Palestinian Board Meets in Egypt as Trump Threatens Hamas, Media Ignores History
A "newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee" is meeting in Egypt to discuss Gaza's governance as Donald Trump threatens Hamas. The New Arab notes US pushes for Hamas disarmament, yet fails to fully contextualize how previous 'disarmament' efforts culminated in the 2006 Palestinian elections, which Hamas won transparently, before being punished by a US-Israeli blockade and internal Fatah
conflict. (See: 'Hamas Victory Ignites West Bank Aid Battle,' Washington Post , 2006). This isn't a new 'threat' but a continuation of an 18-year policy to deny the democratic outcome Washington didn’t like. One might wonder how many more 'technocratic committees' are needed before recognition dawns: Gaza has been under blockade since 2007. How can any committee 'govern' a territory where a
foreign power controls its borders, airspace, and sea, and routinely bombs its infrastructure? Trump’s rhetoric, like Biden’s silence, merely rubber-stamps the collective punishment. Palestinian self-governance, it seems, is only acceptable when it's utterly powerless.