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The PA's Non-Contest
(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - The Palestinian election has ended up being a no-contest, due to Marwan Barghouti bowing out of the race. And before Barghouti did so, Hamas had already decided to shun the presidential election. No Israeli would have backed such a candidacy, but the way to verify that the views of those who condone violence have actually been rejected is not by preventing their running - but by having them run, then seeing them lose. A Palestinian leadership that does not win the people's support in a clear democratic contest will be powerless when it comes time to make the kind of concessions that peace, or even just non-belligerency, inevitably demand. We hope to be proven wrong, but prospects are high that Abbas will be intimidated by opponents who will enjoy the benefits of maximum authority and minimum responsibility.