They, the People, Endorse Terror

Is it appropriate for nations to have diplomatic relations with a democratically elected terrorist regime, granting it legitimacy?
It is no longer a hypothetical question.
Leaders urged to accept Hamas government

The shockwaves of Hamas's victory in the Palestinian elections have been felt at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Swiss resort of Davos.

That's where John Kerry was hanging out when he tried to rally support to filibuster the nomination of Samuel Alito.

Small world.
At the summit of global leaders and business chiefs, the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan joined the Arab League in arguing that the Palestinian militant group should be given a chance.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said the international community had to accept that Hamas was entitled to form a government.

"The reality is that Hamas has won," he said.

"They've been voted by the people, by the Palestinians, for the dictates of democracy have been read, and why should we deny that?

"For they've come, we should accept this reality."

Musharraf is wrong about the international community being required to accept Hamas.

The people of the Palestinian Authority will have to deal with the fact that Hamas won the election, but the rest of the world is not obligated to recognize a terrorist regime.
General Musharraf also said that taking responsibility for the development and security of the Palestinians would inevitably change Hamas.

Hamas is being urged to abandon its armed struggle as it prepares to take power.

Yeah, right.

Why would an election victory, a mandate, prompt Hamas to change its ways?
The US, Israel and Australia all say that they will not negotiate with a Hamas-led government if it continues to support terrorism.

I am completely on board with that. We do not negotiate with terrorists. Case closed.

If Hamas proceeds in employing terrorist tactics and threatening Israel and its allies, the legitimacy of the PA as a responsible member of the world community is rightly called into question.
But prominent Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi says that Hamas is likely to change its approach now that it has legitimate political power.

"Clearly Hamas is going to try and be more and more direct in its political stance, it's going to be much more pragmatic," he said.

"I think it will abandon its extremist rhetoric and try to rehabilitate itself internationally."

I'll believe it when I see it.

I don't think the overwhelming victory will encourage Hamas to change. I think it will have the opposite effect. The Palestinians obviously support terrorists. The agenda of Hamas is their agenda.

I suspect Hamas will give the Palestinian people exactly what they voted for -- a terrorist government.Earlier today Prime Minister John Howard said while there is no doubt Hamas has been democratically elected, it will have to change its ways.

"So far as Australia is concerned, we cannot have a meaningful relationship with a government that continues to support and promote suicide bombing in Israel and the destruction of the Jewish state," he said.

No kidding.

It does not follow that just because Hamas won the election that the U.S., Israel, Australia, or any other country must have diplomatic relations with the terrorist power.

Read about the Hamas reaction to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005.
Excerpts from the Hamas victory campaign, which appear below, were translated by the Intelligence and Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S.)

·Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, in an interview broadcast by Al-Arabiyya TV on August 17, again stated that Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip defeated by the “resistance,” not as the result of “useless negotiations.” He said that if [the Gaza Strip's] sea, land and air sovereignty were not handed over to the Palestinians, “the resistance” would continue [in the Strip as well].

·Musa Abu Marzuq, deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau, reiterated Hamas' determination not to be disarmed, stating that the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was not the final step. He boasted of Hamas' close relations with Egypt and said that the movement was waiting for Egypt's answer to Hamas' request to open an office in Cairo (A-Sharq Il-Awsat, August 18, 2005).

·Radio Al-Aqsa, Hamas' radio station, continued broadcasting crude hate-mongering songs inciting terrorism and violence against Israel, and songs praising and encouraging members of the Izzadine al-Qassam Battalions, the terrorist-operative wing of the organization. On August 18, with the sounds of explosions in the background, an announcer stated: “We will be victorious over Sharon, and you will realize that tomorrow with the help of Allah. The Izzadine al-Qassam Battalions will make you tremble in Haifa, in Tel Aviv. They will strike you in Safed, in Acre.

"Wait for us in Jaffa, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon. The knights of Gaza are coming. Our beloved sons of Palestine, we make no distinction between [Israeli-controlled] Palestine and [the West Bank and Gaza Strip] Palestine. There is no difference between Jaffa and Gaza, between the Galilee and Hebron. Hamas will leave Gaza and break out throughout Palestine to show the way of jihad, which will bring our nation to its summit. Oh sons of Zion, the defeat you suffered in Gaza is just the beginning…”

Hamas' Internet site presents the disengagement as a Hamas victory, stressing the importance Izzadine al-Qassam. The site offers many posters, including some which are anti-Semitic in nature, praising Hamas as a victor, portraying the IDF as humiliated and touting the continuation of the “struggle” to destroy the State of Israel.


Translation: “You will never return. We will drive you out [by force] of the belly of the earth and you will [also] disappear from the surface of the earth.” [I.e., We will force you to disappear entirely.]


That's scary. That was only five months ago. Has Hamas had an extreme makeover in the interim?

Is this what the Palestinian people are about?

How they voted reflects who they are.

They, the people, endorse terrorism.

Personally, I find that apsect of the PA's election results to be most troubling.

Israel compromises for peace, painfully withdrawing from Gaza, and how are they rewarded?

Palestinians elect a group that promotes the annihilation of Israel to become their ruling power.

That is nothing to celebrate, unless you're a terrorist or count yourself as a terrorist symathizer.

Read about Iran's reaction to the election.Iran has congratulated the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas for its election victory and praised voters for choosing "to continue the struggle and resistance against occupation".

Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement on Thursday faxed to journalists:"The Islamic republic of Iran congratulates Hamas and all the Palestinian soldiers and the great Islamic people."

Iran and Hamas are allies and declared in December that they represented a "united front" against Israel. "The Palestinians have voted for the resistance and have shown their loyalty," Asefi said.

"The result of these elections will reinforce the unity of the Palestinian people in defending their rights. The massive participation of the Palestinians shows their will to continue the struggle and resistance against occupation."

That is not encouraging.
Until Hamas denounces terrorism and respects the right of Israel to exist, and more importantly, verifies those pronouncements with concrete measures, we must assume that the Palestinians have chosen to be a terrorist state.

I pray that Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi's prediction that "Hamas is likely to change its approach now that it has legitimate political power" is accurate.

I'm hoping for the best, but I'm not expecting it.

I think January 26, 2006 is likely to mark the addition of another spoke to the Axis of Evil.


I want to be wrong.