Hamas Edges Out Fatah: Palestinians Elect Terrorists to do the Work of Statesmen

By: Steve Yuhas

The Palestinian people threw away an opportunity of a lifetime when they voted to give the majority of the seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council to Hamas (76) versus the more moderate (yet equally terrorist) Fatah Party (43).  Once cast, their ballots sealed their fate as a people without a state until they come around to their senses.  One has to wonder if the Palestinian people realized that they were setting themselves up for life in limbo with only Iran and a few other nations to back them when they gave power to those who would kill a Jew: man, woman or child for sport.  Were they seriously backing Hamas’ ideology or were they duped?

Given the landslide results they could not have been duped so it must be that the majority of the Palestinian people want to form a government out of radical fundamentalists whose stated primary purpose is to purge the Middle East of Israel and Jews.  In an ironic and disgusting spectacle the green flag of Hamas was raised over the Palestinian Legislative Council as Fatah loyalists, some terrorists no doubt, (but to a lesser degree) and Hamas converts clashed in the streets.

Upon hearing the news of the Hamas victory leaders of Fatah resigned and made it clear that they would not form a coalition government with a group who has as their first priority the destruction of Israel and the killing of all of the Jews.  Even a group as extreme as Fatah, with pictures of Yasser Arafat still adorning the walls of their offices, understands that nothing good will come from the Hamas victory.

After the results of the election were announced, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, “On one hand, we will maintain the agenda of resistance on the other hand we seek to make change and reform in the Palestinian arena."

Resistance includes the Martyr’s Oath that includes the following closing line, “Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Muslim people.  May the cowards never sleep.”  This is the group now in charge of making peace and a state for the Palestinian people – it is as if the Palestinians would rather have the conflict continue than the responsibility of statehood.

Never far from a microphone, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter called on the world to give Hamas the money and resources it needed to govern because he declared the results of the election free and fair.  Imagine the notion of giving Hamas, a group on the international list of terror organizations, American tax dollars or money from the treasury of the European people. 

The thought is sickening and obtuse; yet remarkably consistent with what Jimmy Carter has become.

As Carter called for respect for the results of the election – rational thinkers in the United States thought otherwise.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters after learning of the terrorists’ victory, “As we have said, you cannot have one foot in politics and the other in terror," Rice said in a press conference Thursday morning. "Our position on Hamas is, therefore, not changed.”

The dismay came from both sides of the political aisle in the U.S. Congress as well: Democrat Chuck Schumer, “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.”  Republican Lindsey Graham, “The elections results amount to a de facto declaration of war by the Palestinian people against the state of Israel.”

It was not just the United States and Israel that thought the results were absurd, but even people who would normally applaud any election of any group that opposed Israel was not impressed with the victory. 

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, made clear that in order to govern and in order to work with the international community that Hamas must “ultimately disarm” or go down in history as a contradiction in governance and terror.  Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi called the results “very, very, very bad.”  Not exactly poetic, but enough to spur the rest of the world to look at what happened through the lens of Middle East peace and to realize that the Palestinians elected a group of people who believe that Israel should be pushed into the sea.

Even Fatah members, who are constant critics of Israel and much of the world, like Hanan Ashrawi expressed fear that Hamas would impose their fundamentalist control on the Palestinian people and that working toward peace would be all the more difficult.

Well, she is right.  You cannot have peace with a government that believes you have no right to exist.  Couple Hamas’ victory with the statements and actions of Iran and there will be a tilting point from which no exit strategy will avail itself – except for conflict.

Israel is taking stock of the events now and has not responded formally, but before the vote made clear her position on a Hamas government as acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a statement that told the world Israel’s feelings about a Hamas government.  "Israel can't accept a situation in which Hamas, in its present form as a terror group calling for the destruction of Israel, will be part of the Palestinian Authority without disarming."

And now Hamas is not just part of the Authority, but the majority.

Palestinians had an opportunity this week to show the world that they were ready, willing and able to elect a government that would be a broker for a state and to make progress toward getting there; instead, they elected terrorists to do the work of statesmen.

It is a sad day in the Middle East as one nation looked for a partner in peace and the people able to provide it only provided a partner for war.

Steve Yuhas is a columnist and radio talk show host on KOGO AM 600 and may be reached at www.steveyuhas.com or steve@steveyuhas.com