(Ha'aretz) Ze'ev Schiff - Tactically, at this stage, the most important thing for Hamas is buying time. The movement needs quiet in order to get organized, to strengthen itself, to nurture its rare, first victory, in the wake of which a Sunni Muslim regime has been established. Yet it will maintain quiet only for a limited period. In the meantime, extremist elements, like the Iranians, will filter into the Palestinian territories. One possibility is that the government of Israel will make a massive disengagement-convergence move. Hamas will see this as Israel running away again. The Palestinians, and not only Hamas, will refuse to see the line of the new "convergence" as an agreed-upon border. It is clear that the new line that will be drawn will also be a new basis for the continuation of the war against Israel, as happened in Gaza.
2006-04-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive