Posted on 01/27/2006 5:52:13 AM PST by indcons
Both Israelis and Palestinians are reacting with shock to the landslide victory by the Islamic Militant group Hamas in Wednesday's Palestinian legislative elections.Israeli officials say they will have nothing to do with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, which has called for Israel's destruction.
The headline in the Jerusalem Post newspaper on Friday said, "the Palestinian people voted for resistance." Commentators in Israeli newspapers were universally negative about the election results, which saw Hamas sweep a majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament. Many echoed the editor of the mass circulation daily Ma'ariv who wrote that "a prolonged twilight can now be expected."
Commentators on the left blamed successive Israeli governments for, in their words, turning their backs on pragmatic Palestinians who wanted Israeli partners to negotiate with. Commentators on the right warned that Israel should never have made territorial concessions like the Gaza Strip pullout, which they say was exploited by Hamas for political gains.
While Israeli politicians were more subdued in their comments, they too were universally negative. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the world and Israel would ignore a Hamas government and make it irrelevant.
In a brief encounter with reporters, elder statesman Shimon Peres summed up the feelings of Israel's political establishment. "We shall not change our position," he said, "but if Hamas does not want negotiations and wants to continue with terrorist activities, I do not think that they will have any support from outside or from Israel.
For their part, Palestinians too appeared to be shocked by the magnitude of the Hamas victory. Palestinian newspapers universally described the election as a "political earthquake."
Palestinian journalist Khalil Assali reported from just outside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, saying Palestinians are trying to come to terms with a new political reality. "The mood in East Jerusalem is the same as in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," said Assali. "People are simply in shock, because they never expected that Hamas would win this kind of a majority. They are also shocked at how Fatah was almost totally destroyed in this election."
Despite concerns and differences, any new Palestinian government will have to try and deal with Israel.
Palestinians for the most part share the same power and water services that Israelis use, and Israel collects millions of dollars every month from the Palestinian Authority in taxes for such services.
Israel is also scheduled to transfer customs revenue to the Palestinian Authority that it collects on behalf of Palestinians. On Friday a senior Israeli finance official voiced concerns about how to transfer funds to any future government that calls for Israel's destruction. Palestinian officials say if they do not receive the funds soon they will not be able to pay an estimated 135-thousand Palestinian civil servants. And that, one Palestinian official warned, would be a recipe for violence. E-mail This Article
LOL...Baghdad Bob lives!!!!
You cannot negotiate binding agreements with a weak minority. They tried. It didn't work. Even when agreements were reached the PA wouldn't or couldn't live up to them.
The only thing the elections did was add a bit of honesty to the political process in the region. There simply wasn't enough popular support for the peace process among the Palestinian people for it to succeed.
Now the world needs to accept that fact, and hold the Palestinian people accountable for that choice. There won't be peace until the Palestinian people start paying the price for their own decisions and have to live with the results.
"Palestinians for the most part share the same power and water services that Israelis use, and Israel collects millions of dollars every month from the Palestinian Authority in taxes for such services."
Yeah, and if it weren't for the Israelis the Palis would be carrying water in buckets and there wouldn't be any money in the PA or even a PA to collect taxes from.
Anybody who is "shocked" by the Hamas landslide is living on another planet.
Hamas wants war - they have never said otherwise. They want the Jews of Israel dead, or gone, or both - they have never said otherwise.
A people whose proudest achievement is young people blowing themselves up to bring about both of these objectives? OF COURSE Hamas is their overwhelming choice.
What's wrong with Israel and the State Department, that they could have ever thought otherwise?
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Only the press is shocked, they didn't predict it. Besides, on the destruction of Israel Fatah and Hamas are on the same page, the vote for war was overwhelming.
Only the stupid foools without common sense were caught unawares. Their is none so stupid as the arrogant, living in la la land liberals and pols.
I am not suprised and will dare to say that Islamic homicide bombers and murderers will step up the attacks against Israel and America and worldwide free nations.
I agree with the prevailing view here. Reality is that the Palestinians, along with most Muslims in their deepest recesses, will NEVER allow for Israel to exist. NEVER. Liberals don't understand that this is something that cannot be fixed.
[Olmert said the world and Israel would ignore a Hamas government and make it irrelevant.]
And while they are busy burying their collective heads in the sand, the Islamic terrorists will continue their unrelenting assault against Israel and America, Europe is fallen already.
Israel would be best served by keeping every inch of soil west of the Jordon and SETTING UP ISRAELI GOVERNMENT THEREIN; though I do despise socialist governments, at least Israel would be safe for a time and the Arabs would have some proserity under Israel.
Okay, since most of us on FR know that these Arabs don't want peace, does that mean that:
a. we're smarter than our leaders?
b.they think that if they wish it hard enough it will come true?
c.they just do not give a sh+t if the Arabs destroy Israel?
a. we're smarter than our leaders?
b.they think that if they wish it hard enough it will come true?
c.they just do not give a sh+t if the Arabs destroy Israel?
I'm torn between B and C. I hope that the answer is B, but at times I fear it is C. I just find it hard to believe given the history of this conflict that anyone could possibly think that any kind of land for peace arrangement is going to result in anything other than more violence and the demand for more concessions from Israel. If this process were to continue on its present path will certainly result in Israel's destruction.
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