|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2534
"The Hell of Israel Is Better than the Paradise of Arafat"
(Middle East Quarterly) Daniel Pipes - In mid-2000, when it appeared that some Arab-majority parts of Jerusalem would be transferred to Palestinian Authority control, Muslim Jerusalemites expressed less than delight at the prospect. In the view of Fadal Tahabub, a member of the Palestinian National Council, an estimated 70% of the 200,000 Arab residents of Jerusalem preferred to remain under Israeli sovereignty. For all the overheated rhetoric about Israel's occupation, Palestinians are alive to the benefits of its liberal democracy. They appreciate the elections, rule of law, freedom of speech and religion, minority rights, orderly political structures, and the other benefits of a decent polity. Palestinians appear no more eager to live under PA rule than are Israelis.