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Hamastan

[Wall Street Journal, 15Jun07] Barry Rubin - With the seizure of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, a new Islamist state is being established and it doesn't bode well for the West or regional stability. Since the peace process began in 1993 with the Oslo Accords, the Fatah leadership made hardly a single effort to move Palestinian society toward peace and moderation. Fatah did have an attractive alternative it could have offered: We will get a state, return the refugees to live in it, develop our economy and culture and enjoy large-scale international aid in exchange for ending the conflict. Instead it continued to glorify violence, spread hatred of Israel and America, and raise a new generation with a belief in eventual "total" victory and the extinction of Israel. Unwilling to make peace and uninterested in governing well, Fatah dug its own grave. Why should anyone be surprised that Hamas replaced it? Let's get this straight: There is no near-term solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. There is no Palestinian side with which a compromise agreement can be negotiated. Western and especially U.S. policy must get beyond an obsession with solving this conflict. It is going to go on for decades. Hamas will not be persuaded to moderate - why should it when it expects victory at home and appeasement from Europe? Hamas is the enemy, just as much as al-Qaeda, because it is part of the radical Islamist effort to seize control of the region, overthrow anything even vaguely moderate, and expel any Western influence. It is time to support Israel proudly and fully. Israel has done everything possible for peace, taking great risks to do so. The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center.
2007-06-15 01:00:00
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