As a candidate for Jerusalem’s city council, Ramadan Dabash hopes his fellow Arab Jerusalemites—who have the right to vote in municipal elections regardless of whether they are citizens of Israel—will come to the polls in October. Most years, however, only a tiny number do so, in part because of pressure and even intimidation from Palestinian religious and lay leaders. And this pressure comes not only from Hamas but from such senior Palestinian Authority figures as Saeb Erekat, who recently stated that any Arab who votes in the elections will be “assisting” in Israeli “ethnic cleansing.” Bassam Tawil comments:
The Palestinian campaign of incitement against participation in the municipal election reached its peak recently with the publication of a fatwa (Islamic religious decree) that bans Muslims from talking part in the vote. The fatwa [effectively tells] the Muslim residents of Jerusalem that any among them who dares to seek improved municipal services for himself and his family would be considered an infidel. This is a direct call on extremists to target Dabash and people like him [with violence]. . . .
Palestinian leaders have once again shown that they do not hesitate to act against the interests of their own people. The call for boycotting the municipal election in Jerusalem should be seen in the context of continued Palestinian incitement against Israel. Moreover, the call should also be seen in the context of the Palestinian Authority’s campaign of intimidation and threats against its own people.
Contrary to the Palestinian leadership’s claim, Arab participation in the municipal election does not come with any political implication. The Arabs who are taking part in the election are not being asked to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Nor are they being required to swear allegiance to Israel.
Palestinian leaders and their religious clerics do not want to see Arabs live a comfortable life under Israel. They are afraid that the world would see that Arabs can have a good life under Israeli sovereignty. They are also afraid that Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will start envying the Arabs living in Israel—and then demand similar conditions from their leaders.
Read more on Gatestone: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12915/jerusalem-arabs-election-boycott