Analysis: Now Hamas could align with Al-Qaida

Haaretz ^ | 3-21-04 | Zvi Bar'el

[truthandlife]

Hamas now faces two dilemmas - how to replace a spiritual and strategic leader and how to avenge Ahmed Yassin's killing.

Hamas is perceived by the Palestinians as a national organization that in the last year in particular contributed to their national cause against Israel. As such, it is not merely a religious supra-nationalist group that, like its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, seeks to establish an Islamic state wherever possible, it is also committed to the territorial struggle in Palestinian areas. That territorial dependence has so far distinguished it from other supra-national groups like Al-Qaida factions and given it a status not unlike Hezbollah in Lebanon.

That's what makes it finding a spiritual leader to replace Yassin - who never allowed an heir to emerge - so difficult. His religious rulings usually were followed by the cadres, as they were based on local conditions, even when other religious leaders disputed his positions. The senior Hamas officials around him - Abdel Aziz Rantisi or Mahmoud al-Zahar - do not have the religious stature that he had, nor does Hamas in Lebanon or Syria have a religious leader of Yassin's stature for Palestinians.

That does not mean the organization is lacking an operational command to plan and execute terror attacks. Its military wing, Iz a Din al-Kassam, has not been damaged nor has the political politburo been harmed, so its political contacts, such as those with Egypt, will continue. Hamas has an abundance of negotiators both in Gaza and overseas, especially when the important decisions are made in consultation with the leadership outside the territories.

The immediate danger is that Hamas, lacking a clear cut leader, will split into factions, as happened to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or the Jihad in Algeria, with some of the groups aligning with Al-Qaida. Such factions create their own ideologies and operations that don't necessarily take into consideration the local conditions.

Palestinian groups have so far been careful to stay clear of alignment with Al-Qaida. But Abdel Aziz Rantisi yesterday announced that Hamas had opened a special account with Israel, calling the assassination of Yassin a declaration of war on Islam. That will have real significance if Hamas decides to turn its back on years of strategy and begin operations outside the country, striking at Israeli, Jewish or American targets overseas. There are many infrastructures overseas ready to cooperate with Hamas and the dilemma for the organization now is whether to become part of a global organization, which it has so far avoided.

The answer apparently depends largely on their assessments on how it would affect the Palestinian cause if Palestinian terror begins operating overseas again. And another question is if the organization is ready to endanger its position in Syria and other countries, by taking action internationally to protest the killing of Yassin.

[snooker]

It could affect Syria. Badly.

[johnfrink]

Hamas, unlike AQ, is very much state-funded, not rich-Saudi-prince-funded. So while they might see the virtues in aligning themselves with AQ and hitting targets overseas, I doubt their patrons would.

[truthandlife]

Much of Hamasfunding comes from Palestinian expatriates, as well as from private donors in Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states. Iran also provides significant support, which some diplomats say could amount to between $20-$30 million per year. Moreover, some Muslim charities in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe funnel money into Hamas-backed social service groups. In December 2001, the Bush administration seized the assets of the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Muslim charity in the United States, for allegedly funding Hamas.

[ATCNavyRetiree]

BRING IT ON!!

[Pukin Dog]

Pretty please?

[Agnes Heep]

Hamas uniting with al-Qaeda would be like Hitler declaring war on the U.S. following Pearl Harbor--at least if GWB remains in the White House.

[The Sons of Liberty]

If Hamas allies itself formally with Al Queda, seal off the Gaza strip and call in B-52s to carpet bomb them around the clock!

[Eccl 10:2]

"There is only one !!"

[OrioleFan]

Maybe thats the way to take the hate outta these organizations - take out the clerics. Can you imagine if Baptist ministers told their folds to go out and kill all Catholics.

[Sabertooth]

If Hamas hooks up with AQ, then Israel no longer fights with its hands tied.

[jackbill]

How many Daisey Cutters would it take to take out Gaza City?

Cheap at twice the price.

[resistance]

Bingo! We have a winner!

[VOA]

Analysis: Now Hamas could align with Al-Qaida

Big Deal.
IIRC, one of the leading Hamas luminaries (not Yassin) made some sort of
public statement that was effectively a declaration of war on the USA.
(I think it was something like encouraging Hamas members to go after US military in
Iraq/the Mid-East.)

[glock rocks]

If Hamas hooks up with AQ, then Israel no longer fights with its hands tied.

may I...

If Hamas publicly hooks up with AQ, then Israel no longer fights with its hands tied.

gloves off time.

[KriegerGeist]

"It could affect Syria. Badly."

Indeed it could. This prophesy of Isaiah has yet to come to pass:

Isaiah 17:1-3

Prophecy Against Damascus
1. The burden against Damascus.
"Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
3. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

[Ethyl]

Analysis: Now Hamas could align with Al-Qaida

I thought that they already had, they all want the same outcome, the demise of Western Civilization. Be they hamas, hezbolla, somebody or other's brigade, al qaeda, all the same. So what has changed?

[Ethyl]

It could affect Syria. Badly.

Why? I have no idea why, so please tell me.

[VOA]

So what has changed?

1. A wicked old fart got "blowed up real good"
2. Hamas hands out new press-releases with lots of hyperbolic, overcooked rhetoric
that provides reporters with more work.
After hyping the Richard Clarke book tour.

[Ethyl]

2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
3. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

What are the cities of Aroer? The fortress from Ephraim, where or what is that? Looks like they are all going Jewish, sounds good to me.