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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Land Shark who wrote (72729)	1/27/2006 2:09:03 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

Yields, the newspaper AUSTRALIAN is a right leaning newspaper. I found their editorial very interesting in that they are looking forward with the hope that HAMAS in power will be very different than the HAMAS which was out of power. I hoped that "the chimp" would have espoused the same approach during his press conference yesterday. Instead he said that the "elections were a wakeup call". He fell asleep at the wheels again and woke up on hearing the election results :) Editorial: The people's choice Peace or war could follow the Palestinian poll THE Palestinian people have made their choice in free and fair parliamentary elections. And they have overwhelmingly chosen members of the terrorist militia Hamas, which is committed to the destruction of Israel and the establishment of Islamic religious rule, with all that this implies for the rights of women. Certainly, Hamas campaigned on domestic issues, comparing its performance in local government with the corruption and incompetence of the outgoing Fatah regime. But there is no avoiding the obvious: this is a vote for people who are as keen to kill as they are to negotiate political problems. The election ensures enormous challenges for all the players in the Middle East peace process. The US, and European nations who provide aid and attempt to arbitrate in the region, say they will not deal with Hamas unless it renounces terror. Unsurprisingly, neither will the Israelis. Yet while the Palestinian Authority President, Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, remains in office after being elected just over a year ago, he has no choice but to work with Hamas. And for the Americans and Europeans to have absolutely no contact with the new government would send a very dangerous signal around the region – that Western nations only accept election outcomes when they like the winners. Somehow, Mr Abbas has to convince Hamas leaders they are in politics now and because they cannot beat Israel militarily, they will have to find a way forward that preserves their pride while assuaging the Israelis and their allies. This is certainly not impossible. Under longtime leader Yasser Arafat, Fatah never renounced violence against Israel but found ways, at least intermittently, to negotiate. The arrival of Hamas as a legitimately elected presence in Palestinian politics poses equally demanding dilemmas for the Israelis. The easy response is to refuse to have anything to do with a Hamas government and wait to see what happens. Israel has the military might to do this. The new security wall being constructed along the length of Israel's frontier also makes it harder for suicide bombers to attack in its cities. But Israelis want peace. While it annoyed conservatives, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral evacuation of Gaza last year was politically popular. As is the peace platform of Kadima, the political party he created before being struck down by his present illness. Earlier this week, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would ultimately have to abandon much of the West Bank, if only to ensure Jews continued to account for a majority of the country's population. It would be preferable, he added, if the withdrawal was arranged in co-operation with the Palestinians. And that now means talking to a government made up of Hamas ministers. On Hamas's record to date, a permanent peace seems a forlorn hope. Only the most adamant of optimists will assume the organisation will now abandon terror and talk to Israel. There is a real chance this election may have sabotaged any chance of a settlement for years. And yet, electoral success has a way of changing even the most obdurate of activists. Having been elected once, Hamas will likely want to stay in power, if only to hang onto the perks of political office. To do so will mean fulfilling the promises of honest government and better services that won them the election. And accomplishing this will require international aid – and the co-operation of the Israelis, who have sway over the fragile economies of Gaza and the West Bank. Certainly, Hamas can continue to denounce Israel and refuse to negotiate. But not if it wants to go to the next election as a government that has improved life for ordinary people. What effect this election will have on the cause of peace in the Middle East will depend on whether Hamas wants to remain a terrorist organisation or become a political party. theaustralian.news.com.au