Transcript [00:00] Hey everybody. Uh, so [00:04] a few weeks ago I [snorts] made a video [00:06] about the Palestinian elections. I [00:09] called it a circus. And I said near the [00:12] end of that video that this election may [00:17] get postponed because Abbas had done it [00:19] before. And on October 10th, just a [00:22] little more than a week ago, right [00:23] before I went away on vacation, he did [00:25] it again. Here, take a look at this [00:27] headline. [00:28] Uh, where's the headline? Here we are. [00:32] Take a look. Voila. Abbas issues decree [00:36] to postpone Palestinian election. [00:38] Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmood [00:39] Abbas on Saturday, that's October 10th, [00:43] issued a decree calling for presidential [00:45] and legislative elections on September [00:47] 11th, 2027. [00:49] That's next year. That's a year from [00:51] now. While revoking a previous decree [00:53] that had scheduled legislative elections [00:55] for November 28th, 2026. [00:59] The decree follows a decision by the [01:01] Executive Committee of the Palestine [01:02] Liberation Organization and [01:04] consultations with Palestinian factions [01:06] and political forces. The report said [01:08] the move comes amid continued Israeli [01:11] military attacks, settlement expansion, [01:15] colon colonist violence, and repeated [01:18] Israeli incursions across the West Bank, [01:20] including occupied East Jerusalem, it [01:22] added. So, they're blaming the Israelis. [01:24] Taken together, these conditions affect [01:25] the possibility of holding free, fair, [01:27] and inclusive elections on the previous [01:29] date while ensuring public safety and [01:31] the ability of Palestinians to exercise [01:33] their electoral rights freely and [01:35] securely throughout the Palestinian [01:37] territories, continued the report. [01:39] Reuters reported on Friday that Ramala [01:41] had decided to postpone the vote, citing [01:44] an October 8th letter from Palestinian [01:46] Authority Vice President Hussein al-She [01:50] foreign minister Jean Noel Barau. quote, [01:52] "The anticipated political security and [01:55] economic conditions required to hold the [01:57] elections have not materialized." [02:00] Althighty, [02:03] so they postponed it. [02:06] So by presidential decree, Mahmud Abbas [02:09] postpones the elections till next [02:11] September. And by the way, he also [02:13] folded in the presidential election [02:14] which was supposed to happen in 2027 and [02:16] early 2027. He said that that's now [02:19] going to happen on the same date. So, [02:20] they're going to do both votes in [02:22] September 2027. Here's what I told you [02:24] two weeks ago. Okay, let's review. I [02:26] said that Fatak sources, Fatak is the [02:29] main ruling party that Abbas leads. [02:31] That's the that's basically the [02:32] Palestinian Authorities ruling party. [02:34] They were saying that Abbas didn't want [02:36] to cancel the election himself and take [02:38] the blame. So, he called for a national [02:41] dialogue with the other factions in [02:43] Cairo. I had made the video about how [02:45] there were these other factions that [02:47] were trying to unseat Abbas that had [02:49] gotten together in Cairo. This caused [02:51] Abbas to freak out and they had these [02:53] meetings. And if they have these [02:54] meetings and they can come to some kind [02:56] of agreement to postpone the elections, [02:58] then it doesn't look like just a [03:01] decision that Abbas is doing to protect [03:03] uh his seat of power. The guy's 90 years [03:05] old, but he really wants to give power [03:07] to his son, Yaser Abbas. Anyway, but [03:09] this is exact exactly what I said would [03:11] happen is what happened. Gabriel Rajie, [03:13] one of the top Fatak officials, [03:16] announced that instead of voting, the [03:18] factions will hold a comprehensive [03:20] national dialogue to find common ground. [03:24] Right. And and then you have these two [03:27] Palestinian officials who told Reuters [03:29] that leaders of Fatak and Kamas and [03:31] Kamas, Fatak and Kamas, leaders of those [03:34] two factions sat down together in Cairo [03:37] and agreed to postpone the elections. [03:40] And let me remind you that Fatak and [03:41] Kamas are supposedly mortal enemies. [03:44] They had a outand-out civil war back in [03:46] 2007 [03:48] and now they agree on exactly one thing [03:50] which is we're going to cancel the [03:52] election. So the playbook worked. Okay, [03:55] it's now a consensus. But what's the [03:58] official reason? As we read there, [03:59] Israel, right? We just read there that [04:02] because uh there's you know Israel is [04:04] going to be is blocking election [04:07] materials and international observers. [04:09] They blamed settlements [04:13] raids it. So here's foreign minister is [04:17] Israeli foreign minister Gon Sar's [04:19] response. Mahm Abbas the Palestinian [04:21] corrupt dictator who has not held [04:23] elections in over 20 years has once [04:24] again deceived the international [04:26] community. His attempt to drag in Israel [04:29] into this, falsely claiming that Israel [04:31] imposed obstacles to holding elections [04:33] is yet another ridiculous lie designed [04:36] to evade responsibility and [04:37] accountability. Just like the other lies [04:40] about reforms that were never [04:41] implemented, ending payments to [04:43] terrorists and their families and [04:45] stopping incitement in the Palestinian [04:47] education system for over 20 years, [04:50] Abbas has been selling the same thing. [04:52] Lies. Okay, that's that's Sar's [04:55] response. So, you know, and he's right. [04:59] Look, Abbas used the exact same excuse [05:01] he's using now back in 2021. [05:04] They won't let us vote in Jerusalem. [05:05] That was the that was the reason he gave [05:07] then. Well, because Jerusalem is part of [05:09] Israel. Israel annexed Jerusalem, and [05:11] therefore, you can't have Palestinian [05:12] Authority elections there. They insist [05:15] that they want the the Arabs who live in [05:18] East Jerusalem to be able to vote in the [05:19] Palestinian Authority elections. Israel [05:21] doesn't allow that. So, now they're [05:22] claim So, that was his claim in 2021. [05:25] It's the same script basically delaying [05:27] the finding a reason to blame Israel and [05:29] then delay the election so he doesn't [05:31] have to run he doesn't have to lose an [05:33] election. But if we look Abbas was [05:36] elected let's review January 2005 [05:40] over 21 years ago he was elected to a [05:43] 4year term right a four-year term it [05:46] should have ended in 2009 he's been [05:48] ruling by decree ever since. He's more [05:51] than 21 years into a four-year term. [05:54] Okay. And you already know the real [05:56] reason why he's delaying the elections. [05:58] The real reason I showed it to you in [06:00] the last uh video, but let's let's [06:02] review. This is a Palestinian pol uh [06:05] poll, a Palestinian [06:07] uh center for for policy and survey [06:09] research. Okay, that's the that's the [06:11] website. It's very reliable polling of [06:13] the Palestinians. They do it every few [06:14] months. And in the most recent poll, [06:16] which was done in August, a couple [06:18] months ago, they asked them about [06:20] elections. The survey points to [06:22] continued dissatisfaction with [06:24] Palestinian political leadership, but [06:26] also to a significant reshuffleling of [06:28] political preferences. Marwan Bargoodi [06:30] is the strongest potential successor to [06:32] Mahmud Abbas preferred by 39% followed [06:35] by Kamas leader Khalil Al- Khaya at 16%, [06:39] Muhammad Daklan at 15%, Mustafa [06:41] Burggoodi at 6%. In a hypothetical in a [06:44] hypothetical presidential election, [06:46] Marwan Bargoodi would receive 54% of the [06:49] likely votes. Khalila from Kamas 26% and [06:53] Abbas Mahmud Abbas the current president [06:56] would receive only 14%. [07:00] At the same time 79% of Palestinians [07:02] want Abbas to resign. [07:07] 79% want him to resign. This is why he's [07:10] postponing the elections. [07:12] Okay. And then you have the Cairo [07:14] alliance which I talked about in the [07:16] last video. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and and [07:19] this guy Daklan who were joining [07:23] together to run against Fatak. [07:26] And I remember and at the time I quoted [07:29] a Palestinian analyst who told the New [07:31] Arab this that news site that every poll [07:35] he'd seen including Fataf's own polls [07:37] say that Fatak would lose. This is why [07:40] Abbas postponed the election. Okay. He's [07:44] Abbas is terrified of this new alliance [07:46] that will unseat him. So Kamas then [07:50] negotiates in Cairo with Abbas. They [07:53] agree together to postpone the election [07:55] and Kamas says that this is a step in [07:57] the right direction. Now think about [07:58] that. Abbas wants the delay. Kamas [08:00] agrees to the delay because they also [08:02] have other things going on, you know, [08:05] trying to survive the Israeli attacks. [08:07] the people who actually want the [08:09] election, these small independent lists, [08:11] the candidates in Gaza who were [08:12] campaigning out of tents, the people who [08:15] actually want new leadership, they're [08:17] the ones who are not happy about this. [08:20] Here, take a look at this uh news item. [08:24] Palestinians challenge Abbas's decision [08:26] to postpone election in new court filing [08:29] from a couple days ago. Palestinian [08:31] President Mahmud Abbasa's decision to [08:33] postpone the long delayed Palestinian [08:35] legislative council elections has faced [08:37] a legal challenge with Samin [08:40] Sin Lawi, leader of Masar Jadid, New [08:44] Path, filing an appeal in court on [08:46] Thursday, seeking to overturn the [08:48] decision. That's just this past [08:49] Thursday, a couple days ago. Uh he asked [08:52] the administrative court to overturn [08:53] Abbas's decision to postpone the [08:55] election until September of next year, [08:58] arguing that Palestinians have been [09:00] denied the rights guaranteed under the [09:02] Palestinian basic law for too long. [09:04] Quote, "Our court challenge is about [09:06] defending the right of Palestinians to [09:08] choose their representatives and hold [09:10] their leaders accountable after 20 years [09:12] without legislative elections. Another [09:14] postponement has profound consequences [09:16] for public trust and the possibility of [09:18] peaceful democratic change for our [09:21] candidates in Gaza. This election [09:22] offered a chance to bring their [09:24] communities experiences and priorities [09:26] into national decision-making. People [09:28] who have lost their homes, livelihoods, [09:30] and loved ones deserve a voice in the [09:32] decisions that will shape their lives [09:34] and Gaza's recovery. [09:38] And this guy's not just complaining, [09:39] okay? He's taking Abbas to court. He [09:42] filed a challenge in the Palestinian [09:44] Administrative Court. He's saying that [09:46] this violates the basic law. It has no [09:48] legal basis. Right? Uh in his words, [09:51] Palestinians deserve a clear explanation [09:53] of why [09:55] why [09:56] these difficulties require this [09:58] postponement. The difficulties that [10:01] Abbas claimed. Look, [10:04] um, [10:06] a month ago [10:08] on September 13th, Yonyi Benman, he is [10:12] one of the top Middle East experts, one [10:14] of the top experts on the Arab world [10:16] operating in Israel. He writes for a [10:18] number of different think tanks and he's [10:19] also got this website that where he [10:21] posts his writings in Hebrew and in [10:23] English called Arabexpert.co.il. [10:26] And he's very well informed. What's [10:28] interesting about Yoni Bakam is he's [10:29] like a right-wing guy here in Israel [10:31] Jew, but he's fluent in Arabic and he [10:34] has sources in Hamas, in the Palestinian [10:38] Authority, in Arab countries. And uh [10:41] these sources tell him things and he so [10:43] he said this a month before a month ago. [10:46] Look what he wrote. Fatak officials [10:48] believe that Makmoud Abbas is likely to [10:50] postpone the elections with Hussein [10:53] al-She pushing for the decision and [10:55] citing difficulties in Gaza and East [10:57] Jerusalem. The real reason, however, [10:59] maybe Abbas's concern that elections [11:01] could strengthen Kamas and Muhammad [11:03] Daklan and create a new balance of power [11:05] in the Palestinian arena. In other [11:07] words, he would he and his faction Fatak [11:09] would get pushed out. So, Yoni Bakim [11:12] said this a month ago. A month ago, he [11:15] said this. I think I mentioned it in [11:16] that previous video. [11:18] Um, [11:20] meaning Hussein al-She is his deputy. [11:22] That's his uh vice president so to [11:24] speak. Um, [11:27] and of course their cover story was, you [11:29] know, technical reasons and Israel, [11:31] Israel, Israel, Israel. But the real [11:33] reason, of course, even according to the [11:35] same sources, Yonyi Bnakim then cites [11:37] them is fear that the vote would [11:39] strengthen Hamas and Dlan [11:42] and it would turn into a referendum on [11:44] Abbas's leadership, which everyone sees [11:46] as corrupt. Remember that polling number [11:47] I showed you a few minutes ago that 79% [11:51] of Palestinians want Abbas to resign. [11:56] Okay. [11:58] So the Israeli obstacles was an excuse [12:01] that was written a month before it was [12:03] announced. [12:06] And the reason that the Palestinian [12:08] Authority and Kamas agreed, the reason [12:10] that kamas would agree with the PA, even [12:11] though they hate them, to postpone the [12:13] elections together, is because they're [12:14] currently in power and having an [12:16] election doesn't necessarily help them [12:18] right now. Now, before we go on, there's [12:20] a little bit more in this video I want [12:22] to get to. But before we go on, [12:25] uh, I just want to tell you about a very [12:26] exciting webinar we're hosting next [12:29] Sunday. So, it's a week from today when [12:30] I'm recording this, and it's about the [12:32] upcoming elections, both in the United [12:34] States and in Israel. Two elections, two [12:35] nations, one critical moment. How the [12:37] Israeli and American elections could [12:39] reshape the Middle East. And I'll be [12:41] I'll be moderating. We have an amazing [12:43] panel. Dr. Gotti Ta, he's a senior [12:45] lecturer at Hebrew University of [12:47] Jerusalem. And he is one of the top [12:49] political commentators in Israel. Mark [12:51] Zel, who is the chairman of the [12:54] Republican Party in Israel, the GOP in [12:56] Israel. He's also the uh he's also the [12:58] chief council of Republicans overseas uh [13:00] worldwide. We have Jonathan Shanzer, [13:03] executive director of the Foundation for [13:04] Defense of Democracies. Will [13:06] Chamberlain, a very uh very prominent uh [13:10] young political commentator in the [13:11] United States. He's senior counsel at [13:12] the Article 3 Project. And Dr. AJ Noly, [13:16] who is a professor at the Regent [13:18] University Robertson School of [13:20] Government. Uh so they're all going to [13:22] be commenting on the elections and the [13:24] and everything that's going on there. [13:26] You don't want to miss this webinar. You [13:27] can sign up for it by [13:31] um um by um by clicking the link in the [13:34] description of this video or you can [13:36] scan the QR code. Uh that's this QR code [13:39] right here. You can scan that QR code [13:42] and sign up for the webinar. But again, [13:43] the link is in the description of this [13:44] video. If you want to click on that, uh [13:46] you'll uh you'll get signed up. And even [13:49] if you can't make the webinar live at [13:52] noon Eastern time, uh, and that is in U, [13:57] right? Is that noon Eastern time? Is [13:59] that what I said? Yeah, no, I'm sorry. 2 [14:02] p.m. Eastern time. I apologize. 2:00 [14:04] p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Even if you [14:06] can't make it at that time, don't worry [14:08] about it because if you sign up, you [14:09] will get a link emailed directly to you [14:11] right after the webinar airs live where [14:14] you can watch the full webinar. Um you [14:17] can you can watch the full webinar on [14:19] your own. Okay. [14:24] And here we are. Okay. [14:28] Uh [14:29] what else? Right. Uh so we have more to [14:31] say about this election about this about [14:33] this postponement of the Palestinian [14:35] Authority elections because you if you [14:37] remember my last video you'll remember [14:39] that I said my prediction was that [14:41] Marwan Burggouti who is the most uh [14:44] popular political figure as we saw in [14:46] the polling he's the most popular guy he [14:49] is in prison and he's the guy that like [14:51] Congressman Ro Kana was calling for his [14:53] release and all these celebrities were [14:54] calling for his release. He's a he's a [14:56] terrorist. He's serving five life [14:58] sentences for murder. [15:01] And my prediction was that he's going to [15:02] run from prison. [15:05] Right now, he's still going to run, but [15:08] now he's got more runway because it's [15:11] going to be he's going to be running in [15:13] the presidential election in 2027 from [15:15] prison. Um, and they and by the way, the [15:19] date they chose, they chose September [15:20] 11th, like of all dates. Anyway, [15:24] this delay is actually going to help [15:25] Marwan Burggoodi. Remember, Yoni Benakam [15:27] reported in September that Bargoodi's [15:30] strategy is to run from prison, win, and [15:32] then use international pressure to force [15:34] Israel to let him out. So, he's counting [15:37] on the political situation in Israel [15:40] changing in a way that makes that [15:42] pressure work. He's really hoping that [15:43] Netanyahu loses this election and he [15:46] gets a more left-leaning government that [15:47] is more pliable on the Palestinian [15:50] issue. So Mahmud Abbas just gave Marwan [15:53] Bguti 11 more months for his free Marwan [15:56] campaign for more celebrity letters, [15:58] more Roana statements. Every month that [16:01] passes, the case for Burgguti gets [16:03] louder and Abbas looks more like what he [16:06] is, a guy who won't let his people vote [16:08] because he's afraid he's going to lose. [16:11] So it's very interesting because we're [16:13] going to have to see how the rhetoric [16:14] ramps up in the months that come on [16:17] their side of things. [16:19] Um [16:21] now Trump's Gaza plan, right? that whole [16:25] plan to uh the whole plan to uh you to [16:30] fix Gaza, the the Gaza 20point plan. [16:33] Point N of that plan, I will remind you, [16:38] uh specifically says that the [16:40] Palestinian Authority [16:42] uh can only have any role in the [16:43] governance of Gaza once it completes a [16:46] program of comprehensive reforms. And I [16:49] mentioned two weeks ago that these [16:50] elections were going to be sold to us as [16:53] proof that they are reforming. Oh, look, [16:55] we're having elections. Well, now the [16:57] election is delayed. So, you know, and [17:01] this also this got some push back from [17:03] the European Union as well. Here, take a [17:06] look at this story. Let me pull this up [17:08] on screen. [17:10] EU tells Abbas holding Palestinian [17:13] elections is long overdue. The EU is not [17:16] happy about this postponement. You see, [17:19] when France recognized the state of [17:21] Palestine in September of last year, [17:23] Abbas committed in writing to President [17:26] Mcron and to the Saudi crown prince to [17:28] hold presidential and legislative [17:30] elections. That was part of the deal. [17:33] And then on September 24th of this year, [17:36] Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly [17:38] and reaffirmed that there would be [17:40] elections this November. [17:42] and then two weeks later he canled it. [17:46] So France and its friends h agreed to [17:50] recognize a state of Palestine. They [17:52] handed him a state on paper in exchange [17:54] for this promise of elections. [17:57] So Abbas pockets the recognition of the [18:01] Palestinian state but then postpones the [18:04] elections. I mean for another year, but [18:07] basically indefinitely. He's going to [18:08] keep postponing them. No, nothing's [18:10] going to change in his favor between now [18:12] and a year from now. He's going to come [18:13] up with another reason to postpone them. [18:15] And what did the European Union say [18:16] here? Let's take a look. The European [18:19] Union regrets the decision by [18:20] Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas to [18:22] postpone legislative and presidential [18:24] elections by almost a year. The EU's [18:26] foreign policy chief, Kaya Kalas, said [18:29] in a statement on Wednesday, that's this [18:31] past Wednesday, acknowledging the [18:33] challenges and limitations facing the [18:35] Palestinian Authority, we reiterate the [18:37] importance of organizing legislative and [18:39] presidential elections as soon as [18:41] possible in line with President Abbas's [18:43] previous commitments, [18:45] right? The commitments he made to France [18:46] and Saudi Arabia and to and and at the [18:48] UN. [18:50] I mean, the whole thing's so laughable, [18:52] right? these it's so important that they [18:55] have democratic elections. The [18:56] Palestinian Authority, like they're [18:57] supposed to be the most democratic of [18:59] any Arab country. Is that what they is [19:00] that what we're expecting? It's [19:02] ridiculous. [19:03] Anyway, [19:05] but this raises an issue for the whole [19:07] board of peace Gaza thing because the [19:09] Palestinian Authority is insinuating [19:11] itself into all of that and the [19:13] assumption was that they were going to [19:14] undergo reforms. Now, they weren't [19:16] really going to undergo reforms, but at [19:17] least the one supposed reform that they [19:21] were going to undergo that the world was [19:22] at least going to be able to point to as [19:24] an excuse to say that they've reformed [19:27] was elections. But now they're not even [19:28] having the elections. [19:32] So, they don't even have that that fig [19:34] leaf of claiming that they've reformed [19:37] because they've had elections. So, this [19:39] could actually hurt the Palestinian [19:42] Authority when it comes to the whole [19:45] Gaza situation and they're wanting to be [19:46] involved because it's this gives the [19:48] Israelis a very easy way to say, "Look, [19:50] there's been no reforms. They can't be [19:51] part of this." So, it's an interesting [19:53] wrinkle in this whole thing. But, I [19:55] guess Abbas decided that that's less of [19:57] an issue for him than the possibility of [19:59] actually losing power. [20:03] So meanwhile in Gaza, we have the [20:06] Committee of Palestinian Technocrats, [20:08] the Board of Peace that's supposed to [20:09] run Gaza. They're still sitting in Cairo [20:11] waiting. They haven't done anything yet. [20:14] And and Kamas is still on the ground. [20:17] Israel still picking off Hamas guys [20:19] every day or two. And that's the status [20:22] quo that this postponement [20:24] uh protects. Right? Point 13 of Trump's [20:27] 20point plan says that Kamas has no role [20:29] directly, indirectly, or in any form in [20:32] the governance of Gaza. Well, Kamas just [20:34] had a role because Kamas made an [20:37] agreement with Abbas [20:39] to delay the elections. So, Kamas is [20:41] still there. They're still making [20:43] decisions. [20:44] So, let's sum this up and end the video. [20:46] Abbas postpones the elections exactly as [20:49] I suggested he would a couple weeks ago. [20:51] Um, and he has a national dialogue. [20:55] Basically, he met with Hamas in Cairo [20:57] and they agreed they're going to push [20:58] off the elections. Kamas didn't mind. He [21:00] blamed Israel exactly the way he did [21:02] last time this happened back in 2021. [21:06] Europe expressed its its regret, right? [21:09] And Burggoodi, who's still sitting in [21:11] prison, is still the leading candidate [21:14] to win any election that takes place, [21:16] whether it's this year or next year. [21:20] So, next September, we'll see if they [21:22] actually vote. I wouldn't bet on it, but [21:24] if they do, [21:26] um, we'll be sure to talk about it. [21:29] Anyway, thanks for watching. Please [21:30] like, subscribe, share this video with [21:32] someone who needs to understand what is [21:35] actually going on. And make sure you [21:37] sign up for the webinar. I'll bring you [21:39] more updates on more of the issues that [21:41] we are facing. [21:43] So stay tuned. God bless.
