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Hamas Rules: The Talibanization of Gaza

[National Review] Jonathan Schanzer - Witness the Talibanization of Gaza: According to Fatah officials, Professor Sana al-Sayegh, a teacher at Palestine University in Gaza City, was kidnapped two weeks ago by Hamas and forced to convert to Islam against her will. Meanwhile, Ala Aklouk, a senior Muslim cleric in Gaza City asked by Hamas to look into the case, said the professor converted to Islam of her free will. "She was too afraid to inform her family that she had converted to Islam," he said. Other Christians now fear for their lives, and are making plans to flee. Al-Qaeda Links? In 2006, Hamas Interior Minister Said Sayyam stated that he would not order the arrests of operatives who carried out attacks against Israel. This was tantamount to an invitation for al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups to join Hamas in its war against Israel. Embattled PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has since stated that al-Qaeda maintains a presence in the West Bank and Gaza. Gaza has never been idyllic. But, under Hamas, as one New York Times reporter notes, "Gaza looks like Somalia: broken and ravenous." Hamas conquered Gaza by force. It will need to maintain its grip on power by force. This is the beginning of the Talibanization of Gaza, and the end of hope for the rule of law. The writer, a former Treasury intelligence analyst, is Director of Policy at the Jewish Policy Center in Washington.
2007-08-16 01:00:00
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