Democracy, Israeli-style, part II

Israel is interfering in the Palestinian elections - again. Last month, the Israeli government announced that it would prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting - because they might vote for the "wrong" people (such as Hamas). Now they've softened their position; the vote will be allowed to go ahead, Hamas candidates will be forbidden to campaign (and presumably, arrested and beaten if they try). So, the most democratic state in the Middle East is trying to fix an election by brute force. Wonderful, isn't it?

Not only is this grossly undemocratic, it is also stupidly counterproductive. I can't think of anything more likely to make Palestinians vote for Hamas than the news that the Israeli government doesn't want them to. But then, "stupidly counterproductive" pretty much describes the recent history of Israel and Palestine in a nutshell, doesn't it?