The Failed Experiment in Palestinian Democracy

In August 2005, Israel made a decision that ultimately reshaped the Middle East. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the nation’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, evacuating roughly 8,000 Jewish residents from 21 communities that had been there for decades and dismantling all military installations in the area.

The move—controversial even within Israel—was executed as a step toward peace. Sharon bypassed endless negotiations and the failed Oslo Accords and simply handed over the territory Israel had controlled since 1967, hoping the Palestinians would seize the opportunity to govern peacefully, build infrastructure, and improve living conditions for their people.

On paper, Sharon’s plan sounded optimistic. In reality, Gaza quickly descended into chaos.

Following Israel’s withdrawal, Palestinians held their first—and last—parliamentary election in January 2006. To the West’s surprise, Hamas won a majority of seats (74 to 45) to govern all Arabs living in the West Bank and Gaza, defeating Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party. The attempt at Palestinian democracy created a civil war. By June 2007, Hamas violently expelled Fatah and took total control of Gaza, while Fatah maintained control in the West Bank.

The Palestinian democracy experiment resulted in most Palestinians voting to be governed by a movement devoted to Israel’s destruction. Israel’s unilateral gamble backfired, deepening the conflict it sought to reduce. Since then, Hamas has fired tens of thousands of rockets into Israel; used foreign aid to build a vast underground labyrinth of terror tunnels; and embedded its fighters among civilians, whom they use as human shields. Israel has been forced into repeated military campaigns to suppress the endless terrorism on its southern border.

Hamas’s schemes culminated on October 7, 2023, when its operatives breached the border; massacred 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children; and kidnapped 250 more, holding them hostage in Gaza, where dozens have died in captivity. The assault marked the largest slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust, erasing any illusion that Gaza could peacefully govern itself.

Twenty years after Israel’s 2005 disengagement, the Jewish nation stands on the brink of retaking Gaza to dismantle Hamas once and for all. Sharon’s withdrawal, intended to reduce conflict, instead taught a sobering lesson: Even when given opportunity, the Palestinians fail to embrace democracy and peace.

Today, Western nations, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia, threaten to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel continues to dismantle Hamas, weaponizing peace negotiations to make the Jewish nation do their bidding. But these leaders haven’t done their homework. Recognizing a Palestinian state puts Israel in more danger than it faced 20 years ago.

In May 2025, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research reported that 42% of Palestinians expect Hamas to rule Gaza even after the war ends. Polling data shows overwhelming support for Hamas leadership, with Khalid Mishal (Hamas) defeating Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) 68% to 25% in a hypothetical election.

Internationally, Palestinians view China and Russia more favorably than the West, further rejecting democracy. Meanwhile, Israel consistently works to strengthen its ties with the same Western allies pressuring them to coexist with Hamas. Why, then, would Western governments reward Hamas with the legitimacy of a Palestinian state when its people continue to choose terror over peace?

Recognizing such a state would only repeat the tragic mistake of 2005 on a larger scale. Israel already “gifted” Gaza to the Arabs 20 years ago. In that time, what have they established? Not schools, democracy, or prosperity, but tunnels, dictatorship, and terror.

Satan continues to deceive the nations (Rev. 12:9), turning them against Israel, dividing the land God promised to the Jewish people (Joel 3:1–3), and fueling attacks on His Chosen People. Yet, God’s plan cannot be thwarted. Israel’s story remains central to His redemptive purposes (Rom. 11:25–29), and the world ignores that truth at its own peril (Ps. 2:1–3).