Right Method, Wrong Results

Hamas taking 76 of the 132 seats of the new Palestinian government isn't a good thing for peace. Though it is understandable from the point of view that the Fatah party has shown corrupt control and no results for a very long time. But my question is, do they think Hamas will do better? It's an interesting message to send to the politicians at least.

The result stunned many, and looked likely to freeze or worsen the prospects for peace in the short term. Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said he would ignore a Hamas-led government and thereby render it irrelevant. Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud Party, said a "Hamastan" had been created next door to Israel.

Animosity toward the Islamist militia is high in Israel, which faces its own elections on March 28. Hamas has orchestrated more than 50 suicide bombings over the past decade, killing some 430 people. Israel has responded with a series of "targeted assassinations" that killed many of the Islamist movement's senior leadership.

U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday he would not deal with a group that, according to its 1988 founding charter, remains dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

"If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace. And we're interested in peace," he said.

This too much strikes me as cutting of your nose to spite your face. Israel won't even come back to the dance floor with Hamas out there. And it looks like that wall they've been building was an especially good and timely idea.

Read what the leader of Hamas had to say:

Although Hamas had moderated its image during the election campaign, co-founder Mahmoud Zahar insisted yesterday that the onus was on Israel to first end its 39-year occupation of Palestinian land.

"We are not playing terrorism or violence. We are under occupation," he told BBC World. "The Israelis are continuing their aggression against our people, killing, detention, demolition and in order to stop these processes, we run effective self-defence by all means, including using guns." He said Hamas would be willing to extend a ceasefire agreed to a year ago if Israel did the same.

Yep, thems the words of reason. I find it unlikely that he is refering to "Palastinian lands" as those laid out under the 1947 UN Partition plan. I'm pretty sure he means all of the area of present Israel. Not like Israel will be giving up land to the limits of the 1947 partition either. But then, they probably do have some claims on victories in war.

Then you have Abbas calling for the re-institution of another terrorist organization, the PLO.

He suggested that negotiations with Israel would be handled in the future by the Palestine Liberation Organization, a tactic that could allow him to bypass a Hamas-controlled legislature. The PLO led the Palestinian independence struggle until the foundation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, but has since faded from prominence. "We are going to reactivate the role of the PLO," Mr. Abbas said.

Another clever plan.

I'm going to look around for some more learned commentary on the topic. I'll link whatever I find that is worth looking at.