Lack of voting rights can’t be blamed on Israel

David Morrison’s complaint that Palestinian Arabs could not vote in Israel’s general election obscures a crucial fact.

When Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords with Israel, in 1993-5, it was agreed that 96% of West Bank Palestinians would be under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, with corresponding voting rights to that Authority.

Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, in 2005, the Palestinians there have been under Hamas jurisdiction. Complaints about deprivation of voting rights should, therefore, address the two relevant authorities and not Israel. The last elections in both the West Bank and Gaza were in January, 2006.

The PA and Hamas have been at often violent loggerheads over this past decade and show no signs of agreeing to overdue elections.

These may be regrettable realities, but they cannot be blamed on Israel.

Daragh O’Shea

Howth Road

Clontarf

Dublin 3