PLO and Hamas must hold elections or let their citizens emigrate

We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century...

The UAE and Bahrain wisely rejected this advice at the White House last week.

PLO spokesman Saeb Erekat - expressed his opposition to the Manama Conference claiming:

...there will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation...

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces for economic reasons in recent years seeking to enter other countries illegally.

Policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster:

• Materially affecting West Bank and Gazan Arabs' personal lives and
• Wrecking hopes for peace and a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Many West Bank and Gazan Arabs would want to emigrate after Erekat's depressing prediction – especially to Arab countries prepared to accept them legally.

Employment, economic prosperity and better lives tantalisingly beckon West Bank and Gazan Arabs in:

• Saudi Arabia's NEOM project - a planned US$500 billion mega city
  
  The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Africa.
  
  Some 25,900 square kilometres – the size of Israel - has been allocated for the project - which will be close to the borders of Jordan and Egypt.

• The planned relocation of the Egyptian Government offices from Cairo to a new $58 billion administrative capital city 45 km east of Cairo covering an area of 741 square km.

West Bank and Gazan Arabs - caught up in three decades of disastrous decisions and continuing internecine in-fighting between their corrupt governments - should be allowed to vote with their feet and move – with international financial assistance - to other countries willing to accept them.

The PLO and Hamas should be spurned world-wide until they let their citizens emigrate.