As the fallout from last week's Palestinian elections continues with 24-hour gunfire in the Gaza strip and growing unrest in the world community, it seems odd that anyone would pose the idea that the election of Hamas as the official government of Palestine is a "blessing in disguise" for Israel and, by extension, the US. However, columnists Max Borders and Jeff Jacoby think that it may be just that.
Borders, writing in TCS Daily on January 27, says that "it will now be easier politically for Israel to do what it must to protect itself. Now that Hamas is “legitimate,” Israel can simply defend itself against Palestine instead of a murky Palestinian faction – and such would be justified even under international law. Israel is no longer dealing with a terror group hiding behind an enfeebled Fatah. "
Jacoby, in a column posted on Townhall.com, writes that "the sweeping Hamas victory is by far the best result that could have been hoped for." He holds this opinion, he says, "not because Hamas is anything other than a blood-drenched terrorist group responsible for killing or maiming thousands of innocent victims, but because its lopsided win is an unambiguous reality check into the nature of Palestinian society. And if there is one thing that the West badly needs, it is more realism and less delusion about the Palestinians."
Jacoby closed his column observing the little-articulated yet seemingly evident case that "Palestinian society is deeply dysfunctional, steeped in hatred and violence. All but the willfully blind can now see that the Palestinian Authority is no "partner in peace" [with Israel]. Until it is decisively defeated and thoroughly detoxified, the Palestinian people will never enjoy the blessings of liberty and decent governance. Ironically, the ascendancy of Hamas may have brought that eventual outcome a little closer."
In a speech Tuesday, President Bush said he did not understand "how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform." This, he said, makes Hamas "a party with which we will not deal."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=012706F
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/jeffjacoby/2006/01/30/184239.html
2 comments:
The chance of Palestine being "decisively defeated and thoroughly detoxified" is about as likely as the chance of Israel being wiped off the face of the earth. However, I'm at a loss as to how to bring a stable government to Palestine.
One can only hope that cooler heads prevail, and Hamas is not allowed to inflict too much damage before they are voted out of office--assuming they allow another election in that territory.
Post a Comment