"First Legislative Elections", an Article by Bassam ash-Shakʿa, 1996

Handwritten by Bassam ash-Shakʿa, this 5-page document describes the first legislative elections in Palestine in 1996 as the stepping point for implementing the provisions of the Oslo Accords and consequently the singularity of Fatah’s decision making. Ash-Shakʿa mentions the geographical division of the voting polls, which aims to create dominate the familial and tribal interests over political essences, in addition to the interference of security agencies to encourage the public to run for elections despite their incompetency. In addition, the date of the elections was decided at the Taba Summit, coinciding with the public attention thrown on the political parties act and the parties’ internal and implicit elections discussions. Moreover, Ash-Shakʿa adds that the timing of the election campaigns is not enough to create a discussion between national and opposing parties and that opposition was not intellectually and politically unified, which in hindsight affected the statement made publicly.