How little has changed. Except for the lack of Congressional resistance, the situation in the Israeli-occupied territories mirrors that of apartheid South Africa. Palestinians are being forced, either by choice or fate, to agree to “acceptable” candidates for elections to offices that will have only as much power as the Israeli government, underwritten by the Bush administration, grants. Sam Bahour and Todd May report for EI. Read more about Elections without Democracy 

The Palestine Liberation Organisation has, over decades, committed many strategic blunders that continue to reverberate today, especially as its leadership seems poised to commit yet more, if granted the opportunity. The essence of the failed PLO strategy is that it put the priority of having a state under PLO leadership ahead of liberating the land from Israeli occupation. The PLO’s relentless emphasis on the establishment of a state has gradually marginalized all the central causes of the conflict. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and co-founder Ali Abunimah look at the failure of PLO strategy in recent decades and warn that the Palestinians may yet face the mother of all disasters. Read more about The mother of all disasters? 

The steady flow of international dignitaries to Israel and Palestine following the confirmation of the new transitional Palestinian leadership has been rather impressive but it is far past time for the international community to stand up and take action. Enough of throwing money, food, consultants, death, despair and destruction at the Palestinians. The time is now for the community of nations to impose international law to end this global tragedy. Sam Bahour comments. Read more about WANTED: Middle East Mediator 

Palestinian Liberation Organisation chairman Mahmud Abbas has appealed to the UN to help facilitate the Palestinian presidential election, during talks in Jordan with the UN Middle East envoy. Abbas and interim prime minister, Ahmad Quraya, asked Terje Roed-Larsen to support the Palestinian elections. They also asked that he pressure Israel to ensure voters can cast their ballots freely, Palestinian representative in Amman, Ata Allah Khairy, said. The Palestinian Authority had already notified the quartet of the arrest of several nominees in Dahiriya, as well as the harassment and brief detention of two presidential candidates. Khalid Amayreh reports. Read more about UN help sought for Palestinian presidential elections 

One thing all agree on is that Marwan Barghouti’s decision to run has blown the presidential race wide open. Opinion polls have him and Mahmoud Abbas more or less neck and neck, and among the other eight candidates at least two, acting speaker of the Legislative Council Hasan Khreisheh and Mustapha Barghouti both have relatively high public profiles, making the field very competitive. However, some observers fear that the competition and the electoral system will simply lead to the loss of thousands of votes, and weaken the mandate of any elected PA president in the international arena. Atef Saad assesses Barghouti’s candidacy for the Palestine Report. Read more about "Bombshell" shakes Fateh: Barghouti's candidacy blows race wide open 

Today’s Israeli Ha’aretz newspaper brought good news to those disturbed by the relentless death toll resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a headline that stated “IDF: 29 Palestinian civilians killed in W. Bank in 2004”. “The Israel Defense Forces released figures Wednesday showing that since the beginning of the year,” wrote Ha’aretz correspondent Amos Harel, “148 Palestinians have been killed by IDF fire in the West Bank, at least 29 of them, by army count, innocent bystanders, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.” EI’s Nigel Parry gags and begs to differ. Read more about On Palestine's Dead: Israel's Chilling Concept of "Good News" 

Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian resistance leader imprisoned by Israel, has caused an uproar by reversing his earlier decision not to run for president of the Palestinian Authority. His candidacy has provoked some very negative reactions that cast serious doubt on the sincerity of those who have long been calling on the Palestinians to speed up democratization and reform as a way to advance the peace process. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and co-founder Ali Abunimah look at the dispute and examine why there is so much hostility from peace process professionals to Barghouti taking part in a free election. Read more about Is Marwan Barghouti right to run? 

For many following developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat gave rise to new hopes for peace in the Middle East. However, for many Palestinians, their feeling of optimism regarding the future is largely psychological since there is no practical justification for it. Most are convinced that Israel will seek to find any pretext to avoid a meaningful peace process that would lead to the termination of 37 years of military occupation. The vital question remains whether Israel is willing to pay the price for peace and withdraw. Read more about Palestinian expectations tempered by reality