Drafted by individuals convicted of financing, planning and engaging in terror, the document lays the groundwork for additional acts of violence. One of the document's authors, Marwan Barghouti, is serving five life sentences for murders, including a Greek monk and several restaurant patrons. And the document endorses the use of violence by asserting "the Palestinian people's right to . . . continuing popular resistance against the occupation in all its forms, places and policies." In short, this is a dangerous document written by dangerous people.
Yet The Globe and Mail failed to mention the drafters' terrorist pasts or the additional violence their document advocates. An analysis piece on May 27 (Abbas's Master Stroke Puts Hamas In A Corner) described the drafters simply as "prisoners jailed for resistance to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land."
An additional article, by reporter Mark MacKinnon (Abbas Gaining In Popularity, Poll Shows -- May 30), summarized the document at some length but never mentioned its authors' history or their renewed call to violence.
And an editorial (Abbas Sets The Bar -- May 30) trumpeted the document as "a peace proposal championed by respected Palestinian leaders currently behind bars in an Israeli prison."
Globe and Mail readers expect and deserve a higher standard of accuracy.