Krauthammer On Hamas & Fatah, Challenges & Bench Marks

Charles Krauthammer sees the challenges and opportunities in the clarification of Hamas Fatah scenario, as well as noting how Israel, with the hands on the controls of Gaza's water, gas and electricity has Hamas by its radical Islamic short hairs:

Gaza is now run not by a conventional political party but by a movement that is revolutionary, Islamist and terrorist. Worse, Hamas is a client of Iran. Gaza now constitutes the farthest reach of the archipelago of Iranian proxies: Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Mahdi Army (among others) in Iraq and the Alawite regime of Syria.

This Islamist mini-replica of the Comintern is at war not just with Israel but with the moderate Arab states, who finally woke up to this threat last summer when they denounced Hezbollah for provoking the Lebanon war with Israel. The fall of Gaza is particularly terrifying to Egypt because Hamas is so closely affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the chief Islamist threat to the secular-nationalist regime that has ruled Egypt since the revolution of 1952. Which is why Egypt has just invited Israeli, Jordanian and moderate Palestinian leaders to a summit next week -- pointedly excluding and isolating Hamas.

The splitting of Palestine into two entities is nonetheless clarifying.

. . . The policy implications are obvious. There is nothing to do with the self-proclaimed radical Islamist entity that is Gaza but to isolate it. No recognition, no aid (except humanitarian necessities through the United Nations), no diplomatic commerce.

Israel now has the opportunity to establish deterrence against unremitting rocket attacks from Gaza into Israeli villages. Israel failed to do that after it evacuated Gaza in 2005, permitting the development of an unprecedented parasitism by willingly supplying food, water, electricity and gasoline to a territory that was actively waging hostilities against it.

With Hamas now clearly in charge, Israel should declare that it will tolerate no more rocket fire -- that the next Qassam will be answered with a cutoff of gasoline shipments. This should bring road traffic in Gaza to a halt within days and make it increasingly difficult to ferry around missiles and launchers.

If that fails to concentrate the mind, the next step should be to cut off electricity. When the world wails, Israel should ask, what other country on Earth is expected to supply the very means for a declared enemy to attack it?

Regarding the West Bank, policy should be equally clear. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas represents moderation and should be helped as he tries to demonstrate both authority and success in running his part of Palestine.

But let's remember who Abbas is. He appears well intentioned, but he is afflicted with near-disastrous weaknesses. He controls little. His troops in Gaza simply collapsed against the greatly outnumbered forces of Hamas. His authority in the West Bank is far from universal. He does not even control the various factions within Fatah.

But the greater liability is his character. He is weak and indecisive. . .

Moreover, his Fatah party is ideologically spent and widely discredited. Historian Michael Oren points out that the Palestinian Authority has received more per capita aid than did Europe under the Marshall Plan. This astonishing largess has disappeared into lavish villas for party bosses and guns for the multiple militias Arafat established.

The West is rushing to bolster Abbas. Israel will release hundreds of millions in tax revenue. The United States and the European Union will be pouring in aid. All praise Abbas as a cross between Anwar Sadat and Simón Bolívar. Fine. We have no choice but to support him. But before we give him the moon, we should insist upon reasonable benchmarks of both moderation and good governance -- exactly what we failed to do during the Oslo process. Abbas needs to demonstrate his ability to run a clean administration and to engage Israel in day-to-day negotiations to alleviate the conditions of life on the ground.

Abbas is not Hamas. But despite the geographical advantages, he does not represent the second coming, either. We can prop him up only so much. In the end, the only one who can make a success of the West Bank is Abbas himself. This is his chance. His last chance.

Read the entire story here. Finally, some benchmarks we can get behind. This sounds perfectly appropriate and far more sound then just opening the spigots. We may have to force Fatah to succeed as a nation - rather then subsidize opulence for its war lords. Perhaps, given their recent fate in Gaza, we may find Abbas and his gang a bit more willing this time.

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Is The Hamas Coup A Plus Or Minus?

This is musing and speculation on some of the ramifications of the Hamas coup in Gaza. I solicit your thoughts.

1. Hamas is no longer the legitimate government of the Palestinian people, Abbas having dissolved the government and appointed a new Prime Minister under emergency conditions. But, Hamas now, for the first time, has full responsibility for all aspects of governing the Palestinians in Gaza. Western aid will immediately flow to the West Bank and the new Abbas government but Gaza will see little if any of that. I cannot see Hamas, wholly surrounded by an unfriendly Egyptian government and a mortal enemy in Israel, being able to do much for the residents of Gaza - beyond imposing security and Sharia law.

2. Hamas is in a position of extreme weakness. Gaza’s water and electricity is controlled by Israel. Even with all the economic support in the world from Iran, no water and no electricity in a small plot of land with over 1,500,000 people is a disaster but a flick of some switches away. The next rocket coming across the border could send Gaza’s living conditions into the tank. Israel need not invade Gaza to hold life and death control over the society and to make any offensives by Hamas untenable.

3. While a majority of people in Gaza voted for Hamas, does that mean that they look forward to the mini-caliphate that they now find themselves under? Hamas ran on two prongs – one, providing services to Palestinians compliments of foreign funding, and two, not being as corrupt as Fatah. They did not run a campaign about imposing Sharia law of which I am aware. And how will they treat the concept of democracy in Gaza now that they have power? Palestinians in Gaza subject to decades of secular rule have just had it come to an end. It will be interesting to see how the populace takes to this in the long term, particularly if the West Bank Palestinians begin to thrive in a freer secular environment.

On a related note, there are about a thousand alleged Fatah supporters camped at the border crossing with Israel who are seeking to go to the West Bank. "Israel’s deputy defense minister, Ephraim Sneh, told Israel Radio that those whose lives were deemed in danger would be taken out through Israel. But he added, about the others, "No one knows for sure who these people are. We can assume they are people who don’t want to be in Gaza. Pretty soon there will be 1.5 million people who don’t want to be in Gaza."

4. Hamas by itself will not get the aid dollars they need to stay afloat. This will seriously strain the already troubled economy Hamas’s major patron, Iran. And how long will Iran support Hamas if Hamas does not take an active role in attacking Israel?

5. Abbas, though no friend of Israel, has, to his credit, long been a vocal opponent of the second intifada but lacked the strength necessary to challenge Hamas and the more radical elements. Now, with control over Palestinians in the West Bank and a much stronger security posture compliments of the IDF, Abbas may actually have a chance to develop a true Palestinian alternative with a viable economy. The flip side is that Iran, Hamas, Syria and possibly others will be intent on doing all they can to prevent this from happening. Expect the next round of suicide bombings in Ramallah.

6. If there is a real and lasting split between the Hamas contingent and Palestinians interested in developing an economy and a life, this would be a great disaster for many of the surrounding countries who have long used their influence and money to grossly manipulate the Palestinians for half a century. Indeed, "Abbas is already under pressure from some Arab governments, in particular the Saudis, who mediated the national-unity government at Mecca, to take Hamas at its word and try to recreate a shared government. In a speech on Friday to an emergency meeting of the Arab League, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia said, "The Palestinians have come close to putting by themselves the last nail in the coffin of the Palestinian cause." To the extent that the "Palestinian cause" is the one defined by the Muslim Brotherhood and the salafists of Saudi Arabia – to support suicide bombers, to keep the Palestinians in poverty, to claim Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as the cause of all misery in the Middle East, etc., then one can only hope that Faisal is accurate.

Feel free to chip in with your thoughts. All in all, in the world of unintended consequences, the Hamas coup has the potential of being a very positive event for Israel and West Bank Palestinians and a real problem for Hamas and Iran.

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The Real Palestinian Tragedy

It is refreshing to hear the occasional Arab voice in the wilderness decrying the real tragedy of the Palestinian people - the gross manipulation of the Palestinians by other Middle East nations. One of the most egrigous aspects of that manipulation is the horrid conditions in which Palestians reside outside of Gaza, the West Bank or Israel. The squalor is quietly acknowledged as part of the effort by Middle Eastern governments to use the plight of these displaced Palestinians against Israel. This from Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed in London's Arabic newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat:

. . . Regarded by some as a temporary issue, the tragedy of the Palestinians is rarely presented to the Arab and international public opinion through the media or during political occasions. Even some Arabs and Palestinians intentionally turn a blind eye to the issue so as not to expose abuses. What is happening in Lebanon's Nahr al Bared camp today is just one such example where battles have raised an overwhelming number of questions: who are these people? How long have they lived in the camp and how? What are their rights? The answers can be found on the UNRWA's website. Tens of thousands of people crammed in undignified houses, where many of them were born and have lived for five decades.

Some Arab countries “hosting” refugees ban them from leaving [camps], from occupying a large number of positions and deny them any other legal rights. Some of them have to jump over walls and sneak out to complete their chores or to breathe and experience the outside world. One can imagine these randomly and poorly built houses during the winter chill and sweltering heat of the summer among the sewage and insufficient services. It is a shame. How can we talk about the liberation of Palestine, which we simply associate with stolen land, a desecrated mosque and a powerful enemy, while we do not allow Palestinians to settle down, earn a living or travel like all other human beings?

Our insistence to lock the Palestinians in camps and treat them like animals in the name of preserving the issue is far worse a crime than Israel stealing land and causing the displacement of people. The 60 year-old camps only signify our inhumanity and double standards. Israel can claim that it treats the Palestinians better than their Arab brothers do. It gives citizenship to the Palestinians of 1948 as well as the right to work and the right to lead a somewhat normal life, although they are treated as second-class citizens. . .

Read the entire article here. Palestine today is in a civil war between the gangsters of Fatah and the radical Islamists of Hamas. For the seemingly few Palestians not already corrupted beyond hope by either side and who only desire a functioning society, they are in a lose-lose situation. There is a complete breakdown in morality and respect for the law necessary for a functioning society. And that all arises out of Middle East countries who have, for a century, actively nurtured and paid for this rot in a cynical attempt to use the Palestinians against Jews and the state of Israel. One must hope that there is a special place in hell reserved for those Saudis who have paid stipends to suicide bombers or who have funded the propoganda machines that tell pre-school children about the joys of murdering Israelis. This all leads to the incredible irony that the Palestians who have the highest standard of living and the most freedom in the Middle East are those who live in Israel.

(H/T Steve Halter)

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Whom Will Hamas-Fatah Fool?

The ink was just barely dry on the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement when Hamas announced that they still do not accept Israel's right to exist and further, that "the so-called 'right of return,' or unlimited immigration of millions of foreign Arabs to the State of Israel - which would lead to the destruction of Israel . . ." is "non-negotiable." The Hamas-Fatah unity government is not off to a promising start - or at least, not if the goal was peace with Israel and a functioning government and economy for the Palestinians.

So one would think that none of the countries that had shut off aid to the Hamas government as a terror supporting entity would embrace this Palestinian unity government made over in name only.

But, then again, one would be wrong.

Caroline Glick explains it all in her article here. And Hamas has already taken credit since the signing of the agreement for terror attacks inside Israel. See here. It would seem that the only effects of this new government will be to lessen the internecine warfare between Hamas and Fatah while allowing the ever increasingly anti-semetic Europe the bare patina of cover it needs to restart support for the terrorists in Palestine. The Euro-lemmings continue their erstwhile march towards the status of dhimmi.

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Keeping an Eye On CAIR: Part III - CAIR & "Middle East Peace"

CAIR is not an organization that can be relied upon in any way to promote the moderation and modernization of Islam; rather, it is a mouthpiece for the ultra-radical sect that is the Wahhabi / Salafi Islam. If we as a people assimilate rather then challenge CAIR at every turn, then it will work a fundamental change for the worse in American values. If you wish to have an inkling of Wahhabi core tenants in action, please see this post. Additionally, search the word "CAIR" on this site, and browse through the posts on Saudi Arabia -- the birthplace of Wahhabi Islam, on the site Memri.org.

With that, let us parse CAIR's statement of yesterday issued in support of their latest cause celebre, urging Congress to become more involved in establishing peace in the Middle East. That, on its face, is certainly a noble endeavor. Though, in all honesty, the U.S. has been very involved in this for decades. But let us not prejudge, CAIR might have some ideas of which we have not yet thought.

CAIR SAYS:
In his speech before Congress, King Abdullah stated: "The wellspring of regional division, the source of resentment and frustration far beyond, is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine. …I come here today, as your friend, to tell you that this is the core issue. And this core issue is not only producing severe consequences for our region, it is producing severe consequences for our world."

I am not impressed so far. Middle Eastern monarchs and governments have been blaming all of the problems of the Middle East on Israel since its inception. This has everything to do with the Wahhabi / Salafi dogma that it is the world's superior religion, destined to rule over all, as well as the Wahhabi dogma that Judaism is innately evil and must, in the end, be destroyed for Wahhabi Islam to triumph. Israel is a beacon of democracy and capitalism with a far higher standard of living for its citizens -- Jewish, Christian, AND Palestinian Muslim -- then any other Middle Eastern country. That it should be so -- without any oil or other natural resources that abound elsewhere in the Middle East -- is very telling.

To the extent a problem exists, it is a problem created by the surrounding autocracies, who use Israel as a scapegoat and the Palestinians as pawns. The Wahhabi and Salafi Muslims, of which CAIR is but one tentacle, want Israel wiped from the map. If you believe CAIR, then the demise of Israel and institution of a Muslim state in formerly Israeli lands would be the end of all of the problems of the Middle East. But, given what we know of Wahhabi / Salafi Islam, in reality it would only be the end of the very beginning of our problems with the Wahhabi / Salafi Muslim world.

CAIR SAYS:
It is vitally important that our elected representatives reformulate a Middle East policy based on the cherished American principles of peace and justice for all people.

Given our current policies towards Israel, no reformulation is necessary. We have stepped in with an eminently fair two state solution and a road map to peace. The first step from the Palestinian side is and has been for the Palestinians to stop murdering innocent Israeli civilians. Just what about that has to be reformulated? Must we accept wanton murder and Wahhabi attempts at genocide? Or must we accept and even support a Hamas led government that has as its fundamental thesis the destruction of Israel?

In actuality, Hamas is an outgrowth of Wahhabi Islam, and several members of CAIR have been sent to jail for their support of Hamas. What you will never see from CAIR is an explicit denunciation of any atrocity committed by Hamas. The reasonable words chosen by CAIR do not hide the blood of their actions.

CAIR SAYS
"For too long the plight of the Palestinians has been ignored in the halls of Congress. For too long the discussion has been one-sided. Our lawmakers have spoken out in support of Israeli rights and national security, but appear content to leave the Palestinians with neither rights nor security. To the Muslim world, this is perceived a double standard and remains the number one source of anti-American hostility.

This is so thoroughly disingenuous as to be laughable. Any cursory study of the plight of the Palestinians since the birth of Israel will show that there has been a cynical manipulation of them -- but it has been by other Middle Eastern countries who have insured their poverty and used them as proxies to attack Israel. As to the U.S. not helping the Palestinians, until the election of Hamas, we were pumping millions of dollars in aid into the Palestinian economy and attempting to build an infrastructure. We supported the unilateral withdrawal of Israel from Gaza. But what have the Palestinians made of this chance? Nothing. Actually, worse then nothing. The Palestinians are now in a true civil war, with the gangster like PA, who have embezzled countless aid funds over the years on one side, and the radical Islamicists of Hamas on the other side. And sticking their fingers into this witches brew are the various middle eastern countries playing off one side against the other to insure that there is no peace with Israel.

The statement that our mistreatment of Palestine is the source of anti-American hostility is a giant canard. Wahhabi Islam has been described as more racist then the KKK -- there is both a hatred infused in true believers from childhood against anyone who is not a Wahhabi Muslim, and a sense of superiority to anyone not a Wahhabi Muslim. That exists wholly separate and apart from the question of Israel. And what CAIR and other Wahhabists want is U.S. support for a plan that will eventually lead to the destruction of Israel. Never, never be fooled by the lies of CAIR.

CAIR SAYS
"A tragedy is unfolding in Palestine with 70 per cent of the population now living below the poverty line. Unemployment is nearly 40 percent and expected to rise to more than 70 percent.

I agree, it is a tremendous tragedy. For those Palestinians who live at peace in Israel and who flatly refuse to have anything to do with the PA and Hamas, their standard of living is the highest among any Palestinians living in any state in the mid-East. At this point, Palestinians in Gaza are out of control. While there is no butter, money for guns and militias seems to flow like water. So how is that the responsibility of the West to fix? There is a problem, but it is not one caused by the U.S., nor can it be fixed by the U.S. without simply giving more support to the ever growing civil war. Further, while we may choose to give aid at times to Palestinians, that aid is a gift, it is not a right which they -- or CAIR -- can demand. The Palestinians portray themselves as perennial victims -- a choice of roles vigorously supported by CAIR and other Middle Eastern countries. When will the Palestinians ever take responsibility for their own actions?

CAIR SAYS
"The choices that Israel makes have implications for the United States. It is time for America to use its power to influence counterproductive Israeli policies such as building illegal settlements on confiscated Palestinian land and subjecting Palestinians to Apartheid-like existence.

Isn't it nice to see CAIR and the Wahhabi's pick up on the language of Jimmy Carter? We have long attempted to convince Israel not to expand settlements, and indeed, Israel has given essentially the entire Gaza Strip to Palestinians, and has pulled back from many of its settlements in the West Bank. As to the buzz words "Apartheid-like," there is nothing stopping the Palestinians from setting up an orderly and productive society in Gaza. The solution begins there -- not with the United States kowtowing to the demands of Wahhabi Islamists.

CAIR SAYS
"Any real and lasting resolution to the Middle East conflict will also have to address Israel's brutal occupation, the Palestinian right of return and the holy status of Jerusalem for Muslims worldwide.

If no other sentence by CAIR gives away their true intent, this one certainly does. CAIR is asserting an innate right to claim Jerusalem for the Muslim world. The fact that Jerusalem is the most holy site in the world for Jews and Christians is not mentioned -- nor, I doubt, did it ever enter the author's mind. Why is that? This goes to the ultimate intent of the radical Wahhabi Islamists -- to wipe Israel from the map, and indeed, reinstitute claim to all lands that were ever in Muslim hands historically. That is step one.

Israel is a state with both a legal and historical claim to the land on which it sits, including Jerusalem. Israel is not an occupying entity. As to brutality, Israel's hands are not clean. But, in comparison to the brutality of the Palestinians and other Islamists, with the slaughter of women and children applauded by the Arabs, there is no comparison whatsoever. To call Israel brutal while ignoring the actions of Palestinians and their radical Muslim supporters goes beyond hypocrisy. They think we are guilt ridden idiots to be manipulated.

I could go on listing what CAIR says, but much of what I would say in response is already set forth above. The bottom line is that CAIR is a viper in the midst of our secular liberal democracy. While I, like Voltaire, will defend CAIR's right while in this country to say what they want, I will, and urge you to join me, in doing everything possible to thwart CAIR from taking their twisted messages into the acceptable mainstream of American thought.

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LGF IS COVERING ATROCITIES IN GAZA AND ISRAEL

LGF has reports of three "honor" killings in the past 24 hours in Gaza, as well as serial gang-rapes of young Israeli women by Bedouins, allegedly as reprisals for Israeli aggressions in Gaza and the West Bank.

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