In Israel and out, the great debate began immediately after the two leaders left the podium: did Bush commit to one thing or another? Was this sufficient support for Sharon to win the coming referendum in his own Likud Party? Pundits were quick to point out that the president’s statements about borders and refugees were nothing really very new, but reflected earlier positions of American administrations and even the UN in days when it was not controlled by the Hit Israel Parade.
Oh? That must have been back in the '40s and '50s. It sure hasn't been since UN resolution 242, and it wasn't the policy that Bush's father followed with regard to declaring that settlements were illegal...
Maybe Chodoff can provide a source for his comments?
And while he's at it, maybe he can tell us how catering to Israel's right wing will assist us?
Doesn't that now almost obligate us to cater just as much to the Palestine's "dovish" politicians to win support for a peace treaty?
Catering to the right on one side generally as the effect of causing the right on the other side to win greater support. Certainly Hamas is not going away, nor is it becoming less popular amongst Palestinians.
Thus, is the goal to create a solidly militant Palestinian state? It would seem so:
news.yahoo.com
Rantisi Killing Boosts Hamas' Popularity
Mon Apr 19, 3:55 PM ET
By LARA SUKHTIAN and IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writers
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas has become more secretive and strapped for cash, but also more popular as a result of Israel's attempt to crush the group, including the assassination of two leaders in a month
The Israeli strikes have put the Islamic militant group on the defensive, experts said, but have not wiped out its ability to take bloody revenge.
Hamas is absorbing the blows in the midst of negotiating a possible power-sharing deal with the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) that would take effect after a proposed Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) in 2005.
With Hamas leaders now going deeper underground, progress in such talks is unlikely, participants said.
"Uncertainty at this point may make Hamas think carefully about any involvement in such political partnerships," said Palestinian legislator Ziad Abu Amr, who is involved in the contacts. "I don't think the issue is moving forward in any serious way."
However, there is some expectation that after an Israeli withdrawal, Hamas might no longer be targeted — provided it halts attacks from Gaza — and could play a role in running the coastal strip of 1.2 million Palestinians.
It remains unclear to what extent the assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi by Israel over the weekend has hobbled the group.
Rantisi, who became Hamas leader only last month, as a replacement for assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, ran operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
However, he reported to Khaled Mashaal, the head of the group's political bureau in Damascus, Syria. Mashaal sets policy and his instructions — including orders last summer to observe a temporary truce with Israel — have been followed by Hamas' military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam.
Israeli Cabinet minister Gideon Ezra said earlier this week that Mashaal could also be targeted by Israel.
The third arm of Hamas, a welfare system of clinics, schools and kindergartens, operates largely autonomously. However, it has been hurt by the recent drying up of Hamas funding from abroad, a result of Israeli and U.S. intervention. In a sign of tighter budgets, Hamas has begun raising money from impoverished Palestinians in Gaza, collecting about $3 million in a mosque donation drive last week, activists said.
Hamas has not had a high-profile local leader since the Yassin assassination. Rantisi only appeared in public three times while on the job, always seeking the cover of large crowds. He never slept at home.
"We didn't see him except for a few hours a week if we were lucky," said Rantisi's son, Mohammed.
Other Hamas leaders, including Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh, also went into hiding after Yassin's assassination. They stopped going to their offices, turned off their mobile phones and vanished from the TV screens.
The name of Rantisi's replacement, chosen over the weekend, has not been revealed, to protect him from assassination, Hamas members said.
One Israeli analyst said that's a sign of weakness.
"The fact that the new leader is supposed to be faceless shows that the organization has no real natural successor to Rantisi," said Jonathan Fighel, a reserve colonel of the Institute for Counterterrorism in Israel. "They can't implement any agenda without a visible and identifiable leader."
Yassin and Rantisi were charismatic leaders, but Abu Amr said there's a reservoir of younger, even more radical men. "Hamas has demonstrated a lot of resilience over the years, and I don't think anybody is going to dismantle them," he said.
Hamas' popularity has surged as a result of Israel's strikes and could be translated into political gains by the group after an Israeli withdrawal.
The group's standing could suffer, however, if it fails to make good on threats to carry out large-scale revenge attacks against Israel.
"People respect Hamas because of its credibility," said Anwar Yousef, 28, owner of a shoe store in Gaza City. "Hamas has proven, since its creation, that it does what it says it is going to do."
Hamas has dispatched dozens of suicide bombers since its founding in 1987, killing hundreds of Israelis. However, all but two came from the West Bank, with would-be attackers from Gaza held back by a fence ringing the strip. A similar barrier is going up in the West Bank and making it increasingly difficult for Hamas to strike. Israeli troops have also scored rising successes in intercepting bombers. |
