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Feb. 8, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 26, 2006
/ 26 Teves, 5766
Arafat's chickens have come home to roost
By
Richard Z. Chesnoff
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Official final results of yesterday's Palestinian legislative elections are still trickling in. But one thing is sure: Yasser Arafat's
chickens have come home to roost. After decades of dictatorial and corrupt control by the late Fatah leader and his cohorts, vast
numbers of voters in both the West Bank and Gaza have angrily turned their backs on Arafat's
heirs and given their support to rival Hamas, the radical Islamic party.
The prime result: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may feel obliged to let Hamas join a coalition government or as
some predict, resign and let hamas try to form a government.
Trouble is Hamas remains the same terrorist party it's always been, a heavily armed, blood-drenched gang that boasts of suicide
bombings and doesn't even pretend to want peace with Israel. Its goals are crystal clear: the total annihilation of the Jewish state in
favor of an Islamic state throughout the entire Holy Land. Its presence in a Palestinian government is hardly incentive for Israel to
follow up on its recent withdrawal from Gaza and move ahead on the U.S.-sponsored road map to Mideast peace.
The danger is that there are already some in Israel and a growing flock outside who talk about the need for Israel to launch a
dialogue with Hamas leaders as though talking to this band of religious fanatics who hate Jews and Christians would be any
more successful than trading land for peace was with the Arafat gang. Yet there are those who argue that if Hamas gains political
responsibility, it will find itself forced to weed out its militants, eventually turn from terror and moderate its policies.
You mean like the mad mullahs in Iran moderated their policies after they took power?
Of course, Hamas plays the word game just as Arafat always did. One top Hamas leader recently raised the magnanimous
possibility of holding "negotiations" with Israel through a third party. "Negotiation is not a taboo," said Mahmoud Zahar, just two days
before the elections. Three days earlier he made the real Hamas position starkly clear. "We do not recognize the Israeli enemy, nor
his right to be our neighbor, nor to stay on the land, nor his ownership of any inch of land," Zahar told Palestinian TV. "Palestine
is a land of Islamic trust, which cannot be given up."
Which means that any kind of deal with Hamas would have about as much meaning as a truce with Osama Bin Laden.
The U.S., the European Union, Russia and the United Nations have all declared that "a future Palestinian Authority cabinet should
include no member who has not committed to the principles of Israel's right to exist in peace and security and an unequivocal end
to violence and terrorism." And two weeks ago, Secretary of State Rice said that "armed groups have no place in the democratic
process."
Let's hope they hold firm. Granting any legitimacy to Hamas unless it seriously disarms and changes policy would be total disaster.
At the very least it would undermine Palestinian moderates who preach that violence will distance Palestinian statehood, not bring it
closer. It could also produce a defeat for Israeli moderates in Israel's upcoming March elections.
Then back to square one-minus.
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CHESNOFF'S LATEST
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Dennis Miller France sucks, but this book doesn't.
Michael Barone, Co-author, The Almanac of American Politics Americans-and the French-will learn a lot from this book.
Clifford D. May, President, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Richard Z. Chesnoff insightfully-and entertainingly-explores America's most dysfunctional relationship with America's least reliable ally.
Sales help fund JWR.
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JWR contributor and veteran journalist Richard Z. Chesnoff is a contributing correspondent at US News & World Report, a columnist at the NY Daily News and a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Demoracies. A two-time winner of the Overseas Press Club Award and a recipient of the National Press Club Award, he was formerly executive editor of Newsweek International. His latest book, is "The Arrogance of the French: Why They Can't Stand Us & Why The Feeling Is Mutual". (Click on cover above to purchase. Sales help fund JWR. ) To comment, please click here.
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© 2005, Richard Z. Chesnoff
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