Democratic Political System for Palestinian State

Gaza, Wednesday 20th Oct, 2010- Politicians, academics and human right activists called for ending the Palestinian division, achieving the national reconciliation, founding a democratic political system and rejecting the foreign conditioned finance.

These recommendations came through a conference entitled;” Towards a Democratic and Institutionalized Political System in Palestine” organized by PalThink for strategic studies and funded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Omar Shaban, head of PalThink for strategic studies, asserted that the struggle of the Palestinian people for decades were not to make any party ascend to the power but to establish a Palestinian state denoting that the Palestinian division make all parties and people away from achieving this aim.  He added that if Hamas and Fatah have a genuine earnest desire to achieve the reconciliation, both parties will surely overcome the division crisis which affects the Palestinian political structure.

Furthermore, Shaban highlighted the importance of the devolution of power and respecting the results of the elections as one of the most important landmark of the democratic political system.

Concluding his speech, Shaban appreciated the two expertises of elections which were organized by the PA since its establishment 1994 showing that dozens of the developing countries couldn’t achieve such accomplishment.

For his part, MP Husam Al-Taweel pointed out that the political participation is new notion in the Arab world, particularly, in Palestine due to the prevailed party and tribal affiliations. As a result, achieving veritable political participation is still requites more social tangible struggle.

Moreover, MP denoted to the finance resources of the civil society institutions and its effect on the Palestinian political participation and decision-making stating that the foreign finance should not be conditioned, nor does it interfere in the values of the Palestinian people or the principles of the Palestinian question.

MP recommended providing, at least, the minimum coordination between the official organizations and the civil society institutions to reformulate the society’ future aims, and put new development plans on the basis of the political and social participation.

Osama Untar, representative of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Gaza Strip, assured that all the Palestinians are still dreaming of an independent democratic state. H also denoted that most of the classes of the Palestinian society don’t know any thing about the strategies of taking the Palestinian decision underlining that any Palestinian political decision should take in consideration that the Palestinian people is still under occupation.

In the same context, Mukhemer Abu Saada, professor of political science, stated that the political participation and the democracy in the elections are important in the process of decision-making. He denoted that democratic regimes- through their interior and exterior policies- work on achieving the inclination of their peoples. He said that the internal division creates two divided political parties; each one is reinforcing the division through their media.

Abu Saada called for founding a kind of social development which distributes roles and responsibilities in a right way, and taking into consideration the changes which have happened in the Palestinian society recently.

Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA spokesman in Gaza, asked for disseminating the cultures of power devolution and acceptance of the other very early in the minds of our children in order not to reject them in the future. He also highlighted the significant role of the media in raising the awareness of the Palestinian citizens toward their rights in democratic political participation.

For his part, Najy Shorab, professor of political science, asserted that the cultures of violence, extremism and division are Israeli’s priorities to demolish the Palestinian social structure especially after Hamas winning in 2006 parliamentary elections. He also urged all the parties to get rid of the division and the obstacles which hinder establishing Palestinian democratic political system.