PIJ 'Ready' for Gaza Admin That Isn't Actually Elected?
The New Arab cites Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as 'ready' to cooperate with Gaza's 'new administration,' noting their 'reservations' about a White House-backed 'peace council.' This headline implicitly glosses over the fundamental question: who is installing this 'new administration,' and why is PIJ's 'cooperation' even a central issue? For context, the U.S. and Israel have consistently sought
to dictate Palestinian leadership, bypassing any democratic process, often cheering on candidates seen as 'moderate' while demonizing resistance groups democratically elected or otherwise. The history of American-backed 'peace initiatives' in the region is rife with attempts to install leadership amenable to Israeli security objectives, not Palestinian self-determination. (See: Oslo Accords,
Bush's 'Roadmap for Peace'.) One might wonder why the US-backed 'peace council' doesn't include any actual peace. The PIJ might be signaling diplomacy, but it also highlights the absurdity of an 'administration' being installed without Palestinian popular mandate. Is 'cooperation' the price of admission to a new occupation? Is anyone asking Gazans who *they* want to administer their devastated
homeland, or is that a detail for later, after all the 'security' concerns are addressed?