PLO calls for Arabs to boycott Jerusalem elections, then complains that Arabs are disenfranchised

From official PA news agency WAFA last week:

The Arab Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization called in a statement on Tuesday for a boycott of Israeli municipal elections in occupied Jerusalem.

It said no Palestinian from East Jerusalem should participate in these elections either by voting or running for a seat.

The PLO said the municipality supports settlements in East Jerusalem and turning it into a Jewish city, “which is a national and political issue and not an issue of providing services.”

“Participating in these elections will be considered normalization with the Israeli occupation authority, which means legitimizing the annexation of Jerusalem,” said the statement.

Palestinians have regularly boycotted these elections, which this year are planned for October 22, since the occupation of their city in 1967 and its annexation shortly after.

While Palestinians in Jerusalem carry Israeli identity cards similar to the ones held by Israelis and can vote in municipal elections in the city, they nevertheless cannot vote in legislative elections because they are considered “residents” but not “citizens” of Israel.

That last paragraph shows how the PLO knowingly pursues policies to make their people miserable.

Most Jerusalem Arabs do have residence permits, and can vote in municipal elections. It makes no sense for non-citizens to vote in national elections! But, what the article pointedly fails to say, is that Jerusalem Arabs can become citizens of Israel if they want! In fact, many have!

The PLO tells Arabs not to participate in the political process, and in the next breath complains that Israel is disenfranchising them by not allowing them to vote in national elections.

Arabs complain that the Jerusalem municipality discriminates against them. But at the same time they threaten Arabs who want to use the political process to improve their people's lives.

By the way, the supposed discrimination against Arabs in Jerusalem is largely an illusion. I had the opportunity to interview Mayor Nir Barkat earlier this year, and I asked him about the gap in services. He admitted that things were bad in the past but the municipality had been pouring money into the Arab sector, adding 10,000 permits for apartments for Arabs as well as building more new schools and infrastructure in the Arab neighborhoods.