Thugocracy

From Cox & Forkum 26/1/2006 ...


















From FoxNews: Major Decisions Await Palestinian Leadership After Surprise Hamas Victory....

“The elections results amount to a de facto declaration of war by the Palestinian people against the state of Israel. It’s imperative our nation redouble its commitment to the state of Israel and cautiously evaluate any future assistance to a Palestinian regime governed by terrorists,” said Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.

"Hamas is a terrorist organization, which means they believe it is their right to murder women, children and innocent civilians to achieve their goals. It is unrealistic, unwise and even immoral to ask Israel to sit down with a government that contains people who have such beliefs," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Hamas' charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and leaders said they had no plans to change it.....

Birth of Hamastan

From JPost Jan. 26, 2006 10:37 Updated Jan. 26, 2006 21:55 By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL, JPOST STAFF, AND AP ...

Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu told the Likud faction in the Knesset Thursday, "Before our very eyes, Hamastan has been established, the step-child of Iran and the Taliban. It's in firing range of our airport, our highways and cities. This has to be a day of soul searching because the writing was on the wall. The policy of giving land for free gave a prize to terror and a winning card for Hamas.

"How are Olmert and Peres getting ready for this challenge? They are moving the fence 500 meters closer to the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway (Beit Iksa). They gave more land to the Hamas state. Any land given to Hamas will give more of a front to fire upon us. "This is a new and dangerous situation. Sharon said he wouldn't let Palestinians in Jerusalem vote. Olmert let them."

The left side of the political map was also very concerned about Hamas's probable win in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Labor Chairman Amir Peretz reiterated Thursday that his party did not consider Hamas a partner for peace negotiations. "We have no intention of allowing negotiations to take place, or of allowing a third party to force us to recognize an organization that openly seeks to destroy Israel," Peretz said, adding that the apparent Hamas victory in the Palestinian Legislative elections undermined the stability of the Middle East.

Meretz-Yahad chairman Yossi Beilin said that the election results still provided a chance for an agreement with moderate Palestinians. He called on Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to launch peace talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Beilin also warned that if Israel and the PA failed to reach an agreement soon, Hamas would win in the next elections, as well.

National Religious Party MK Zevulen Orlev said that the Hamas victory was the result of Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip. "The Palestinian public recognized that Hamas's suicide bombers and Kassam rockets convinced the Kadima-led disengagement government to uproot Jews from Gush Katif," Orlev declared.

Kadima MK Haim Ramon said Thursday that he failed to understand the consternation that Hamas' seeming victory in the Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections caused among right-wing politicians in Israel. Ramon told Israel Radio that right-wing politicians had said "over and over" that "Abbas was the same as Hamas," and had called the PA leader "even worse" because he and his Fatah party "hid their true intentions."

National Union chairman Zvi Hendel had claimed Thursday that Hamas showed the Palestinians that terror was the only way by which they could "defeat and expel Israel."

MK Avigdor Leiberman (Yisrael Beitenu) said that the results were "a victory for radical Islam", while MK Effi Eitam, who attempted on Wednesday to disrupt the vote in east Jerusalem, said that Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar "should send flowers to Ehud Olmert."

Former foreign minister and Likud MK Silvan Shalom opined that Israel had made a grave mistake in allowing Hamas to participate in the elections. "The international community will find a way to justify its dealings with Hamas by saying that it was democratically elected - and this after all [Israel's] efforts to prove to the world that Hamas is terror group," Shalom declared. ....

History of Hamas

From Arutz Sheva 16:46 Jan 26, '06 / 26 Tevet 5766By Hillel Fendel ...

Hamas has set the destruction of Israel as its goal. Between September 2000 and April 2004, Hamas perpetrated 425 terrorist attacks against Israel and murdered 377 Israelis - nine every month.

Hamas was founded by Islamic militant extremists in the Gaza Strip in 1988, shortly after the first intifada broke out. The word Hamas is an acronym for the Arabic words for "Islamic Resistance Movement."

Though it is also involved in social and welfare programs, the organization is devoted chiefly to the obliteration of Israel. Its charter states, "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

The charter further states, "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.

Hamas is responsible for 24 murders before the Oslo Accords, 156 more before the Oslo War began in September 2000, and at least another 377 since then - a total of at least 557.

... A full list of attacks since 2000 can be seen on the IMRA website. Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli missile attack in March 2004, and less than a month later, the same fate befell his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi

Hamas win a threat to Middle East peace

From The Australian: Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent January 27, 2006 ...

HAMAS, the militant Islamic group bent on the destruction of Israel, will be asked to form the next Palestinian government after a landmark election win that cast grave doubt over the future of the stalled peace process.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will ask Hamas, which spearheaded a five-year suicide bombing blitz, to form a new cabinet, and Fatah will go into opposition, ending the 30-year reign of the party founded by Yasser Arafat.

The head of Hamas in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, had flagged asking Fatah to join a government of national unity, before floating for the first time last night the signing of an accord that would enable a Hamas government to deal with Israel on an administrative basis, without having to amend the movement's charter to formally recognise the existence of the Jewish state.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat announced Fatah's move to the opposition after a meeting with Mr Abbas, who last night accepted Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei's resignation.
"Hamas will be asked to form the new government," he said. "We in Fatah will not join them. We will be a loyal opposition and rebuild the party."

Mr Qurei's resignation came after officials from Hamas and Fatah agreed that Hamas had won a majority of seats in the 132-seat parliament. Hamas were claiming up to 80 seats last night.
Palestinian election officials added to the sense of drama by delaying the release of official results until early today.

In what amounted to a claim of victory, senior Hamas official Ismael Haneya said: "We will negotiate with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and Fatah for political partnership.
"All the American and Zionist pressure didn't affect the voters. Whenever Hamas and the Palestinian resistance are under pressure, more people vote for us. "Israel and the US voted against Hamas while the people voted for us. The international community and regional countries should respect the will of the Palestinian people. We will carefully deal with the international community."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated her administration's stance of refusing to deal with Hamas, which it labels a terrorist group, until it lays down its arms and changes its mandate that calls for Israel's destruction. "In addition to the fact that the United States won't change its policies towards Hamas, the practical problem is that the (current) Palestinian leadership in the road map is committed to a renunciation of violence, committed to dismantling terrorist organisations," said Dr Rice.

Hamas's strong showing now stamps it as a dominant player in Middle East politics and potentially shelves the US-sponsored road map for peace that Fatah had pledged to reactivate.
However, it raises the prospect of the Palestinian Authority losing millions of dollars in funding from the EU and US for salary payments to its vastly overblown public sector. Veteran Israeli statesman Shimon Peres said these funds would cease flowing if Hamas did not change its charter calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Israel, which gravely fears the rise in influence of Islamists on its doorstep, called last night for an international dialogue to ensure the tortured peace process was not abandoned. Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned: "Israel cannot allow Hamas to become part of the Palestinian Authority in its current form."

Hamas has said its priorities were sorting out rampant corruption that has plagued the delivery of basic services in the Palestinian territories, not finding peace with its mortal enemy. It also aims to impose a form of Islamic sharia law throughout Gaza and the West Bank.

Mr Zahar has shown signs of softening his uncompromising stance towards the Jewish state by flagging discussions on specific issues brokered by third-party states.

Mr Abbas hailed the conduct of the elections last night and said Fatah would respect the democratic voice of the 1.1million Palestinians who voted in Wednesday's poll.
"The elections were transparent and fair and all the parties should respect the results," he said in a statement. The head of Hamas in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, had flagged asking Fatah to join a government of national unity, before floating for the first time last night the signing of an accord that would enable a Hamas government to deal with Israel on an administrative basis, without having to amend the movement's charter to formally recognise the existence of the Jewish state.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat announced Fatah's move to the opposition after a meeting with Mr Abbas, who last night accepted Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei's resignation.
"Hamas will be asked to form the new government," he said. "We in Fatah will not join them. We will be a loyal opposition and rebuild the party."

Mr Qurei's resignation came after officials from Hamas and Fatah agreed that Hamas had won a majority of seats in the 132-seat parliament. Hamas were claiming up to 80 seats last night.
Palestinian election officials added to the sense of drama by delaying the release of official results until early today.

In what amounted to a claim of victory, senior Hamas official Ismael Haneya said: "We will negotiate with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and Fatah for political partnership.
"All the American and Zionist pressure didn't affect the voters. Whenever Hamas and the Palestinian resistance are under pressure, more people vote for us. "Israel and the US voted against Hamas while the people voted for us. The international community and regional countries should respect the will of the Palestinian people. We will carefully deal with the international community."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated her administration's stance of refusing to deal with Hamas, which it labels a terrorist group, until it lays down its arms and changes its mandate that calls for Israel's destruction. "In addition to the fact that the United States won't change its policies towards Hamas, the practical problem is that the (current) Palestinian leadership in the road map is committed to a renunciation of violence, committed to dismantling terrorist organisations," said Dr Rice.

Hamas's strong showing now stamps it as a dominant player in Middle East politics and potentially shelves the US-sponsored road map for peace that Fatah had pledged to reactivate.
However, it raises the prospect of the Palestinian Authority losing millions of dollars in funding from the EU and US for salary payments to its vastly overblown public sector. Veteran Israeli statesman Shimon Peres said these funds would cease flowing if Hamas did not change its charter calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Israel, which gravely fears the rise in influence of Islamists on its doorstep, called last night for an international dialogue to ensure the tortured peace process was not abandoned.
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned: "Israel cannot allow Hamas to become part of the Palestinian Authority in its current form." ...

Hamas Faring Better Than Expected in Vote

From Yahoo By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer 12 noon 26/1/2006 ...

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hamas fared better than expected in Palestinian elections Wednesday, exit polls showed, raising the prospect that the ruling ruling Fatah Party might be forced to form a coalition with the Islamic militant group that calls for Israel's destruction. The outcome could put Mideast peacekeeping at risk.

Fatah had said before the first parliamentary contest in a decade that it would rather team with small parties than join forces with Hamas...But with the militants making a strong showing in their first legislative run, Fatah would need the backing of an array of smaller parties to cobble together a government. Because some of the smaller parties have ties with Hamas, Fatah might not be able to court enough of them to form a coalition firm enough to survive the Palestinians' domestic challenges — and face Israel again at the negotiating table.

An exit poll by Bir Zeit University in Ramallah showed Fatah winning 63 seats in the 132-member parliament with 46.4 percent of the vote and Hamas taking 58 seats with 39.5 percent. Smaller parties received 11 seats, according to the poll of 8,000 voters in 232 polling stations. The poll had a one-seat margin of error.

A second survey showed Fatah beating Hamas 42 percent to 35 percent, or 58 seats to 53. Official results are due Thursday."Neither Fatah or Hamas can form the Cabinet on its own, so they need to get into a coalition with other factions or with each other," said pollster Khalil Shikaki, who carried out the second survey.

...Abbas had argued that luring Hamas, responsible for dozens of deadly attacks on Israel, into politics would tame it and increase the chances for peace. "We are coming into a new phase. In this phase, we are calling for the international community to help us return to the negotiating table with the Israelis, conclude the peace process and implement it," Abbas said after the polls closed.

Hamas leaders said they would not comment until official results are announced.

...Fatah appealed for another chance to clean up the government and expand an economy shattered by nearly five years of fighting with Israel.

Though the election appeared likely to turn on internal issues, the results will have deep implications for peace efforts with Israel. If Hamas joins the government, it would be expected to ask for service ministries — health, education and welfare — and to leave diplomacy to others.
Israel says it will not deal with Hamas until it disarms. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that if a solution to the conflict cannot be reached through peace talks, then Israel will take more unilateral steps like last year's Gaza withdrawal.

"Anyone who participates in this government must renounce terrorism, must abandon the path of terrorism, must abandon incitement and the culture of hatred (and) must disarm the terrorist groups," Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin said.

Hamas' top candidate, Ismail Haniyeh, said the group had no intention of laying down its arms after the elections as Abbas said he expects.

Netanyahu's new Likud

An opinion from JPost Jan. 25, 2006 1:50 By ISI LEIBLER ...

Over the past year many Israelis justified Ariel Sharon ... on the grounds that only a strong leader could overcome the seemingly endless conflict and achieve stability, if not peace, for the nation. .... In reality they were entrusting the fate of the nation to an authoritarian leader whose brand-new Kadima party ranged from octogenarian Shimon Peres, who still extols the virtues of the Oslo Accords, to Tzahi Hanegbi, the former hard-line chairman of Likud. ...

...THE POLICIES of Kadima ... are utterly contradictory. Sharon had stated explicitly that there would be no further withdrawals until the terror infrastructure was dismantled, and that Jerusalem would remain an undivided city. Yet Sharon's aides simultaneously announced that Kadima would make further withdrawals from the West Bank, dismantling all settlements outside the main blocs as well as ceding major sections of east Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

...SHARON'S SUCCESSOR, Ehud Olmert, is an extremely talented politician with vast experience at all levels of government. He is also an articulate and charismatic orator with global exposure. .... He will be obliged to reconcile the conflicting factions in Kadima, which will require a highly sensitive balancing act.

...Labor, headed by former trade union apparatchik Amir Peretz, is unlikely to dramatically reverse its downward trend, and Shinui has effectively imploded.

It may thus be Binyamin Netanyahu's opportunity to become a lead participant in the forthcoming national policy debate. Like Olmert, Netanyahu is a highly experienced and skilled operator who possesses a golden tongue. The high points since his return to politics have included a short but impressive term as foreign minister and an outstanding contribution as minister of finance, which earned him praise from even some of his strongest critics.

Netanyahu asserts that history has already vindicated his opposition to the Oslo Accords, for which he was demonized to the point of being blamed for the Rabin assassination. He also emphasizes that in demanding reciprocity from the Palestinians before making concessions during his term as prime minister, he did succeed in dramatically reducing terror. He expresses confidence that his opposition to unilateral disengagement will likewise be vindicated. His biggest obstacle remains the media, which continues to react in an almost hysterical manner to every mention of his name, depicting him as a combination of a scheming Machiavelli and a devious opportunist.

Netanyahu is now trying to position the Likud as a centrist party by opposing further withdrawals without reciprocity and concentrating on the need for "defensible borders."

ALL PARTIES need to confront the cancer of corruption in public life which has reached a level that threatens to undermine the state. Over 30 years ago Ehud Olmert, then the youngest member in the Knesset, initiated a highly effective campaign against corruption in the field of sports and followed this with a major public onslaught against organized crime. Netanyahu recently announced his determination to purge the Likud of corrupt and criminal elements.
If Olmert and Netanyahu were to insist on transparency and governance, putting an end to the cronyism and sleaze that has become endemic to Israel's current political system, they would dramatically upgrade the entire Israeli body politic.

It is important to understand that much of the bitterness and outrage felt by opponents of the disengagement was compounded by the belief that Sharon had lied and behaved in a highly undemocratic manner. Hopefully, irrespective of the outcome, a genuine national debate followed by an election should ease these tensions and achieve closure on the basis of whatever path the majority of Israelis choose.

... Kadima and the Likud clearly have more common ground than either has with the radicalized Labor party. Both have effectively given up on Greater Israel, but insist that the major settlement blocs be retained...

However, Olmert, who has consistently and vigorously supported further major unilateral withdrawals, is now promoting a wait-and-see approach to a second disengagement.

...In such a context the composition of the next government will make all the difference. If the Likud is marginalized to the opposition and the new government is based on a coalition of Kadima and Labor/Meretz, that would represent a massive lurch to the Left - a far cry from the centrist regime, the polls infer, represents the vast majority of Israelis.

The writer chairs the Diaspora-Israel relations committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and is a veteran international Jewish leader (ileibler@netvision.net.il).

Hamas not expected to halt attacks

From JPost Jan. 25, 2006 3:30 Updated Jan. 25, 2006 9:12 By YAAKOV KATZ ...

Hamas is expected to continue perpetrating attacks against Israel even if it does well at the polls on Wednesday in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, senior defense officials predicted on Tuesday.

Recent polls have predicted Fatah winning the elections by a 10 percent margin and Hamas garnering a little over 30% of the vote, creating the possibility that the radical group would become part of a future Palestinian government. While the defense establishment expected Hamas's entry into politics to "moderate" the group's radical views, officials said they believed the organization would keep up its anti-Israel activity even from a position within the PA cabinet.

...one senior defense official told The Jerusalem Post. "Hamas is built on an ideology that calls for Israel's destruction and its leaders speak like anti-Semites. The assumption is that they will not give up the Izz a-Din el-Kassam military wing so quickly."

... even if Fatah swept the elections, officials asserted, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas would have difficulty in leading a government with Hamas as a partner or in the opposition.

Palestinian terrorist leaders meet Ahmedenijad

From Debkafile January 20, 2006, 6:32 PM (GMT+02:00) ...

Heads of 10 Palestinian terrorist leaders received in Damascus Friday by Iranian president Ahmedenijad . He promised to support their “struggle.”

Among them were Khaled Mashaal, whose Hamas is running for election in five days, Abdallah Ramadan Shalah, head of Jihad Islami, whose suicide bomber injured 30 Israels in Tel Aviv Thursday, Ahmed Jibril, head of the radical PFLP-General Command, and Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah.

DEBKAfile adds: The Olmert government is standing aside as Hamas heads for certain victory in the Palestinian elections. This group, like the other Palestinian terrorist groups whose commands are comfortably ensconced in Damascus, receives funding, aid and support from the hands of a leader who openly advocates wiping Israel off the map. The Tel Aviv suicide bombing was hailed enthusiastically by Iran’s state TV.

Mofaz to Ahmadinejad: 'Remember what happened to our previous enemies'

From JPost Jan. 21, 2006 22:07 Updated Jan. 22, 2006 2:04 By YAAKOV KATZ ...

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz fired off a warning to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Saturday night saying that Israel would not accept a nuclear Iran under any circumstance and is preparing for the possibility that diplomacy to stop Tehran's nuclear aspirations would fail.

"Thwarting Iran's nuclear aspirations will for now be done by passing this hot potato to the [United Nations] Security Council," Mofaz said in his speech at the sixth annual Herziliya Conference session on the balance of Israel's national security. "At the same time however Israel is committed to protecting itself and that is what it plans to do."

Calling out directly to Ahmadinejad, Mofaz said: "I suggest you take a look throughout history and see what happened to others who tried to wipe out the Jewish people. In the end they brought destruction to their own people. I know the people of Iran (Note that Mofaz is of Persian descent - SL) and they should know that Ahmadinejad's policies will bring a disaster upon them."

Mofaz further accused Iran of financially supporting Palestinian terrorism in the territories. "Money is like fuel for terrorism," the defense minister said. "Iran provides the Hizbullah with $100 million annually some of which reaches Palestinian terror groups. Iran is also the primary supporter for the Islamic Jihad which has carried out most of the suicide bombings in Israel over the past year including the one on Thursday near the old Tel Aviv central bus station."

According to Israeli intelligence, Mofaz said, over the past year alone, Iran sent $10 million to the territories to fund the Islamic Jihad as opposed to $5 million in 2004. "This combination of a radical regime with long-range missiles and attempts to obtain nuclear power is a threat not just to Israel but to the entire world," Mofaz said.

Moving to the Palestinian front, Mofaz declared that Israel would act independently if the Palestinian Authority failed to meet its obligations according to the US-backed Road Map peace initiative. "If there will be a legitimate and effective [Palestinian] partner then we will proceed according to the Road Map with the understanding that there are several stages until we reach a final agreement," Mofaz said. "But if we won't find a partner than Israel will need to takes its fates in its own hands."

Israel, the defense minister said, would in any case act to "create defensible borders, to strengthen the settlement blocs as well as a united Jerusalem and its surrounding areas."
Mofaz added that the disengagement from the Gaza Strip granted Israel unprecedented recognition within the international community and the country now had legitimacy to fight terror that it never had in the past.

Turning to Syria, the defense minister said that Bashar Assad had made every possible mistake. "He is an ophthalmologist that can't see far and continues to support terrorism," Mofaz said. "Syria is part of the axis of evil…Israel has an interest in keeping the northern front quiet but if it escalates we will know how to respond."