[ Ha'aretz] Amir Oren - Both in theory and in practice, this cease-fire accords Hamas equal status and international validity. Israel flinched from engagement and settled for a stalemate - a stalemate that is a defeat. In the past few months, a biblical-style war was waged around Gaza: siege versus catapults. The catapults won. Israel's siege was intended to avert a large-scale crisis reaching the point of hunger, while at the same time denying Hamas the possibility of showing economic development. The operation succeeded, the patient did not die, but the physician was the first to get tired, before the population in Gaza got fed up with Hamas and blamed the organization for its plight. Hamas will go into the 2009 presidential elections as the victor of the cease-fire, or alternatively, as the leader in the resistance to the reoccupation of Gaza. And Hamas will be considered relatively moderate compared with Hizab al-Tahrir (Liberation Party), which aspires to restore the glory of the Muslim caliphate. This party has attracted a following of tens of thousands, maintains a secret leadership alongside a public one, and is on the brink of moving from religious activity to perpetrating violent attacks.
2008-06-20 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive