Hamas Without Veils - No more hiding behind the PA.

National Review Online ^ | 01/26/06 | Emanuele Ottolenghi

[Paul C. Jesup]

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.

This situation reminds me of the movie "The Producers": "We had the worst script. The worst actors. The worst director. What did we do RIGHT!?"

[zarf]

Yossi Beilin is gettng fitted for his new Hamas green condoms. It's been reported that Shimon Peres has been to a local haberdasher for his green Hamas knee pads.

[TomasUSMC]

How could all those RELIGION OF PEACE muslims elect terrorists?

[bassmaner]

This article boils down to simply saying Hamas will now have to live peacefully with Israel, or else the whole world will discover just how murderous Hamas really is. Hamas will have no more excuses for its own intentions and behavior.

Or, in a more Machievellian sense, Israel will now have the justification to impose a biblical solution on the so-called Palestinians if they continue to murder its citizens.

Let's just hope they have the cojones to pull it off ... they need to tell the rest of the world (including our vaunted State Department) to STFU while they take care of business and eliminate this cancer from the face of the earth.

Bibi, are you listening???

[ml/nj]

This is the moment for Hamas to "shine". I don't think they will.

Actually, it doens't matter what Hamas does next week. The Islamic Swine voted for what they did last week and the week before that, which is to say blowing up pizza joints and bus stops.

This election gives lie to the notion that there is a separate "radical" Islam. There is just Islam. Period.

ML/NJ

[popdonnelly]

This was basically an election between a party that wants to destroy Israel today, and a party that is willing to wait until tomorrow.

We are certainly getting "good" service from our State Department. All Israel has to do is make more concessions, and everything will be peachy.

[ClaireSolt]

There are two very serious conceptual flaws in this two state solution. One is territorial. The proposed Palestinian stae does not have defensible borders. The second is demographic. One would rarely find the leadership talent in such a small population that would be necessary to resolve such intransigent problems, and we have not. There will be war, and let it be decisive.

[fzx12345]

One could argue that the Palestinians finally got the government they deserve.

[Convert from ECUSA]

This Philistine election is like voting for the local mafia to control the county, except that the Mafia is less blood thirsty and dresses better than Hamas. The only possible silver lining, IMO, is that this event might push the majority of Israelis to elect someone in March with great big brass ones who has the heart of King David (hey, I can at least hope), who will flush the "road map to perdition" faster than last week's Tuna salad that sat in the sun all weekend.

[roses of sharon]

Yes, it is the beginning of the end for their terrorist state. They have no more cover of victimhood, and Israelis can now dump their guilt.

[karnage]

I don't think we have to wonder about Netanyahu's cojones. They are large and made of brass.

[pepsionice]

For Hamas, I think this was the worst move possible. To be the winner in this episode...they will be target number one every single time. If any nut does something, then Isreal can readily bomb government buildings. I don't see nothing but misery for the next 12 months in camps of the Palestinians. The interesting thing is that Arafat's crew walked out with all the cash. I'm sure that the Hamas dudes will find absolutely no funds in the account and probably start trying to arrest former Arafat supporters...and for that reason...watch for all of these characters to hide in Paris or Rome.

[Mike Darancette]

as Vladimir Ilich Lenin would put it, "worse is better."

Hamas will have to feed the people and create an economy. A task for which they are truly unprepared. They will do something really stupid, really soon and cause Israel to close it's borders, then where will the people work?

The country they hate and propose to destroy are their only salvation.

There will be bloodshed when Hamas attempts to replace and disarm the current PLO security forces and police.

I wonder how long it will take the UN to bail out of the West Bank and Gaza.

[JerseyHighlander]

Hamas will recreate the "plausible deniability" dichotomy.

We had the IRA, peace accord, and then birth of the "Real IRA" splinter groups.

Hamas will follow the same route, allowing them to have puppetmasters holding strings on all three, the political, politically controlled militant LEO's and unrepentant terrorists "Real Hamas".

Nothing will change except the new faces put forth by Hamas, Western educated English French and German fluent speakers, wearing couture Western apparel, feigning outrage as their 3rd cousins and childhood friends in the Real Hamas continue to blow up Israeli children.

The Appeasers in the West will continue to play the willing pliant fool lapping up these speeches by the new face of Hamas, giving Hamas a force multiplier in their efforts to secure the continued Western aid to the PA.

And the US and EU monies given to PA bank accounts will now directly move to the armament of Hamas. And the EU will continue to deny that tens of millions of Euros have been used to fund terrorists. And they will continue to demand the terrorists be called freedom fighters.

Hypocrisy can not end while the hypocrites in Europe are still in power, hypocrisy will adapt to the situation, and perpetuate itself.

[Mike Darancette]

So... What will all these previously ignorant nations/peoples of the world DO once they see Hamas really means it when they call for the extermination of the Jews? Wring their hands about all the dead Jews, and send in Jimmy Carter? (Actually, they probably won't care enough to wring their hands...)

What will happen is that Israel will not be criticized as much for going after these guys.

[EternalHope]

Well said.

[SupplySider]

Continuing to pursue a violent path will automatically switch off all international aid.

I wish I could believe that.

[SupplySider]

The support of funding coming from the US for the PLO over the years has been in large part what's kept them in power all these years.

So true.

I don't really believe that the Hamas leaders are the idealistic fundamentalist fanatics they're supposed to be. They're murderous crooks. If the US and the EU would only give them the choice of no violence or no money, I think the attacks on Israel would slow or cease as these "Jihadis" changed their faith to fill their foreign bank accounts.

[PhiKapMom]

I agree with you completely -- Hamas never wanted to come out of the shadows. Think you have it pegged -- the accounts are bankrupt and now Hamas is in charge.

[neverdem]

bfl