Hamas on the Ropes
After Israel assassinated Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, popular support for Hamas grew to unprecedent levels among the Palestinian people. In the Canadian documentary Hamas: Behind The Mask (torrent), when asked if these targetted assasinations were tactically wise decisions, Lt. Col. Yochanan Tzoref, an IDF counterterrorism expert said, “I think it’s the biggest success for Israel. Why? Because the support that Hamas got increased so much that the Hamas feel part of the Arab politics (sic). The most important thing for Israel is that Hamas will become a political movement and not a resistance movement.”
If Tzoref is to be believed, contrary to all rhetoric, spin, and “framing of the debate,” Israel very much wanted Hamas’ rise to power, and perhaps even their domination of the PA. It enables Israel to back Hamas and the PA into a corner and, in turn, force them to face the reality that the Jewish State is not going anywhere anytime soon. And they’ll do it by hanging Hamas with their own rope: Their refusal to recognize Israel and their advocacy of terrorism.
Now that “War on Terror” McCarthyism has everyone running scared, foreign governments and businesses are severing ties with the Hamas-led PA faster than you can say, “Follow the money.”
First — the obvious move: The US backed off, cutting all diplomatic ties and funding to the PA. Canada quickly followed suit. Then the EU froze aid, which led to huge protests in the Gaza strip. (Which is laughable, of course, when you have gunmen storming EU offices over cartoons, kidnapping internationals, and torching the headquarters of European state-sponsored organizations. “Sure, let’s just hand you nutbags free money!”)
Now all the foreign banks are cutting ties too, which, thanks to Fatah bankrupting the PA, is bringing the Palestinian economy to its knees. The World Bank is threatening to go next.
Time says Hamas is about to face a rude awakening, a sentiment echoed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas himself. Without recognizing Israel and renouncing terror there are no diplomatic relations. Without diplomatic relations, there is no aid; with no aid, there is no PA; with no PA there is no Palestine. And yet if Hamas renounces terror and accepts Israel, they’re going to alienate a considerable number of die hard adherents. Thus Hamas is on the ropes.
Well methinks someone just discovered the rich kick of a double brewed cup of wake the f*ck up Israel’s been dying to serve since the first rock was thrown in the second intifada: Hamas to call off suicide attacks, recognize Israel within ’67 borders.
Yeah, yeah, I know–“Don’t get your hopes up.” They will never give up their designs to destroy Israel, yada, yada. It’s a start, in any event. And ingenious, if it really was a tactical decision on Israel’s part. Wreckless and insane, but ingenious nonetheless.
Since when does one counter-terrorism expert define or explicate Israeli policy or the intent of such policy?
when he’s part of the team crafting said policy?
Fine, so we should also deduct ever cent of American aid to Israel that went to the settlements. Hamas isn’t the only side that needs to be backed in the corner. This happened because the settlements would not stop.
Dameocrat,
What happened because the settlements would not stop?
And I don’t know if you have already forgot, but a large group of settlers were forceably removed from their corner. There are plans for the ones in the West Bank to have the same happen..and whose aid do you think goes towards that removal?
Mob,
Good post. Not sure I agree with all the implications of the assassinations, but it’s at least something to think about.
thought provoking indeed
Very intriguing.
The terror wouldn’t have occurred if the settlements hadn’t started in the first place and there were two states. The first suicide bombing didn’t happen till 1996. The settlements started in 1967. Nor would Hamas have risen to power, though I agree Israel may have wanted this. Hamas is authoritarian so Israel would like them to control the Palestinians and furthermore they want to control Hamas. If you read hard right zionists like Robert Kaplan, it becomes apparent very quickly that they love Islamic fundamentalist governments when those governments impose Western Hegemony, and smash dissent. They were joined at the hip with fundies in the 80s, and still are joined at the hip with Christian ones.
Check out: Hamas history tied to Israel, UPI:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10456.htm
“Israel was certainly funding the group at that time. One U.S. intelligence source who asked not to be named said that not only was Hamas being funded as a “counterweight” to the PLO, Israeli aid had another purpose: “To help identify and channel towards Israeli agents Hamas members who were dangerous terrorists.”[ ….]
“But even then, some in Israel saw some benefits to be had in trying to continue to give Hamas support: ‘The thinking on the part of some of the right-wing Israeli establishment was that Hamas and the others, if they gained control, would refuse to have any part of the peace process and would torpedo any agreements put in place,’ said a U.S. government official who asked not to be named.”
Elon:
“And I don’t know if you have already forgot, but a large group of settlers were forceably removed from their corner. There are plans for the ones in the West Bank to have the same happen..and whose aid do you think goes towards that removal?”
Olmert has said the majority of the 70,000 slated for evacuation will be moved to settlement blocks inside the wall. Thus very few of the over 400,000 illegally settled into occupied territory will be removed.
It describes Yassin as simply a crippled schoolteacher who thought Palestinians could not find freedom until they find Allah.