The usual rules
Here is another of my renowned intellectual discussion threads. Has always, any opinion is fair game has long has you support it with arguments. Normal forum rules also apply. This means stay respectful of others and don't use abusive language.
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Here is the question
A few months ago, there were general elections in Palestine. The Fatwa party, previously lead by Yaser Arafat and currently lead by Mahmoud Abbas, lost the election to the Hammas.
Some members of the Hammas have been known to be using violent terrorist actions against Israel (mainly bombs). One other thing is that the Hammas government dose not recognize the existence of Israel. In other words, they are not acknowledging that Israel has a right to the land they occupy.
This lead many countries, US, many members of the European Union and Canada to stop sending the money they were previously sending the Palestinian government. The rational was that they were afraid that the money would not be used to help the Palestinian people but to finance terrorist actions against Israel. The effect of such a decision is to completely paralyze the Palestinian government since it is heavily depending on that money.
In other words, what many countries are saying is that during those elections, the Palestinian people made the wrong choice and should have chosen someone else. It is also important to remember that those elections were fully democratic with no reported irregularities according to all local and international observers.
So here is the question, can another country take upon itself to tell someone else that they did not vote for the right people?
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Here is my opinion
The answer to the question is a definite no. Each country has sovereignty has recognized under the UN treaties. That sovereignty can only be ignored in cases where there are crimes against humanities or atrocities being committed by a countries government. It was far from the case here. So no one has any business telling the Palestinian people they did not choose correctly, except other Palestinians.
BUT, it would not be very wise to finance terrorist groups or even military actions. If a country wants to go to war, it should do so with its own money and not ask the international community to finance them!
But there were other solutions than simply with-holding the money until the Hammas recognized Israel and agreed to not take any military actions. For instance, the money could have been granted with conditions. Having observers going over to guaranty the money sent was being used for its purpose : helping the people rebuild and feed themselves.
By simply withholding the money, the message sent is that their democracy is not as good as westerns ones. Furthermore, it is creating a situation where people are suffering BECAUSE of a decision take in a far away places. So it is creating a condition that can only result in more trouble in the future.
Here is another of my renowned intellectual discussion threads. Has always, any opinion is fair game has long has you support it with arguments. Normal forum rules also apply. This means stay respectful of others and don't use abusive language.
====
Here is the question
A few months ago, there were general elections in Palestine. The Fatwa party, previously lead by Yaser Arafat and currently lead by Mahmoud Abbas, lost the election to the Hammas.
Some members of the Hammas have been known to be using violent terrorist actions against Israel (mainly bombs). One other thing is that the Hammas government dose not recognize the existence of Israel. In other words, they are not acknowledging that Israel has a right to the land they occupy.
This lead many countries, US, many members of the European Union and Canada to stop sending the money they were previously sending the Palestinian government. The rational was that they were afraid that the money would not be used to help the Palestinian people but to finance terrorist actions against Israel. The effect of such a decision is to completely paralyze the Palestinian government since it is heavily depending on that money.
In other words, what many countries are saying is that during those elections, the Palestinian people made the wrong choice and should have chosen someone else. It is also important to remember that those elections were fully democratic with no reported irregularities according to all local and international observers.
So here is the question, can another country take upon itself to tell someone else that they did not vote for the right people?
====
Here is my opinion
The answer to the question is a definite no. Each country has sovereignty has recognized under the UN treaties. That sovereignty can only be ignored in cases where there are crimes against humanities or atrocities being committed by a countries government. It was far from the case here. So no one has any business telling the Palestinian people they did not choose correctly, except other Palestinians.
BUT, it would not be very wise to finance terrorist groups or even military actions. If a country wants to go to war, it should do so with its own money and not ask the international community to finance them!
But there were other solutions than simply with-holding the money until the Hammas recognized Israel and agreed to not take any military actions. For instance, the money could have been granted with conditions. Having observers going over to guaranty the money sent was being used for its purpose : helping the people rebuild and feed themselves.
By simply withholding the money, the message sent is that their democracy is not as good as westerns ones. Furthermore, it is creating a situation where people are suffering BECAUSE of a decision take in a far away places. So it is creating a condition that can only result in more trouble in the future.