Here We Go Again...

“The new reality places Israel and the United States in a tough position: refuse to negotiate with Hamas, and in doing so, shun the democratic process, or negotiate with a group that has vowed Israel's destruction.” Says international editor for UPI, Claude Salhani.

Why is this a ‘tough position’? The baby (democratic principle) does not have to be thrown out with the dirty bathwater (menacing leadership). IDF Brigadier General Michael Herzog: “The fact that so many Palestinians regard the group as entirely legitimate does not mean that all other interested parties have to agree.”

Salhani again: "…However, Hamas, encouraged by its electoral victory, must show political maturity and demonstrate it can make the transition from militancy (read acts of terrorism) to joining the political process in helping build the PA.” Dream on!--We have just mounted another dead horse to ride down the “road to peace”. Let’s see if Hamas can develop the Arafatic talent of talking out of both sides of his mouth while ratcheting in arms, money, and unearned legitimacy from outside sources.

Daniel Pipes offers: “Returning to the dilemma posed by the Hamas victory, Western capitals need to show Palestinians that – like Germans electing Hitler in 1933 – they have made a decision gravely unacceptable to civilized opinion. The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority must be isolated and rejected at every turn, thereby encouraging Palestinians to see the error of their ways.” If the “international community” continues to coddle futility and turn a blind eye to ‘Palestinian’s ultimate intention of Israel’s destruction the ‘peaceful two-state’ solution will forever remain a fantasy. Professor/columnist Steve Plaut thinks it’s a foregone conclusion: “The expectation by Israel's leaders that the world will shun Hamas and refuse to fund it or talk with it is but the last in a series of delusions. By the spring, Israel will be under international pressure to make much larger gestures of goodwill to Hamas.”
-photo from Betwix