Friday, January 22, 2010

What Part of “No” Don’t You Understand?

No one can accuse Hamas of being mealy-mouthed. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood openly and clearly calls for the destruction of Israel. They refuse to accept the existence of Israel. They have said repeatedly that they will never be willing to co-exist with the Zionist entity.

Yet these are the same people with whom Barack Hussein Obama reputedly has close (but secret) ties. Western politicians seem to think that Hamas leaders don’t really mean it when they say they want to drive the Jews into the sea. It’s all talk, expedient political boilerplate designed to help them on the hustings, and doesn’t reflect the way they really feel. It’s like when an American politician talks about lowering taxes or shrinking government — everybody knows he doesn’t really mean it, but he has to say it in order to get elected.

So, in our eyes, Hamas remains a potential negotiating partner, a serious party to the “peace process”. They’re people we can do business with. It doesn’t matter that over and over again, consistently and without fail, they say things like this:

Hamas ‘Still Committed to Israel’s Destruction’

Damascus, 21 Jan. (AKI) — Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was committed to the destruction of Israel and has no intention of rewriting its charter, a leading Hamas spokesman has told Adnkronos International (AKI). Speaking in the Syrian capital Damascus, Osama Abu Khaled, said: “It is impossible to recognise Israel on any terms and in any circumstances.”

Khaled denied reports in the Israeli daily, The Jerusalem Post, on Thursday that Hamas had accepted Israel’s right to exist and would be prepared to nullify its 20-year-old charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

“There has been no change in Hamas’ position towards Israel. Our strategy is clear and unwavering,” Khaled told AKI.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, is currently seeking to win recognition from the international community.
- - - - - - - - -
Khaled said comments recognising Israel’s right to exist, which The Jerusalem Post had attributed to Hamas’ most senior representative in the West Bank, Aziz Dwaik, were “false” and had been manipulated.

“Hamas wants a Palestinian state with the pre-1967 borders in exchange for a permanent ceasefire,” he stressed.

Dwaik said during a recent meeting in the West Bank that other Hamas leaders, including Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal and Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, had supported establishing an independent Palestinian state within the boundaries before the 1967 Six-Day War.

Dwaik reportedly made the remarks during a meeting he held in the West Bank town of Hebron with British millionaire David Martin Abrahams.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Abrahams saying he would urge British foreign minister David Milliband to “consider the implications of Hamas’s positive overtures.”

[…]

“Dwaik’s comments were intentionally manipulated. From what we know, they were off-the-cuff remarks made with a wealthy Briton,” said Khaled.

My bet is that we’ll continue to accept the Dwaik version of affairs, and go on believing the pie-in-the-sky vision of “Palestine”, right up until the day the Iranian nukes fly. Then everything will change.


Hat tip: C. Cantoni.

6 comments:

Zenster said...

“Hamas wants a Palestinian state with the pre-1967 borders in exchange for a permanent ceasefire,” he stressed.

"And a pony!"

Anonymous said...

There's no such thing as Palestinian people nor do the Arabs have any claim to the land they're on.
http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=11607

In Hoc Signo Vinces† said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Henrik R Clausen said...

the pre-1967 borders

There are no pre-1967 borders.

Further, the United Nations, in one of its rare moments of brilliance, created a usable resolution on the matter, stating for instance:

(ii) .. acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

Hamas is a threat of force, and thus needs to be eliminated.

In Hoc Signo Vinces† said...

Who is David Martin Abrahams aka David Martin?

"He once faced a trial in which he was accused of illegally evicting a tenant ... "

British foreign policy in the hands of pirates, rogues and other assorted scoundrels.

Israel will prevail.

Henrik R Clausen said...

Israel will prevail.

Working to achieve just that. In this case, I took it to a friendly parlamentarian, who had alredy taken up the matter with the government.

Specifically, it would be quite useful if the permanent EU 'emergency' aid to Gaza was halted, for then Hamas would have to work for the survival of the Gaza inhabitants rather than lobbing rockets over the border to Israel.

And Hamas would fail.