Posted on 08/27/2006 6:28:04 PM PDT by jdm
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) In a rare case of self-criticism, a senior official in the Hamas-led government said the Palestinians have bungled the aftermath of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and called on residents to stop blaming Israel for all their woes.
Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led government, urged Palestinians to look beyond the conflict with Israel in searching for the causes of internal violence and lawlessness sweeping through the Gaza Strip.
``I am not interested in discussing the ugliness and brutality of the occupation because it is not a secret. Instead, I prefer self-criticism and self-evaluation,'' Hamad wrote in an article slated for publication in Palestinian newspapers Monday.
A year ago, Israel was completing its withdrawal of all troops and settlements from Gaza after a 38-year occupation. The withdrawal raised hopes the Palestinians would rebuild the impoverished coastal strip as the first step toward gaining full independence in Gaza and the West Bank.
However, rival Palestinian factions have been locked in a violent power struggle, and fighting with Israel has continued. Tensions with Israel have only worsened since Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections in January.
``Our extreme joy at their departure made us forget the most important question: What is our next step?'' Hamad wrote. ``We heard that a promising future was waiting for us and for Gaza and so we were optimistic that the blood of our martyrs and injured and the suffering of the entire country hadn't been in vain.''
He said the easiest explanation to justify the ``failure'' is to blame the Israelis.
``As a consequence, we became limited in our thinking unable to think except within a very small cycle,'' he wrote. ``We were never able to be active about events, and on the rare occasion that we succeeded, we were not able to use it to move the process forward.''
Hamad said his article was a personal opinion and did not represent the position of the government.
Sure he'll say he bungled things. They still haven't been able to wipe out the State of Israel, but they are still working on it.
hang on to your wallets, folks.
LOL!
Well, it's a step in the right direction, but I doubt if it will be very widespread.
Dead man walking?
Now I am convinced that hell has frozen over.
Somehow I doubt this guy is going to keep his job for very long if he keeps saying things like this.
That's very funny! The Palestinians don't know how to do much of anything but destroy and complain. Call the Israeli's, be real nice, and maybe they will show you how to make things work. It's called join together and work your a$$e$ off to build something for a change.
But they won't do that.
Don't trust and verify, verify, verify, verify, verify, ve...
This guy must be the "Bill Cosby of the Gaza Strip."
Look for Ghazi Hamad's obit soon, sadly.
It's their Sister Souljah moment, I guess. Uncle Sam ought to start giving them money again! Yeah!
Don't trust. Period.
Score for succintness. :)
Dead man walking.
Good one.
Normally, if one Palistinian accuses the other of eating the last slice of pizza, the offender would say, "Don't blame me; it's the occupation..."
How long before they kill this guy?
Despite the reaction against him, Cosby's still alive. I don't hold out much hope for this Hamas fellow.
Odds are that he wouldn't have joined Hamas in the first place if he wasn't obsessed with destroying Israel.
Wonder when he will be lynched in Ramallah...
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