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Heaven On Earth
Hamas, A Palestinian Tragedy
In this week’s New Republic, Yossi Klein Halevi comments perceptively on the Hamas victory. The final line makes the key point: this is above all a tragedy for the Palestinians.
Palestinians have delivered their next generation to Moloch, to a movement whose religious pageants include parading children dressed as suicide bombers. The celebration of mass murderers as religious martyrs and educational role models, promoted by both Fatah and Hamas, has now reached its inevitable conclusion in the national suicide of the Palestinian people.
It’s an old story.
In a bizarre way, I think this will work out for the best.
The PLO, aka Fatah, are without doubt every bit the terrorist thugs that Hamas are, with the only difference being the diplomatic cover provided to them by governments and media around the world. This candid admission by the West Bank and Gaza Arabs basically strips away that veil.
Political victory could hardly do anything to encourage terrorism by Hamas, as the PLO never once took any meaningful actions to constrain them.
Having committed to the political sphere, Hamas will now at some future point be subject to the judgement of voters — inevitably for the worse one would assume, taking for granted that these goons have no hope whatsoever of effectively administering the territories.
Fatah are also highly skilled at propaganda — especially the indoctrination of school children — but Hamas’ efforts are just ugly and crude. In time that might turn out to mean loosening of the psychological grip of terrorism.
And there exists the possibility that the voters themselves may eventually be chastened by the realisation that the consequences of this choice rests on their shoulders (for example the crutches are soon likely to be kicked out from their all-but-dead economy).
I have to admire your optimism. I am afraid this is nothing but a tragedy which, like other tragedies, will only turn to the good after causing much suffering all around.
granted stripping away the veil is good, but only if we don’t avert our eyes. my prediction? MSM will be finding ways of spinning these guys positive because, as a dear but hopelessly flakey leftist friend put it as she explained things would get better, “we have to hope for the best…” okay, hope for it, but don’t let that become a factor in analysis.
political victory can bring many bad things including sharia (see Pedro’s post above), and an even more pervasive form of child-abuse than we now have. unfortunately, things can get worse.
as for future votes, what makes you think they’ll occur? once hamas installs sharia, what on earth makes you think that they will allow the democratic process to interfere. these guys are scarcely veiled demopaths, who use democracy to destroy democracy. given how many dupes like Jimmy Carter are out there ready to whitewash them in the service of peace, what makes you think the unveiling will have any effect?
i don’t understand what you mean by “loosening the psychological grip of terrorism” — how could hamas’ takeover contribute to that?
chastened for sure. but powerless. ironically, it will be the proximity to israel and the war that hamas conducts which will eventually be their downfall. otherwise the population of the territories is now in a vice grip. they cannot free themselves. and that, ironically, is what happened to iraq and why they so resent our presence (those who do), because it is so hard to admit they couldn’t save themselves.
rl
I wouldn’t call it optimism.
My main point is, the PLO are such monsters — terror attacks to the limit of their paramilitary capabilities, a ‘legal’ system wherein people are shot by masked goons in the streets, an education/indoctrination system that would make any Communist or Fascist proud — how could Hamas possibly be worse than what already exists…?
they’re sloppy and incompetent and corrupt. hamas is disciplined and fervently fanatical. that makes a difference.
one of the responses i get when i compare the palestinian leadership to the nazis, is that they’re not nearly as efficient as the nazis. hamas is another story.
I think it says a lot about our expectations of Jesus. Nice oneWe really do learn so much in