As the USA makes it known that it disapproves of the PA going forward at the UN, in violation of previous agreements, this question should be considered.
According to PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat, a declaration of a Palestinian Arab state would not affect the status of the PLO as "the sole legitimate representative for the Palestinian people." He says that the PLO is the only party that can negotiate for "Palestine" - even after "Palestine" is established. Even with statehood, the PLO will remain the mandate-holder. Thus, the Palestinian state would be perhaps the first state ever recognized that was run by a private organization.
Here is the link, which can be translated by Google.
But there is more about what kind of state Palestine would be.
Will this new state be democratic, respect the rights of minorities, the LGBT community, and the rights of citizens to peacefully dissent and criticize the government?
According to Freedom House, the human rights record of “Palestine” is abysmal, and mirrors the absence of political freedom throughout the Arab world.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/...
“The Palestinian Authority–administered territories’ political rights rating declined from 5 to 6 [the lowest possible rating] due to the expiration of President Mahmoud Abbas’s four-year term in January 2009, the ongoing lack of a functioning elected legislature, and an edict allowing the removal of elected municipal governments in the West Bank.”
And:
“The judicial system is not independent.”
And:
“Personal status law, derived in part from Sharia, puts women at a disadvantage in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Rape, domestic abuse, and “honor killings,” in which women are murdered by relatives for perceived sexual or moral transgressions, are not uncommon. These murders often go unpunished.”
And:
“The media are not free in the West Bank and Gaza. Under a 1995 press law, journalists may be fined and jailed…Journalists who criticize the PA or the dominant factions face arbitrary arrests, threats, and physical abuse.”
A story today in the Jerusalem Post provides perspective. PA security forces arrested a professor who criticized a Nablus university by writing an article allegedly slandering the university administration.
Abdel Sattar Qassem, who works at An-Najah University in Nablus, was ordered to be held in custody for 48 hours following a complaint from the university president, Rami Hamdallah. In his article, Qassem criticized the university administration for refusing to comply with a court order. In the past, Qassem was targeted and arrested and even shot and wounded after a making a verbal attack on PA chairman Yasser Arafat.
Qassem said that the problem was not only with this case…“but with the people who see the corruption and don’t do anything. Many officials see themselves as being above the law and justice. Perhaps they want to appoint themselves as gods or emperors, as they see that the educated are keeping silent and the youth movement is largely absent.”
Compare this to left-wing Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfner, who penned an essay in his personal blog explicitly justifying Palestinian terrorist attacks against his fellow Israelis. There was justifiable criticism of Derfner, so much so he apologized and removed the offending piece from his site. However, he was not beaten by a mob for his apostasy nor arrested by Israeli security personnel.
Indeed, the PA could learn a lot from their bitter Zionist enemies with respect to the value of free expression and basic democratic norms.
Perhaps there should be an entirely new meaning to the chant, “FREE PALESTINE!”
4:19 PM PT: UPDATE: Whoever queued or published my diary to Blatant Propaganda has abused the system.