Shock-a-roonie
Hamas winning power in the Palestinian elections is one of those turning points in history that is so huge, few are able to predict what will happen next. Personally, I think this has the opportunity to refresh the peace process – but maybe I’m being optimistic. It all depends on how Hamas decides to play it.
My question is not so much ‘What happens next?’, but ‘How did this happen?’ Apparently, I’m the only one who’s interested in this – Google searches on Why/how did Hamas win turned up no exact phrases, and no useful standard search results. World leaders are busy renouncing Hamas and telling them to shun ‘terrorism’ and embrace Israel with peace and love, seemingly neglecting to consider and analyse how it could be that Hamas has pulled off such a stunning victory – from nowhere.
There are several other issues, too. For a start, it seems that the West (including Israel) is all for democracy when it gives them what they want – i.e. puppet governments that will pander to their every demand, and play their agenda for them. But when democracy turns up a result they don’t like, suddenly they’re not so quick to point out that this is the will of the Palestinian people, and so the Israelis must deal with it. Instead, they moan and complain. Again, this leads on to the question ‘Why did the Palestinians elect Hamas?’
I could go on and on, but briefly, here are my other thoughts.
My question is not so much ‘What happens next?’, but ‘How did this happen?’ Apparently, I’m the only one who’s interested in this – Google searches on Why/how did Hamas win turned up no exact phrases, and no useful standard search results. World leaders are busy renouncing Hamas and telling them to shun ‘terrorism’ and embrace Israel with peace and love, seemingly neglecting to consider and analyse how it could be that Hamas has pulled off such a stunning victory – from nowhere.
There are several other issues, too. For a start, it seems that the West (including Israel) is all for democracy when it gives them what they want – i.e. puppet governments that will pander to their every demand, and play their agenda for them. But when democracy turns up a result they don’t like, suddenly they’re not so quick to point out that this is the will of the Palestinian people, and so the Israelis must deal with it. Instead, they moan and complain. Again, this leads on to the question ‘Why did the Palestinians elect Hamas?’
I could go on and on, but briefly, here are my other thoughts.
- There’s no reason Hamas should abandon all its weapons. The only difference between the military wings of Hamas and Israel is now also gone – before one was merely an organisation of the people, the other and organisation of a state. Other than that, they both kill civilians by targeting civilian areas.
- Both Israel and Hamas have indicated recently that they may talk to each other in the future… which in itself was unheard of just a few weeks ago. This is how progress begins.
- One of the primary reasons, in my view, that Hamas was elected was that the Palestinians were sick of Fatah, corruption, and the neverending road to nowhere. They’ve put their faith in Hamas, and its now up to Hamas to prove that the faith has been well-placed. Schemes to help communities are one thing – running a government is quite another.
- I do have more, but this post is long enough. So I’ll spare you.
posted by Atif at 1/27/2006 12:54:00 am
4 Comments:
"The only difference between the military wings of Hamas and Israel is now also gone"
Lets be honest here....although few people outside the US and Israel will justify the human rights violations inflicted on Palestinians by Israeli forces, the thought that this may be comparable to an organisation which supports blowing up innocent civilians with no attempt to attack military forces is clearly showing how disillusioned you are. Maybe the world would take a kinder view on hamas and show more compassion for the Palestinian situation if they showed they were willing to gain peace through peacefull means... no one is fooled by calling these acts justified or some kind of form of self defence. In the light of the recent Danish cartoon drawings the current climate really may become explosive as Europe begins to associate Islam with terrorism..... and what happens in response? well in Pakistan they chant "death to Denmark" and in Syria and Lebanon they burn down the embassies. Does any one paper speak for a whole country/continent? the answer is no! Freedom of speech? Yes, BUT!! sensitivity is important on such issues as religion and some of these European papers would do well to take note of that. Violent acts in Muslim nations, however, do nothing to bridge divisions.
I know you've been waiting for a response to this for comment for a while... so here it is.
I agree that previous Hamas targets such as cafes and nightclubs are absolutely reprehensible. But so equally are all the cases of Israeli soliders shooting Palestinian children or blowing up innocent civilians with their missiles. The difference of course, is that when Hamas do it it is rightly identified as a malicious, deliberate act, whereas when the Israeli government does it all civilian deaths become 'collateral damage'.
According to http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm, over three times as many Palestinians have been killed in the Intifada than Israelis. I rest my case.
For stuff on the cartoons, see my latest post. Also, I know you go to Strathclyde uni as well, so rather than hiding behind an anonymous ID, send me an email and let me know who you are!
Atif,
I am more than happy to sit and have a discussion about it. The reason why I didnt leave my name was simply because I am not a member of e-blogger. I have no reason to be anonymous mate. Appoligies if it offended you that I didnt leave it on the post.
regards
Kenny Weir
Hey, no offence taken - what I said was meant in jest. Also, there is an option for people who are not members of Blogger to leave their names, by selecting 'Other' and filling in the boxes that appear.
Anyway, I'll be sure to clear a day in my diary for us to have a sit down verbal war about this! See you soon mate.
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