While the vote was lauded as a step forward, it came in the context of an ongoing genocide and occupation and a recent law limiting which candidates can run.
What happened in Deir al‑Balah wasn’t a “step toward governance.” It was a population forced to improvise democracy out of fiberglass tents and nylon boxes because the same states lecturing them about “reform” won’t even allow paper and ink into the Strip. And still, people showed up. The election exposes the absurdity of the narrative: Palestinians are expected to perform democracy under occupation while the world bankrolls the machinery that ensures any elected body will be strangled before it can function.
I feel like I should say "this is great news". But I think that would miss the point, slightly.
Democracy **follows** humanity - without **basic** moral decency, democracy is just a slogan at worst, perhaps a contrived ritual at best.
I think what is promising about the Deir Al-Balah elections really comes down to this: Israel has **not** managed to kill the humanity within Palestine. Amidst genocide, these people are showing the world that they still find it worth the trouble to build stability, community, and ideas of "future".
Sometimes even the performative is a sign of life, and we would do well to treat it so.
But at the same time, we who have other means at our disposal must not forget. The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
What happened in Deir al‑Balah wasn’t a “step toward governance.” It was a population forced to improvise democracy out of fiberglass tents and nylon boxes because the same states lecturing them about “reform” won’t even allow paper and ink into the Strip. And still, people showed up. The election exposes the absurdity of the narrative: Palestinians are expected to perform democracy under occupation while the world bankrolls the machinery that ensures any elected body will be strangled before it can function.
I feel like I should say "this is great news". But I think that would miss the point, slightly.
Democracy **follows** humanity - without **basic** moral decency, democracy is just a slogan at worst, perhaps a contrived ritual at best.
I think what is promising about the Deir Al-Balah elections really comes down to this: Israel has **not** managed to kill the humanity within Palestine. Amidst genocide, these people are showing the world that they still find it worth the trouble to build stability, community, and ideas of "future".
Sometimes even the performative is a sign of life, and we would do well to treat it so.
But at the same time, we who have other means at our disposal must not forget. The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable. Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.
Find out what they’re doing here:
https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org
The least we can do is donate to help them:
Support the Hind Rajab Foundation
https://donate.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg