Hamas, Israel, the World and Palestine

Ray · 02-17-2006, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Hamas, the Islamist movement designated a terrorist organisation by the U.S. and EU and considered a mortal enemy by Israel, will soon join the Palestinian legislature. Riding an unprecedented wave of popularity and having exceeded virtually all expectations in recent municipal contests, it could end up sitting at the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) cabinet table. Consequences would likely be far-reaching: Palestinians are hugely dependent on the West and Israel, and both have threatened to cut ties should Hamas join the PA. So far, the U.S. and EU essentially have opted to ignore the Islamists rather than deal with them upfront – the end result being a movement that feels stronger, more emboldened, and over which the West has precious little leverage. With the prospect as remote as ever of a renewed peace process or a weakened PA cracking down on a strengthened Hamas, the international community’s best remaining option is to maximise the Islamist movement’s incentives to move in a political direction through a policy of gradual, conditional engagement.

Hamas’s electoral participation results from a convergence of disparate interests. For President Abbas, securing the ceasefire, rehabilitating the Palestinians’ international standing, and putting the domestic house in order required a deal with Hamas. In exchange for cooperation, he offered power-sharing through political integration. Abbas’s gambit coincided with Hamas’s calculations: it had experienced a surge in popular support during the uprising, was eager for a respite from Israeli military assaults, and, with both Fatah and the PA in disarray, saw an opportunity to translate its success into institutional power. Though originally scheduled for July 2005, parliamentary elections were postponed by Fatah leaders concerned about Hamas’s strength and convinced that with more time they would recover lost ground.

Fatah’s concerns were not misplaced but its response was plainly misguided. Strong half a year ago, Hamas appears far stronger now. In the intervening months, Fatah has continued to fray, consumed by internal divisions, while Hamas has come of age. Municipal elections, in which they handily won control of most urban areas, including traditional Fatah bastions like Nablus, suggest the Islamists are establishing themselves as the alternative of choice to a PA discredited by corruption, chaos and a failure to realise its political agenda. Today, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in localities ruled by Hamas.

The record of the last several months, as Hamas rubbed elbows with issues of local governance and campaigned for national office, offers a preliminary, mixed picture of how political integration might affect its outlook and conduct. In its pragmatism, and even willingness to deal with Israel on day-to-day operational affairs, Hamas rule at the local level has been almost boringly similar to its predecessor. Local politicians emphasise themes of good governance, economic development, and personal and social security, leaving specifically religious issues and the conflict with Israel to the background. With only scant exceptions, they have yet to try to impose their vision of an Islamist society.

Nationally, too, signs of pragmatism can be detected. Far more than Fatah, Hamas has proved a disciplined adherent to the ceasefire, and Israeli military officers readily credit this for the sharp decline in violence. In recent statements, Hamas leaders have not ruled out changing their movement’s charter, negotiating with Israel, or accepting a long-term truce on the basis of an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines. Today, their electoral platform is in these respects closer to Fatah’s outlook than to Hamas’s founding principles.

There is a less encouraging side. Hamas continues to straddle its public and clandestine wings, subject to competing views from different leadership elements, and at least partially susceptible to Syrian and Iranian pressures. Most Israelis, and not a few Palestinians, are worried about its armed potential, and there is widespread suspicion in Israel that the organisation simply is biding its time, waiting for the post-electoral period to launch a new wave of attacks with a replenished and improved arsenal. Perhaps most significantly, it has neither renounced violence, nor accepted Israel’s existence.

All this suggests that integration is a work in progress, neither a sure thing nor the safest of bets. But what is the alternative? The PA is not in a military, let alone a political, position forcibly to disarm Hamas. Since taking office, Abbas has been paralysed by a sclerotic political system, and he has more than once staked his political future on successful, inclusive elections. Without the prospect of political incorporation, and in the absence of a credible diplomatic process, Hamas – and, along with it, most other armed organisations – is likely to resume sustained attacks against Israel. What remains, for now, is the possibility that by incorporating Hamas more deeply into local and national governance, its stake in overall stability and the political costs of a breakdown gradually will steer it away from the military path.

Confronted with the challenge of a newly emerging Palestinian reality, the international community has, for the most part, taken a pass. While there are important differences in policy, both the U.S. and EU avoid (and in the American case, bar) contacts with the Islamist organisation, deny funding to projects with Hamas-run municipalities, and have threatened to halt assistance to the PA if Hamas joins it. This attitude has had several, essentially negative, results: estranging Palestinians from Western donors; losing touch with an increasingly large segment of the population; jeopardising project sustainability; and reducing accountability. Meanwhile, Hamas has gained strength from a nationalist backlash against perceived foreign interference and is participating in elections without having to fulfil any prior condition.

Western countries have not done the one thing that might have had a positive impact: try to shape Hamas’s policies by exploiting its clear desire for international recognition and legitimacy. There is every reason for the West to withhold formal dealings at a national level, at least until it renounces attacks against civilians and drops its opposition to a two-state solution, but the current confused approach – boycotting Hamas while facilitating its electoral participation; facilitating its participation without seeking through some engagement reciprocal concessions – makes no sense at all.

Without conferring immediate legitimacy on Hamas, engaging its national officials or removing it from the terrorism list, the EU in particular – which has more flexibility than the U.S. in this regard – should encourage the Islamists to focus on day-to-day matters and facilitate a process of potential political integration and gradual military decommissioning. With Prime Minister Sharon’s sudden incapacitation, an already impossibly perplexing situation has become more confused still. Using Western economic and political leverage to try to stabilise the Palestinian arena would be far from the worst possible investment.

The above is from the International Crisis Group

The article is a trifle dated, though relevant.

One wonders where the Palestinian problem will move now that Hamas is in charge so to say.

It is obvious that Israel will be very wary no matter how much she is nudged, goaded and cajoled to "kiss and make up".

If the US and the EU dries up the funds that sustain Palestine, it will be catastrophic. Will this issue bring some sense into Hamas?

If the US and EU dries up the funds, there will be greater social, political and economic instablity and there is a possibility that theMiddle East will erupt.

As it is the Middle East is grappling with a whole lot of problems in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and a host of other ME countries. One more problem and that too a greater one will make the ME is veritable furnace. It will obviously impact the US policies and the US will be pulled into the vortex.

How much aid is the Islamic nations giving the Palestinians? Where is all the Islamic brotherhood?

**ZFBoxcar** · 02-19-2006, 02:32 AM

Hamas Calls For 'Giant Summit' With All Israelis

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK—After his militant Islamic party took the majority in Palestine's recent elections, Ismail Haniyeh called for a "giant summit with all living Israelis" Monday, rekindling international hopes for peace in the war-torn region.

Haniyeh characterized the one-day summit as "the final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute," and invited every Jewish citizen of the world to attend. Haniyeh said he expects more than 5 million participants from Israel alone.

"It was foolish of us to think that a satisfactory resolution could be reached through small-scale aggression," Haniyeh said. "It will take more than the sporadic deaths of small groups of Israeli civilians to achieve our ends."

"This summit is long overdue," he added.

Haniyeh, who once said that Palestinian independence could only be achieved through the destruction of Israel, has apparently reversed his stance.

"It is clear to us now that a positive outcome will not be possible unless many, many sacrifices are made," Haniyeh said. "I give my word that the Israeli people shall have their cries for peace heard for miles around."

Haniyeh did not disclose the issues that will be discussed at the summit, saying only that he "would be very surprised if the entire process took longer than a couple of hours."

Haniyeh also extended an invitation to any high-ranking American official who would like to moderate the proceedings.

"We will achieve our goals with or without foreign help," Haniyeh said. "However, if George W. Bush or other top-level U.S. officials wish to attend, it would certainly make those first, most difficult steps a lot easier to take."

In a public statement Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad endorsed the "Hamas-led peace process," and offered the use of Tehran's Azadi Stadium as an "impartial location away from the distracting glare of publicity."

"It is about time for a summit of this nature," Ahmadinejad said. "The people of Iran will do anything they can to help further this crucial process."

According to Haniyeh, Israelis need only arrive with an open mind, insisting that the summit can have a positive outcome only if traditional and long-standing prejudices "are left at the door, along with any weapons, gas masks, or bulletproof vests."

"Security is of the utmost importance, which is why the summit will be watched over by my most loyal and experienced men," Haniyeh said. "To this end, every Israeli will also be marked with a six-digit protection number."

Hamas has already gone to significant lengths to ensure that Israeli Jews will be able to attend the summit, including transportation via specially chartered freight trains.

"Very much like a cleansing fire, the summit will wipe the slate of Arab-Jewish relations utterly and irreversibly clean," Haniyeh said. "By the end of our negotiations, those who walk out of the summit will be very pleased."

"With the blessing of Allah, we will soon see every last obstacle standing in the path to harmony exterminated," Haniyeh added. "Like the filthy dogs they are."

No official response to Hamas' summit proposal has yet been made. However, it is widely believed that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet will propose an alternative mass summit to which Hamas party officials and their Palestinian supporters will be similarly welcomed.

**Parihaka** · 02-19-2006, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray

The article is a trifle dated, though relevant.

One wonders where the Palestinian problem will move now that Hamas is in charge so to say.

It is obvious that Israel will be very wary no matter how much she is nudged, goaded and cajoled to "kiss and make up".

If the US and the EU dries up the funds that sustain Palestine, it will be catastrophic. Will this issue bring some sense into Hamas?

If the US and EU dries up the funds, there will be greater social, political and economic instablity and there is a possibility that theMiddle East will erupt.

As it is the Middle East is grappling with a whole lot of problems in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and a host of other ME countries. One more problem and that too a greater one will make the ME is veritable furnace. It will obviously impact the US policies and the US will be pulled into the vortex.

How much aid is the Islamic nations giving the Palestinians? Where is all the Islamic brotherhood?

The amount of funding that Hamas receives from various fronts primarily in Saudi Arabia but Iran also would in all likelyhood pretty much equate to what got through to the Palestinians from the Israeli banks and Fatah anyway, so effectively removing European aid will have minimum impact. There is after all a reason why Hamas was able to get control of various districts and then spread that control during the elections: they were spending more money on the ground and achieving more with that money than anyone else. Americas influence is virtually gone, no Palestinians and I suspect almost no Israelis regard the roadmap for peace as viable, and Americas aid is of course tiny so there aren't a lot of levers they can pull. Same with the Israelis. Sure they've controlled the flow of aid to the Palestinian Authority but Hamas has already intimated they don't need that, that in fact they can make up the 'shortfall' in their new funding requirements from their own sources so all Israel has left is their military. Interesting times indeed.

Confed999 · 02-19-2006, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar

"It was foolish of us to think that a satisfactory resolution could be reached through small-scale aggression," Haniyeh said. "It will take more than the sporadic deaths of small groups of Israeli civilians to achieve our ends."

Sounds like they're trying to get a bunch in one place for some large scale aggression and death to me. I hate to say it, but I've given up on Palestine. They traded corrupt, for corrupt and openly terrorist. One attack on Israel traced back to Hamas, and Israel should do it's worst...

**Parihaka** · 02-19-2006, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Confed999

Sounds like they're trying to get a bunch in one place for some large scale aggression and death to me. I hate to say it, but I've given up on Palestine. They traded corrupt, for corrupt and openly terrorist. One attack on Israel traced back to Hamas, and Israel should do it's worst...

The whole article is a piss-take Confed....

Quote:

nd long-standing prejudices "are left at the door, along with any weapons, gas masks, or bulletproof vests."...........
To this end, every Israeli will also be marked with a six-digit protection number.".............
Israeli Jews will be able to attend the summit, including transportation via specially chartered freight trains.............
"With the blessing of Allah, we will soon see every last obstacle standing in the path to harmony exterminated," Haniyeh added. "Like the filthy dogs they are."..........
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet will propose an alternative mass summit to which Hamas party officials and their Palestinian supporters will be similarly welcomed.........

Confed999 · 02-19-2006, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parihaka

The whole article is a piss-take Confed....

****, how obvious is that. Now I feel like a dumb-ass. Ok, everyone ignore the quote, and the first sentence of my previous post.

**Parihaka** · 02-21-2006, 19:42 PM

Quote:

Arab nations say they will offset funds withheld by Israel
But despite statements of support for the Palestinian Authority, Arab League leaders fail to reach an agreement on a funding plan.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
Arab and Muslim leaders said Monday that they will find ways to provide funding to a Hamas-led Palestinian government. The Daily Star of Lebanon reports that the Arab leaders made the announcement following the Israeli government's decision to withhold from the Palestinian Authority (PA) the $50 million a month it collects in tax revenues. The tax funds amount to one-third of the national budget for the PA.

Arab League foreign ministers met in Algiers in an attempt to revive a funding plan they originally agreed on in 2002 that would provide the PA with some $50 million a month, while the Muslim Brotherhood said it is launching a worldwide donation campaign for a future government. It is unclear whether Arab governments will be able to fill the void in the foreign aid that has provided the bulk of the Palestinians' $1.9 billion annual budget.

"Cutting the aid is very serious issue. It is an attempt to starve the Palestinians and a recipe for chaos," Mohammad Sobeih, the deputy of Arab League chief Amr Moussa, told the Associated Press. Sobeih said the Arab League can guarantee that all the money donated to the Palestinian Authority "will go to those who really deserve it."

But the Associated Press reports that despite their comments, the Arab nations failed to come to an agreement on how to get new funds to Palestinians, and argued about the level of commitment from each state. A final decision on Palestinian funding was expected at a summit next month in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

But even as the Arab League debated how to provide new funds, other Muslim groups indicated they wished to help. The AP, in a piece carried in The Taipei Times, reports that the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 57-member grouping of Muslim nations, wants to provide institutional and financial aid to the Palestinian Authority. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he had already spoken to several OIC leaders who "want to help."

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Muslim Brotherhood, which has organizations in 86 countries, announced it would launch a donation campaign for the new PA. And Al Jazeera reports that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on all Muslims worldwide to provide money for the Palestinian Authority.

During talks on Monday with Hamas, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Khalid Mishaal, the movement's political leader: "We must make a plan so all Muslims will be able to supply the Palestinians with a yearly financial aid package."

"This voluntary gesture will create a spiritual bond among Muslims and the Palestinian cause and have a great impact on the world," he said.

The Swedish news site The Local reports that Sweden's state-run aid group, the International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), said in a statement it would provide an extra $6.4 million to the United Nations' aid programs in the Palestinian territories.

"According to the fourth Geneva convention, the occupying power has a particular responsibility to support and ensure the human dignity of the occupied," [Peter Lundberg of the group's humanitarian unit] said.

"Since Israel is not living up to its responsibility under international law, large parts of the Palestinian population are now completely dependent on international humanitarian aid," Lundberg added.

The Arab News reports that former US President Jimmy Carter, in a Washington Post opinion piece published Monday, cautioned the US and Israel not to punish the Palestinian people for electing Hamas. Mr. Carter said "any tacit or formal collusion between Israel and the US to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences."

Noting with disdain Israel’s decision to withhold over $50 million per month that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue, Carter said an even greater aggravation by the Israelis “is their decision to hinder movement of elected Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council members through any of more than a hundred Israeli checkpoints around and throughout the Palestinian territories.” Carter also criticized the Bush Administration for not agreeing to bypass the government and allow funds be channeled through NGOs.

Carter, whose human rights group helped monitor the recent elections, said that despite the success of Hamas, President Mahmoud Abbas still enjoys considerable success in important areas like the constitution and security.

Amir Hass, the Ramallah correspondent for the Israeli paper Ha'aretz, writes in the Los Angeles Times, that by withholding tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, Israel is just giving "the Palestinians another reason to regard Israel as an aggressive and repressive occupying power."

What debilitates and cripples the Palestinian economy is Israel's heavy, systematic restrictions on movement within the occupied territories — hundreds of roadblocks and military checkpoints that delay, prolong and sabotage normal economic activity and, hence, potential tax revenues. The Palestinian Authority cannot compensate for the "lost" – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say "stolen" – tax revenues.

Its Ministry of Health, for example, has been unable to pay its contractors for hospital food, equipment or medicine for three months, and is $22 million in debt. Now, with Israel hijacking an additional $50 million or so each month, the ministry will not be able to pay the salaries of its 13,000 employees. The same is true with the approximately 40,000 employees of the Ministry of Education.

Finally, the Press Association of Britain reports that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was not ruling out the possibility of Israel holding peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, despite the election of Hamas.

Olmert told Israel TV that the chances of reaching a "quick agreement" with the Palestinians were smaller now that Hamas was in charge. "But the hope has not disappeared, and I am responsible for both things, the battle against Hamas and maintaining hope, the chance to reach an agreement," Olmert said.

LINK

Aryan · 02-22-2006, 00:13 AM

Compared to muslims living in places like Somalia and Uganda, Palestinians have it pretty well off. It's just because there is this 'big evil Israel' to point at that anyone in the muslim world cares about them. When is the last time Khamenei asked muslims to donate money for Bangladeshi or Ethiopian muslims?

Anyway, I don't see the big issue about Hamas being elected. Arafat and his Al Fatah were as much involved with terrorism as Hamas were, and now that they are in power they have a lot more to lose than they did before.

**ZFBoxcar** · 02-22-2006, 01:09 AM

Fatah was not allowed to return to the West Bank and Gaza until they agreed to negotiate with Israel, that was what the Oslo Accords were about. Hamas hasn't agreed to anything, and they admit that they won't. Sure Arafat and Fatah were lying through their teeth most of the time, but at least they created precedent by saying (if only in English) that they recognized Israel.

02-19-2006, 02:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
ZFBoxcar Moderator Join Date: 08-03-03 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 2,125 Country:	The Onion provides some amusement... Hamas Calls For 'Giant Summit' With All Israelis RAMALLAH, WEST BANK—After his militant Islamic party took the majority in Palestine's recent elections, Ismail Haniyeh called for a "giant summit with all living Israelis" Monday, rekindling international hopes for peace in the war-torn region. Haniyeh characterized the one-day summit as "the final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute," and invited every Jewish citizen of the world to attend. Haniyeh said he expects more than 5 million participants from Israel alone. "It was foolish of us to think that a satisfactory resolution could be reached through small-scale aggression," Haniyeh said. "It will take more than the sporadic deaths of small groups of Israeli civilians to achieve our ends." "This summit is long overdue," he added. Haniyeh, who once said that Palestinian independence could only be achieved through the destruction of Israel, has apparently reversed his stance. "It is clear to us now that a positive outcome will not be possible unless many, many sacrifices are made," Haniyeh said. "I give my word that the Israeli people shall have their cries for peace heard for miles around." Haniyeh did not disclose the issues that will be discussed at the summit, saying only that he "would be very surprised if the entire process took longer than a couple of hours." Haniyeh also extended an invitation to any high-ranking American official who would like to moderate the proceedings. "We will achieve our goals with or without foreign help," Haniyeh said. "However, if George W. Bush or other top-level U.S. officials wish to attend, it would certainly make those first, most difficult steps a lot easier to take." In a public statement Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad endorsed the "Hamas-led peace process," and offered the use of Tehran's Azadi Stadium as an "impartial location away from the distracting glare of publicity." "It is about time for a summit of this nature," Ahmadinejad said. "The people of Iran will do anything they can to help further this crucial process." According to Haniyeh, Israelis need only arrive with an open mind, insisting that the summit can have a positive outcome only if traditional and long-standing prejudices "are left at the door, along with any weapons, gas masks, or bulletproof vests." "Security is of the utmost importance, which is why the summit will be watched over by my most loyal and experienced men," Haniyeh said. "To this end, every Israeli will also be marked with a six-digit protection number." Hamas has already gone to significant lengths to ensure that Israeli Jews will be able to attend the summit, including transportation via specially chartered freight trains. "Very much like a cleansing fire, the summit will wipe the slate of Arab-Jewish relations utterly and irreversibly clean," Haniyeh said. "By the end of our negotiations, those who walk out of the summit will be very pleased." "With the blessing of Allah, we will soon see every last obstacle standing in the path to harmony exterminated," Haniyeh added. "Like the filthy dogs they are." No official response to Hamas' summit proposal has yet been made. However, it is widely believed that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet will propose an alternative mass summit to which Hamas party officials and their Palestinian supporters will be similarly welcomed.

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02-22-2006, 00:13 AM	#8 (permalink)
Aryan Banished Join Date: 05-02-04 Posts: 1,532	Compared to muslims living in places like Somalia and Uganda, Palestinians have it pretty well off. It's just because there is this 'big evil Israel' to point at that anyone in the muslim world cares about them. When is the last time Khamenei asked muslims to donate money for Bangladeshi or Ethiopian muslims? Anyway, I don't see the big issue about Hamas being elected. Arafat and his Al Fatah were as much involved with terrorism as Hamas were, and now that they are in power they have a lot more to lose than they did before.

02-22-2006, 01:09 AM	#9 (permalink)
ZFBoxcar Moderator Join Date: 08-03-03 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 2,125 Country:	Fatah was not allowed to return to the West Bank and Gaza until they agreed to negotiate with Israel, that was what the Oslo Accords were about. Hamas hasn't agreed to anything, and they admit that they won't. Sure Arafat and Fatah were lying through their teeth most of the time, but at least they created precedent by saying (if only in English) that they recognized Israel.

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