Lose guns and democracy don't mix. Just like drinking and driving... Part 1

For the last 45 years, Arafat and the PLO were center stage and of course with Arafat, as always, self promoting, advancing himself as “Palestine”. The PLO sad to say was nothing more than a “shop/dukkan” for Arafat to give candy to his supporters and promoters and was never an organization that is representative of the Palestinian people. The PLO was nothing more than a self-perpetuating organization similar to that of the old Communist Party in Russia.
More troubling and fatal to the Palestinian people and cause is the fact that most if not all Palestinians leaders and heads of the so called” fasa’el” are beholding to Arab governments and now Iran, taking directions and instructions and never beholding to the people of Palestine.
Arafat had a chance, long time ago, to end the occupation, when Jimmy Carter offered him a Palestinian state and recognition of Palestinian rights in exchange for recognition of Israel. That was before Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt and this was way before Israel took over more than 40 % of the Occupied Territories. Arafat, the clown as ever, could not stand up to Hafiz Al-Assad who threatened to massacre the Palestinians in the camps. Well, Assad did just that later on any way. And so to save his “ass” from Assad, Arafat turned down an offer, accepting a whole lot less in Oslo, again to save his” ass” and his PLO from insignificance after he stood by his friend Saddam.
It is also a fact that the PLO in some 45 years never attempted to train and educate our people in democracy. Never allowed open elections anywhere, and as the old Communist Party has its own way to select and elect those it wished to join its rank.
The first presidential election and election of members of Palestinian Legislative Council was not perfect, but was a good start with candidates like Dr. Haider Abdul-Shafi and Mr. Abdul-Jawad Saleh winning substantial and unprecedented votes even though they were independent. The second presidential election where the late Sameeha Khalil competed in the primaries was nothing but a farce, a deal between Arafat the late Mrs. Khalil to show that Arafat had competition.
Then Arafat died, after a long and corrupt and incompetent leadership, and the election of Mahmoud Abbas, which was in so many ways, fair and square given the fact that with the presence of large and armed Fatah militias, there was no chance fort any one else. In all cases the elections were “OK” by Arab standards.
With the parliamentary elections, Hamas, which for a long time shunned and turned down participations in elections decided to compete and it won the elections fair and square. However Fatah, which has ruled the Palestinian cause for its own selfish interest and never putting the interest of Palestine and the people ahead of its own agenda, was not too happy that it lost the election and began from day one to plot to unravel the elections won by Hamas making sure that one way or the other, it remains in charge, not to serve the people but to serve itself and serve its officials and officers who were used to helping themselves and generously from public funds. Simply stated, Fatah leadership were “on the take” taking from the Americans, taking from Israel and of course taking more than their shares from the public treasury, keeping a long and well established way of doing business left over from Arafat.
Hamas came to power and sad to say, with a domestic agenda to clean the place and clean the Palestinian Authority from corruption and incompetence and of course, it failed to do that, since it has no power or authority over the civil service dominated by Fatah. More..