December 18, 2004
WHY UNLIKELY?
Hamas May Give Peace a Chance (SCOTT ATRAN, 12/18/04, NY Times)
TWO unlikely factors - the maneuverings of Hamas, a group the United States considers a chief sponsor of terrorism, and a widespread fear of chaos among Palestinians - are combining to create some hope in the runup to next month's election to choose Yasir Arafat's successor as head of the Palestinian Authority.The best news is that Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Arafat's successor as leader of the Fatah faction, has emerged as the candidate favored not only by Israel and the United States, but also by the European Union and, most surprisingly, by Hamas. On Tuesday, Mr. Abbas (who is also known as Abu Mazen) called for an end to the four-year-old intifada, saying that the "the use of weapons is harmful and it should stop."
Hamas leaders, who would be expected to fight against any such compromise, actually worked behind the scenes to undermine the candidacy of Mr. Abbas's main rival, Marwan Barghouti, the jailed intifada leader who is a beacon to the younger generation of Fatah militants. He withdrew from the race on Sunday.
Although Mr. Barghouti is in spirit closer than Mr. Abbas to Hamas, the group's leaders decided that his candidacy was interfering with formation of a Palestinian political consensus and could have led to political anarchy. The fact is, with the intifada bearing little fruit in terms of Israeli concessions, Hamas is now embroiled in infighting. Its West Bank leaders are leaning toward historic compromise, while its Gaza militants want to step up violence.
People need to reconcile themselves to the likelihood that Hamas will one day run Palestine, but by then they'll just be another political party.
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 18, 2004 8:56 AM
Obviously the Palestinians still don't understand democracy too well yet. What is the point of an election but to create a "Palestinian political consensus?" So you shouldn't have to eliminate all the opposition candidates ahead of time.
Posted by: Brandon at December 18, 2004 9:23 AMJust another political party; like Hezbollah or the Nazis?
Posted by: narciso at December 18, 2004 2:21 PMHezbollah is headed the same way.
Posted by: oj at December 18, 2004 3:15 PMLet us not forget the Job that the IDF has done in educating Hamas as to the possibilities of peaceful political action starting with the time the invited Sheik Yassin to a barbeque.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at December 18, 2004 5:40 PMIt took Begin about 30 years to go from 'bomber' to PM.
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 18, 2004 10:00 PMBegin was never a 'terrorist' and attacked only legitimate military targets. Please do me a favor and don't waste my time repeating British and Socialist propaganda.
The only 'terrorist' was Rabin who killed Jews in order to solidify Labor's hold on government in 1948 and got the fate he deserved at the hands of the brave Yigal Amir, only 45 years too late.
Posted by: Bart at December 19, 2004 6:46 AMIn a democracy everyone is a legitimate military target.
Posted by: oj at December 19, 2004 8:30 AMAnd Sharon perpetrated Shatila and Sabra.
Posted by: oj at December 19, 2004 8:39 AMMaj. Saad Haadad of the South Lebanese Army, enabled by Ariel Sharon, engaged in the assault on Sabra and Shatila, taking revenge for countless acts of PLO terror against Christians in the region.
Posted by: Bart at December 19, 2004 11:50 AMQuite.
Posted by: oj at December 19, 2004 12:27 PMAnd his actions were neither a crime nor an atrocity but justified retribution.
Posted by: Bart at December 19, 2004 2:17 PMYes. Israel's terrorism established the standarsd by which it lives and its people are killed.
Posted by: oj at December 19, 2004 4:45 PMOther than Rabin's sinking of the Altalena, Israel has never engaged in terrorism by any realistic definition of the term, but then I understand that there are people who believe that any form of Jewish self-defense is terrorism. Can't have a pogrom if the intended victims shoot back can we?
Posted by: Bart at December 19, 2004 5:27 PMNope. So long as they don't whinge when the Palis shoot back too.
Posted by: oj at December 19, 2004 5:52 PM