Palestinian Elections

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

Awhile back, my brother adamantly opined that the majority of the "Palestinian" people want ALL of Israel as their homeland, and subsequently want to eliminate all Jews therefrom.

 

Many of you argued with him...many of you were just proven wrong.

 

 

Palestinian PM says government will quit after Hamas win

Israeli PM: 'Will not negotiate' with those who won't fight terrorism

 

RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- In a stunning development ahead of official election results, Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Thursday he and others in the Palestinian Authority government will resign in the wake of Hamas' apparent parliamentary victory.

 

The announcement followed estimates from Wednesday's election that said Hamas had won a majority of seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, supplanting the ruling Fatah party.

 

Qorei's office said it will be up to Hamas to form a new government.

 

"It's the choice of the people and it should be respected," Qorei said. "I think, if the majority is approved and has been reached, I think Hamas should form a new government, it's true. The president should ask Hamas to form a new government.

 

"For me personally, I sent my resignation to the president to enable him to choose a new prime minister," Qorei said.

 

Initial election results are scheduled to be released Thursday at 7 p.m. (noon ET).

 

Exit polls earlier had shown Hamas thrusting itself into the center of Palestinian politics but had not indicated an outright majority win by the group.

 

The exit poll from Bir Zeit University, a respected Palestinian school, showed Fatah garnered 46.4 percent of the vote and Hamas won 39.8 percent in the Palestinian Legislative Council. That translates into 63 seats for Fatah and 58 for Hamas, according to the exit poll.

 

But other polls showed Hamas earning a slim majority, a claim echoed by some Hamas officials, prompting a warning from Israel.

 

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel could not accept a situation in which Hamas in its current configuration -- committed to the destruction of Israel -- was a part of the Palestinian Authority.

 

"I will not negotiate with a government that does not meet its most basic obligations -- to fight terrorism. We are prepared to assist the Palestinians and [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] very much but they must meet their commitments," Olmert said, according to a statement released by his office.

 

The European Union, meanwhile, said it was prepared to work with any government -- to a point.

 

"We are prepared to work with any Palestinian government, if this government seeks peace, using peaceful means," said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU external relations commissioner.

 

Hamas, which boycotted the last election in 1996, capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction with what is seen as corruption within the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, and a perceived inability by the authority to manage the affairs of the Palestinians.

 

Fatah was formed in 1965 by longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died in November 2004, and dominated Palestinian politics for decades as the mainstream Palestinian nationalist movement.

 

"Mostly, they were voting for opposition and voting against Fatah -- against corruption, against nepotism, against the failure of the peace process, and against the lack of leadership," said Mustafa Barghouti with the Palestinian National Initiative, a democratic opposition movement.

 

He said Wednesday "was a great day for Palestine. This is the best democratic practice ever in the Arab world." (Watch Gaza residents talk about why election day is so important -- 2:32)

 

Hamas has called for the destruction of Israel. The group's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as well as attacks against the Israeli military. The group is listed as a terrorist group by Israel and the U.S. State Department.

 

Turnout near 78 percent

Election officials estimated about 77.7 percent of the eligible 1.3 million voters turned out to cast their ballots at more than 1,000 polling stations. Voting closed around 7 p.m. (noon ET) in Gaza and the West Bank, and it was extended in predominantly Arab east Jerusalem for two hours to accommodate heavy turnout. (Watch how preliminary results divide up seats -- 3:05)

 

Among those who joined the voters were Abbas and Mahmoud Zahar, the leader of Hamas. Militant Palestinian groups had agreed to a cease-fire during the voting, and there were no reports of major violence.

 

"We are embarking on a new era, and we call on the international community to help us return to the negotiating table with the Israelis, to conclude a peace agreement and implement it," Abbas said at the end of the election.

 

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa told CNN: "It's a happy day. There is no doubt about that. And I think that the Palestinian people are generally happy because of this." (Read how the vote demonstrates Palestinians' will to flex their political muscle)

 

Flag waving and anger

At polling sites in Gaza, many voters jubilantly waved the green flag of Hamas and expressed anger at Fatah.

 

"Fatah hasn't done anything for us, for our children," said one Hamas voter at a polling site in Gaza.

 

Another said: "Fatah only helps itself. We want to see what Hamas can do for us."

 

The results of the election were being closely monitored by the United States and European Union, both of which have threatened to cut aid if Hamas becomes part of the government.

 

The U.S. State Department was blunt.

 

"We view Hamas as a terrorist organization. We don't deal with Hamas. And under the current circumstances, I don't see that changing," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

 

Impact on the peace process?

There have been talks about a power-sharing coalition, in which Fatah maintains the more political posts and Hamas has lower-level ministry positions.

 

Asked how Palestinians could move forward with peacemaking with Israel, al-Kidwa told CNN, "Maybe this is one of the reasons why we prefer not to have it in the government at this stage."

 

He added: "We have to maintain making peace with Israel as a priority. Actually, this is in our interest, in the interests of the Palestinian people. We need to reach final settlement with Israelis."

 

Following is the Hamas campaign platform

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

, THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 26, 2006

 

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The List for "Change and Reform" believes that participation in the Legislative elections falls within the comprehensive program for the liberation of Palestine and the return of the Palestine People to its independent state with its capital Jerusalem.

 

The Change and Reform list seeks the construction of a developed Palestinian Civil society based on multiplicity; the Palestinian political order should be such as to help achieve the Palestinian National Rights.

 

The Change and reform List adopts a number of approaches to fulfill fixed aims emanating from Islamic references - namely:

 

1. Islam is our Reference.

 

2. Palestine is Arab and Muslim Land.

 

3. Palestinians are one nation regardless of location.

 

4. The Palestinian People are still in the process of National Liberation and have the right to use all means including armed struggle to achieve this goal.

 

5. The right of return to all Palestinians.

 

6. Adherence to the inalienable rights of the people.

 

7. Protect and cement National Unity as a priority.

 

8. The issue of prisoners and detainees tops the agenda ; on the internal policy level the C&R aims at achieving a great number of objectives - among them: Maintaining Palestinian fixed National Aims; Palestinian presence in Jerusalem; political freedom; dialogue as a means to solving internal differences; freedom of expression; assembling movement.

 

9. The platform of the C&R prohibits: Political detention; shedding Palestinian blood; protection of civil society; directing the security apparatus to safeguarding the security of the citizens.

 

Among other things the Platform calls for protecting the "Resistance" and enhancing its role to resist Occupation and achieve Liberation. The C&R will also build a normal Palestinian individual who takes pride in his religion, land, freedom and dignity and is ready to sacrifice for them.

 

The C&R will continue to resist the erection of the Racist Wall and it will seek its destruction.

 

The rights of minorities are to be protected on the basis of good citizenship; public funds are for all; the prisoners and wounded are the embodiment of sacrifice and should be accorded full care. Palestinian WAQF is also to be safeguarded, be it Muslim or Christian.

 

The relationship between the PLO and the PA should be mended so as to serve the Nation and respect fields of specialty.

 

On the inter-Arab and Islamic relations the C&R calls for consolidating them; activating the role of Arab & Islamic masses in supporting our anti-occupation stand.

 

The C&R will build balanced political relation with the international community to ensure playing an effective role. The C&R will stress on international level, the illegibility of occupation which is to be doomed as the most grisly form of terrorism.

 

The C&R will reject grants with strings, at the same time it will rehabilitate cities and villages and restore infrastructure.

 

Chief among its objectives internally, the C&R will combat corruption with its aspects, administrative or financial. The C&R will apply the policy "where from did you get this"; to achieve this goal control systems will be set up to monitor the activities of civil servants and others.

 

The Islamic Law will be the source of Palestinian Legislation, the three branches, legislative, executive and judicial are to be separated.

 

Constitutional tribunal is to be activated. A number of measures, based on Islam are to be implemented. A new elections law is to be passed so as to ensure justice and fair representation of our people.

 

All citizens are equal before the Law; arbitrary arrest is taboo. Dialogue should be encouraged and the respect of the other; point of view guaranteed for all; unions are to be independent and domination is unacceptable; political powers are recognized and their role is to be used for the sake of establishing of civil institutions; equal opportunities for all and the principle of the right man for the right job will be applied.

 

Out of our conviction of the vitality of building a well-rounded Palestinian individual, the C&R attaches great importance to education which will keep abreast of modern innovations. Islam of course will be the core of the Palestinian education philosophy - reforms are to be introduced to the current education system, the C&R details its policy in this regard in 17 items proposed to rehabilitate the system. C&R lists five measures to raise the efficiency of the clergy and regulate and care for mosques and emphasize their educational role.

 

The Palestinian family, as the nucleus of the Palestinian society, figures high in the C&R platform; 16 items detail the proposed suggestions that will strengthen the family and its role. Palestinian family Laws are to be derived from and conform to the Shari'ah law as far as the society is concerned; reconciliation committees should be activated in order to discharge their role as trouble-shooters.

 

Culture and media play a vital role in shaping the mentality and thought of citizens, and building up of the nation's personality. Freedom of thinking, expression and fairness and safeguarding the youth from external corruptible influence are chief among the C&R concerns. Official media should work for enhancing the people's steadfastness and resistance.

 

Women's rights will be guaranteed so that they can contribute to the building of society, socially, economically and politically. Women's organizations should be encouraged. The C&R enumerates the actions that they should take to raise the status of women.

 

Youth care is among the aims to be achieved by the C&R - talents among the young are to be tapped and encouraged.

 

Public land should be taken care of so that they can be fully utilized to build villages and public housing to be distributed fairly and equally among those in need.

 

Heath Care system is to be reformed and made available to all people, especially the needy. Health care centers will be built to serve all sections of the people wherever they live. Public health and hygiene will also be taken care of. The environment is to be protected.

 

Agriculture and animal husbandry will be encouraged. Small farms will get credits in order to effectively make use of the land. The use of

insecticides should be regulated for full benefits.

 

On the economic level, the economy and monetary system should be independent from the Zionist entity and its economic and monetary system. The C&R will mint Palestinian currency; self-sufficiency is an ultimate objective to be worked for through a number of measures. International economic agreements will be reconsidered and revised so as to serve the interests of the Palestinian people, chief among them:

 

*The Paris Economic agreement.

 

*The Free Trade Agreement with the USA.

 

*Partnership Agreement with the EU.

 

*The Economic Agreement with Egypt and Jordan.

 

The Economic and trade relations with the Arab and Islamic world should be developed. The Palestinian economy should be helped to disengage itself from the dependency on Israeli economy. Income tax laws must be reconsidered and reformed.

 

Labor and unions and occupational societies will be encouraged and developed; minimum wage limit should be established to guarantee a decent standard of living for all, wages and salaries should be linked to the index.

 

Roads must be updated and modernized; movement among cities and villages should be emphasized and smooth; opening of free crossings between Palestinian territory and Jordan and Egypt. Any foreign interference is rejected; the port and the airport are to be reopened.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

Al-Aksa Intifada has created new realities on the ground, which made history of the OSLO program. The different parties, including the Zionist occupation are for the "burying of Oslo".

 

ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION AND IS OUR PATH TO CHANGES AND REFORM.

 

OUR PLATFORM IS OUR WAY TO ENHANCE THE BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY WHICH WAS DESTROYED BY THE OCCUPATION.

 

THE SAFEGUARDING OF RESISTANCE AND ITS AGENDA IS THE WAY TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL AND ISLAMIC UNITY - ON THE WAY TO COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL LIBERATION.

 

THIS IS THE PLATFORM OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE AND HOMELAND.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[NorthSideSox72]

ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION AND IS OUR PATH TO CHANGES AND REFORM.

 

OUR PLATFORM IS OUR WAY TO ENHANCE THE BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY WHICH WAS DESTROYED BY THE OCCUPATION.

 

THE SAFEGUARDING OF RESISTANCE AND ITS AGENDA IS THE WAY TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL AND ISLAMIC UNITY - ON THE WAY TO COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL LIBERATION.

 

THIS IS THE PLATFORM OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE AND HOMELAND.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Well, this is definitely a big event. Scary too. Not sure how this will all fall out.

 

But I also think it's important for all of us to look at the second document you copied in (the C&R, which I assume is Hamas material), and note that there is nothing about the destruction or removal of Israel in it. I don't think that Hamas as a group is seeking that any longer.

 

But all that may be moot, because it seems plain that neither Israel or the US is willing to deal with Hamas in any way, shape or form. And for some very good reasons.

 

This is indeed very scary.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Revelations that BushCo was secretly financing Fatah sure came out at the wrong time, didn't they?

 

Steve, when you get a chance, please tell everybody about the history of ISS support and nurturing of Hamas early on, in their believe that they would fight against the radical Palistinian nationalist organizations of te day. Note that previous Israeli PMs have acknowledged that Hamas was indeed a 'creature of Israel' as Afafat once accused, and have said it was one of the fatal mistakes of the Israeli government.

 

A lot of that history gets lost in today's discussions.

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

Revelations that BushCo was secretly financing Fatah sure came out at the wrong time, didn't they?

 

Steve, when you get a chance, please tell everybody about the history of ISS support and nurturing of Hamas early on, in their believe that they would fight against the radical Palistinian nationalist organizations of te day.  Note that previous Israeli PMs have acknowledged that Hamas was indeed a 'creature of Israel' as Afafat once accused, and have said it was one of the fatal mistakes of the Israeli government.

 

A lot of that history gets lost in today's discussions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That may be true.

 

The US also armed/funded Taliban fighters in Afghanistan when they were fighting the Russians.

 

Same for arming Iraq when they were fightring Iran.

 

Stuff happens, I guess.

[kapkomet]

That may be true.

 

The US also armed/funded Taliban fighters in Afghanistan when they were fighting the Russians.

 

Same for arming Iraq when they were fightring Iran.

 

Stuff happens, I guess.

I don't bank on this, but I hope now that Hamas has 'real power' (whatever that means in Palestine) they will renounce the old and actually negotiate. Time will tell.

[YASNY]

I don't bank on this, but I hope now that Hamas has 'real power' (whatever that means in Palestine) they will renounce the old and actually negotiate.  Time will tell.

 

Don't. Hold. Your. Breath.

[Texsox]

Well all American believe in everything that Bush stands for, so all Palestinians will be behind Hamas based on these elections. I still hold out hope that all Palestinians aren't of the same thought, just like all Israelies aren't 100% united in what they believe, or 100% of Americans, etc.

 

We'll see how effective they will be, while still being a *minority*. I believe this shows how it will be impossible for a lasting peace in the middle east. The blood bath that would happen if the US stopped sending aid would be unimaginable. So, guess what, we'll be upping our foreign aid, hopefully Israel will spend it on something more usefull then spying on us.

[southsider2k5]

Don't.  Hold.  Your.  Breath.

 

They have already started to do so... A couple of days ago they were quoted in the papers as saying they would talk to Israel again.

[YASNY]

They have already started to do so... A couple of days ago they were quoted in the papers as saying they would talk to Israel again.

 

I heard that they refused to change their "stance" regarding the elimination of the state of Isreal.

[sec159row2]

the palestinians don't have to worry about the isrealis, Iran's gonna take care of it...

 

 

 

THE GREEN MEANS I'M BEING A SARCASTIC JERK

 

the entire region does not want peace... cause then they won't get our tax dollars anymore

Edited January 26, 2006 by sec159row2

[NorthSideSox72]

I don't bank on this, but I hope now that Hamas has 'real power' (whatever that means in Palestine) they will renounce the old and actually negotiate.  Time will tell.

 

Read Hamas' C&R statement that was pasted in at the top. At least in words, they appear to be softening already.

 

Let's all hope.

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

Read Hamas' C&R statement that was pasted in at the top.  At least in words, they appear to be softening already.

 

Let's all hope.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's no mention of them recognizing Israel's right to exist. It says they want to liberate "all of Palestine".

[sec159row2]

There's no mention of them recognizing Israel's right to exist. It says they want to liberate "all of Palestine".

 

 

does that mean that Iran's gonna nuke palestine???

 

 

 

 

AGAIN GREEN MEANS I'M A JERK...

[Rex Kickass]

I think Hamas in a Palestinian government will be good for the region. I'll explain when I get free time at work.

[YASNY]

I think Hamas in a Palestinian government will be good for the region. I'll explain when I get free time at work.

 

I'll be all ears .. or in this case, eyes.

[Flash Tizzle]

I think Hamas in a Palestinian government will be good for the region. I'll explain when I get free time at work.

 

If you reasoning for this belief lies on Hamas' desire to be considered legitimate by Western governments, any public reforms within their group won't alter their stance on Israel. Sure, their financing of armed militants and recruitment of suicide bombers may desist, but this won't go nearly far enough.

 

I honestly don't know why people continue to believe peace is possible. The entire Middle Eastern region--Palestine included--won't be completely satisfied with any peace plan unless Israel is removed.

 

EDIT: Paragraph above wasn't addressed to you, Kickass. Just an overall assessment of the peace process.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Flash Tizzle

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

I think Hamas in a Palestinian government will be good for the region. I'll explain when I get free time at work.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's what I THINK should/will happen. Israel will continue to act unilaterally. They will complete the Security Fence around the "palestinian" region(s), and will recognize "palestine" as a state.

 

Then, if/when the "palestinians" commit violent acts against Israelis, they will be not considered acts of terror, but as acts of war, and will be dealt with as such.

[KipWellsFan]

Well all American believe in everything that Bush stands for, so all Palestinians will be behind Hamas based on these elections. I still hold out hope that all Palestinians aren't of the same thought, just like all Israelies aren't 100% united in what they believe, or 100% of Americans, etc.

 

We'll see how effective they will be, while still being a *minority*. I believe this shows how it will be impossible for a lasting peace in the middle east. The blood bath that would happen if the US stopped sending aid would be unimaginable. So, guess what, we'll be upping our foreign aid, hopefully Israel will spend it on something more usefull then spying on us.

 

 

I'm not sure what sense you're using the word minority, so I'll quote these items anyways.

 

The radical Islamic faction Hamas won a majority of seats in Palestinian parliamentary elections, according to preliminary official results released today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/internat...artner=homepage

 

On January 26, 2006, the Hamas was reported to have won the Palestinian legislative elections with an absolute majority of 76 seats out of 132.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

 

Pretty scary stuff.

[Balta1701]

I think Hamas in a Palestinian government will be good for the region. I'll explain when I get free time at work.

"Only Nixon could go to China"?

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

I'm not sure what sense you're using the word minority, so I'll quote these items anyways.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/internat...artner=homepage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

 

Pretty scary stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe that this translates to "a majority of "palestinians" do not recognize Israel's right to exist.".

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

If you reasoning for this belief lies on Hamas' desire to be considered legitimate by Western governments, any public reforms within their group won't alter their stance on Israel. Sure, their financing of armed militants and recruitment of suicide bombers may desist, but this won't go nearly far enough.

 

I honestly don't know why people continue to believe peace is possible. The entire Middle Eastern region--Palestine included--won't be completely satisfied with any peace plan unless Israel is removed.

 

Unfortunately, you are 100% correct.

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

Hamas Without Veils

No more hiding behind the PA.

 

By Emanuele Ottolenghi

 

Contrary to initial responses, Hamas’s projected victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections is a positive development. Not, as its apologists claim, because the proximity of power will favor a process of cooptation into parliamentary politics, and therefore strengthen the pragmatic wing of Hamas. There is no pragmatic wing in Hamas, and all differences within the movement — the armed wing and the political wing, Palestine Hamas and Hamas in Syria — are arguably tactical differences. No, the reason is, as Vladimir Ilich Lenin would put it, "worse is better."

 

Hamas’s favored outcome was not victory, but a strong showing that would leave Hamas with the best of both worlds: It would remain in opposition (or would be invited to join a coalition as a junior partner) but would impose severe limitations on the Fatah-led government on how to manage its relations with Israel. Hamas could thus claim to reject Oslo, decline to recognize the Palestinian Authority and its commitments under the Oslo accords and the roadmap, and continue to use its rising political clout and its military strength to sabotage any effort to revive the moribund peace process.

 

What victory does to Hamas is to put the movement into an impossible position. As preliminary reports emerge, Hamas has already asked Fatah to form a coalition and got a negative response. Prime Minister Abu Ala has resigned with his cabinet, and president Abu Mazen will now appoint Hamas to form the next government. From the shadows of ambiguity, where Hamas could afford — thanks to the moral and intellectual hypocrisy of those in the Western world who dismissed its incendiary rhetoric as tactics — to have the cake and eat it too. Now, no more. Had they won 30-35 percent of the seats, they could have stayed out of power but put enormous limits on the Palestinian Authority’s room to maneuver. By winning, they have to govern, which means they have to tell the world, very soon, a number of things.

 

They will have to show their true face now: No more masks, no more veils, no more double-speak. If the cooptation theory — favored by the International Crisis Group and by the former British MI-6 turned talking head, Alistair Crooke — were true, this is the time for Hamas to show what hides behind its veil.

 

As the government of the Palestinian Authority, now they will have to say whether they accept the roadmap.

 

They will have to take control over security and decide whether they use it to uphold the roadmap or to wage war.

 

There will be no excuses or ambiguities when Hamas fires rockets on Israel and launches suicide attacks against civilian targets. Until Tuesday, the PA could hide behind the excuse that they were not directly responsible and they could not rein in the "militants." Now the "militants" are the militia of the ruling party. They are one and the same with the Palestinian Authority. If they bomb Israel from Gaza — not under occupation anymore, and is therefore, technically, part of the Palestinian state the PLO proclaimed in Algiers in 1988, but never bothered to take responsibility for — that is an act of war, which can be responded to in kind, under the full cover of the internationally recognized right of self-defense. No more excuses that the Palestinians live under occupation, that the PA is too weak to disarm Hamas, that violence is not the policy of the PA. Hamas and the PA will be the same: What Hamas does is what the PA will stand for.

 

Continuing to pursue a violent path will automatically switch off all international aid. Perhaps Hamas intends to offset the resulting loss of revenue by hosting Holocaust-denial conferences in Gaza and terrorist training camps in Rafah, but it will still have to explain to the Palestinian public why it’s better to renounce public aid to wage war.

 

Meanwhile, Hamas will have to confront the Egyptians (and the Jordanians) and tell them what the PA under Hamas now stands for. And Egypt and Jordan will have to change course, accordingly. Egypt has an increased military presence along the Gaza border and several officers in Gaza to help "stabilize" the security situation — which so far has meant keeping the flames low enough not to bother Egypt but high enough not to let Israel off the hook completely. What will Egypt do now? Cooperate with Hamas in Gaza while it dreads Hamas’ twin, the Muslim Brotherhood, at home? Will it act more decisively to stop the ever growing flow of illegal weapons being smuggled into Gaza from the Sinai, or turn a blind eye even as the increased militancy in Gaza might embolden the Brotherhood in Egypt? No more ambiguity for Egypt either.

 

The Arab world will also be watching wearily. Hamas now will have to show to the Arab world that an Islamic party that wins a democratic election — everyone’s nightmarish scenario — is not as bad as it seems. For now, the Palestinians have chosen an Islamic option over a secular one. Let them have it. Let them enjoy life under Sharia. It is their choice — that is what self-determination is about — and we must respect it. After all, the spectacle of an Arab government that is defeated in a fair and free election, and that as a consequence resigns (resigns!), has no precedent in the Arab world. This is good news. Let’s have some more and put Hamas to the test of democracy: this experience will tell us if Islamists can embark on a road that leads to the Turkish model or whether Palestine will become a Sunni Iran. If democracy succeeds under Hamas’s leadership, there is a legitimate government in power that enjoys support and popularity in Palestine and might be more honest and more competent than its predecessor — not a difficult task, given the ineptitude of Fatah. Otherwise, we can tell once and for all that co-optation is not the way to moderation, but a recipe is self-defeating appeasement.

 

Hamas hoped that a narrow Fatah victory would allow Hamas to enter government in junior positions while pursuing violence against Israel — much like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Their victory forces them to make a choice now, and the international community, while respecting the democratic verdict of a fundamentally fair electoral process, must hold them to account. The issue is not whether Europe, the U.S., or Israel should talk to Hamas. The issue is whether there is anything to talk about with Hamas, and the burden of proof is on Hamas to demonstrate they are capable of becoming interlocutors. If Hamas meets the true test, namely accepting the road map, renouncing violence, disarming its own terror network, recognizing Israel and embracing the two-state solution, then no obstacle should remain for a dialogue with Hamas. Otherwise, they can taste Israeli steel, courtesy of the U.S. and the full backing of the EU of Israel’s right to defend itself.

 

Don’t hold your breath though.

 

In commenting on this electoral upheaval, Jerusalem Post’s editor David Horovitz has written

 

Some may seek comfort in the belief that an ascent to government could prompt a greater sense of responsibility, a move to moderation. But Hamas's intolerance is based on a perceived religious imperative. No believing Muslim, in the Hamas conception, can be reconciled to Jewish sovereignty in the Middle East. To deny that, for Hamas, is blasphemy. And that is the ideology to which the Palestinian people, for whatever reason and by their own free hand, have just tied their fate. That is the guiding ideology with which Israel and the West will now have to grapple.

 

The appeasers and the apologists are already cuing up to argue that Hamas has already embarked on the road to realism. But unless Hamas reneges on its ideology and endorses a new course, then Israel’s claim that there is no Palestinian partner is vindicated. The resulting Israeli policy of unilateralism is vindicated. Israel’s argument that the Palestinians do not want peace is vindicated. Israel’s argument that Islamists’ nuances and differences of opinion are just tactical, not strategic, is also vindicated. And the prospects of a Palestinian state will become even more remote.

 

The uniform message that the world gives Hamas should thus be: Take off your veil, and expose your true face for the entire world to see in the naked and transparent light of democracy.

 

— Emanuele Ottolenghi teaches Israel studies at Oxford University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/otto...00601261002.asp

[Texsox]

I believe that this translates to "a majority of "palestinians" do not recognize Israel's right to exist.".

 

And a majority of Americans believe everything that Bush stands for. The majority of Americans are pro-life, tax cuts, God fearing Christians, want war in Iraq, etc. You may be right, but it is impossible to logically make that generalization from an election where there was more issues than one. This was an election for people. All these assumptions and generalities do not help the peace process.

 

What it means is a majority of Palestinians believed the Hamas candidates will be better leaders for them. Be carefull how you generalize. Do you believe that everyone that voted for Bush agreed with him 100%?

 

Someone mentioned that no one wants peace there. I disagree. Everyone wants peace there. Sadly, they want peace by eliminating the other side.

 

Rex, I can't believe this could possibly be good for the peace process. If you can pull that off, I'll be shocked.

[Kid Gleason]

Anybody else been having a strange craving for mashed chickpeas today???

[Steve Bartman's my idol]

And a majority of Americans believe everything that Bush stands for. The majority of Americans are pro-life, tax cuts, God fearing Christians, want war in Iraq, etc. You may be right, but it is impossible to logically make that generalization from an election where there was more issues than one. This was an election for people. All these assumptions and generalities do not help the peace process.

 

What it means is a majority of Palestinians believed the Hamas candidates will be better leaders for them. Be carefull how you generalize. Do you believe that everyone that voted for Bush agreed with him 100%?

 

Someone mentioned that no one wants peace there. I disagree. Everyone wants peace there. Sadly, they want peace by eliminating the other side.

 

Rex, I can't believe this could possibly be good for the peace process. If you can pull that off, I'll be shocked.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

78% of the people voted for Hamas representation, a group organized and "principled" on the annihilation of Israel and the Jews.

 

That sounds like a mandate to me.