to represent the majority of Palestinians nor to rule by democratic means. Abbas' presidential term has expired, and elections are constantly being postponed. The PA's prime minister, Salam Fayyad, like his Hamas counterparts in Gaza, rules by decree, keeps parliament inactive, and silences the opposition. The assumption - dear to the architects of the current process - that peace can be achieved by driving a wedge between "moderates" and "extremists" is a fatal misconception. Not only does one negotiate with the illegitimate "moderates," but it is precisely because of their legitimacy deficit that the moderates are forced to be unyielding on core issues, lest the radicals label them treasonous. Abbas is too weak and compromised to accept any final settlement with which Netanyahu can live. And even if Palestinian negotiators agreed to end the conflict once and for all, the chances that all Palestinian factions would abide by such a settlement are nil. The writer is a former Israeli foreign minister.