If only Abbas had spoken up sooner and let everyone know he was actually the leader of Hamas, then the Abbas-led Hamas and the Abbas-led Fatah wouldn't have fought and quite a few lives would have been saved. You should have let them know, Shira!!
The PA is a parliamentary democracy, not a dictatorship. Dictatorships involve one or a few holding absolute power and not being constrained by constitutions or laws. An example of a dictatorship is North Korea. So, having learnt that, go back and read the two examples I gave, and things should start making sense unless you are actually holding Palestinians to a different standard than any others...
btw, here's a link to the official recognition of Israel by the PLO. No matter how much you don't want that official document to exist or mean anything, it does...
The signing of the Declaration of Principles marks a new era in the history of the Middle East. In firm conviction thereof, I would like to confirm the following PLO commitments:
The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.
The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process, and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations.
The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful coexistence, free from violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly, the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators
In view of the promise of a new era and the signing of the Declaration of Principles and based on Palestinian acceptance of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/recogn.html