Comments on: Italian FM shills for Hamas https://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439 Cutting straight to the point Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:28:42 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Lefty https://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439/comment-page-1#comment-27525 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:28:42 +0000 http://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439#comment-27525 Yeah, but banning Hamas from running or not having any elections at all would also have been disastrous. Allowing the Palestinians to elect Hamas and then face the consequences for Hamas not acting like a civilized government was the best choice out of a lot of bad options. (Unlike D’Alema, I think the West should stick to their guns regarding Hamas.)

]]> By: Meryl Yourish https://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439/comment-page-1#comment-27519 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:36:34 +0000 http://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439#comment-27519 Hamas is a terrorist organization whose charter states explicitly that Israel will be destroyed. The Palestinian Authority is an organization with which Israel is supposed to deal and eventually cede the territories to for a Palestinian state.

The Taliban and Ba’athists both aim to destroy the states from which they were forbidden to run. Hamas aims to destroy Israel. Technically, you have a point in that the Palestinians are not part of Israel. Realistically, you do not have a point because no government should be forced to allow its destroyers a free hand toward completing that goal.

George W. Bush and Condi Rice forced Israel to allow Hamas members to run for election. The results have been disastrous. Israel was right not to want them in the PA.

]]> By: Lefty https://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439/comment-page-1#comment-27515 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:17:49 +0000 http://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439#comment-27515 athists were not allowed to run in Iraq. But in the terrortories, Hamas members were allowed to run against all advice from Israel and the PA. What, exactly, would be the reason for this?" The Taliban and Ba'athists were engaged in major insurrections against their own governments, but this was not the case with Hamas before the election. In Lebanon, Hizbullah holds seats in the National Assembly and the Muslim Brotherhood holds seats in Egypt (though technically the Muslim Brotherhood legislators are independents). These groups hate Israel, of course, but they've also attacked Westerners and are threats to their own countries. I don't see how letting Hamas run for office somehow singled Israel out for punishment.]]> This weird idea that the West must engage with groups like Hamas and Hizbullah or they’ll become like al-Qaida has been kicking around Europe a lot these days. A Brit named Alistair Crooke seems to be a major exponent (he describes Hamas as “moderate” Islamists): http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n13/croo01_.html

“The Taliban were not permitted to run for government in Afghanistan. Ba’athists were not allowed to run in Iraq. But in the terrortories, Hamas members were allowed to run against all advice from Israel and the PA. What, exactly, would be the reason for this?”

The Taliban and Ba’athists were engaged in major insurrections against their own governments, but this was not the case with Hamas before the election. In Lebanon, Hizbullah holds seats in the National Assembly and the Muslim Brotherhood holds seats in Egypt (though technically the Muslim Brotherhood legislators are independents). These groups hate Israel, of course, but they’ve also attacked Westerners and are threats to their own countries. I don’t see how letting Hamas run for office somehow singled Israel out for punishment.

]]> By: Ed Hausman https://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439/comment-page-1#comment-27506 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 06:41:27 +0000 http://www.yourish.com/2007/07/17/3439#comment-27506 Talk is cheap. Hamas has no interest in coming to any enforceable agreements. Italy has nothing but time for talk — until its rapidly nearing demographic collapse. The blind leading the blind, and all of them care nothing for Jews.

Why listen to them?

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