Obfuscated Thoughtlessness Inversed

"The talks, mediated by Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca, resulted in an agreement on the distribution of cabinet positions, with nine posts going to Hamas and six to Fatah. Three key ministries — foreign affairs, finance and interior, which controls security — will be held by independents. Haniyeh [of Hamas] will stay on as prime minister." - from cbc.ca's Fatah, Hamas agree on unity government

I am the first to admit that my limited knowledge of middle-eastern politics means that I can easily put my foot in my mouth when criticizing violence and the anti-democratic tendencies of the region. Maybe it's hubris, but I feel the need to comment some more on the latest news out of the Palestinian Authority.

Is defying democratic will really a reasonable price for peace? Will this agreement actually lead to peace within the Palestinian territories?

I can't happily accept an outcome that results from the inclusion of three non-aligned and unelected minister's within a government. By the way, I am not talking about David Emerson and Michael Fortier. I am further annnoyed by the agreement being brokered by King Abdullah, an unelected dictatorial monarch whose family was installed in Saudi Arabia by the same British forces who decimated middle east peace for generations by imposing borders for their own purposes, George W. Bush style.

I have written before about how the blockaders of the Palestian Authority should rethink their route towards peace and stop the blockade. However, I do think that the Israeli Prime Minister's demands that the new Hamas led government immediately "Accept and respect all three of the international community's principles, ie, recognition of Israel, acceptance of all former treaties and a clear renunciation of all terror and violence" is more than reasonable. At the same time Israel should get on with it and do the same. Immediately respect international law, recognize the Palestinian Government, accept all former treaties and issue a clear renunciation of violence.

We should not forget that the workings of democracy are very fragile at the best of times. I post this here with the hopes it will be a constructive contribution to the debate about how people can support non-violence and democracy across this extremely violent and anti-democratic region.

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