Hamas democratically elected?

What are we to think when a jurisdiction holds a democratic vote and elects a government that will not be satisfied with anything less than the total annihilation of its neighbour?

Such is the case in Palestine. I used the word ‘jurisdiction’ on purpose. Words like ‘nation’, ‘country’ and ‘civilization’ just seem inappropriate in this case.

Palestinian nationhood is a goal that seems even harder to achieve now that Hamas is to form a government. Or was it ever the goal?

So, why did Hamas win? Do Palestinians not want peace and prosperity for their children?

The culture of hate put forth by so many leaders including the candidate who ran for Hamas after having sent one of her teenaged boys to his death on a suicide attack is surely a factor.

Perhaps its my soft Western mind but I wonder how anyone can regard such an individual as anything but a terrorist.

It is right of all nations to condemn the new Palestinian ‘government’. Palestine does not belong in the company of sovereign nations. To recognize this ‘government’ is to condone terrorism.

The best that can come out of this is political pressure from the rest of the world who realize too late that Palestinian intransigence is the main stumbling block to peace. I don’t hold out a lot of hope on this front.

The irony is that the conditions that exist in Palestine, while not totally of their own design, are exacerbated by their own behaviour. There was a time not long ago that the two societies had a more symbiotic relationship. Thousands of Palestinians worked in Israel. Now, of course, those Palestinians are unemployed because Israel is exercising its right to protect itself. Now, the lack of opportunity and prosperity has turned Palestine into a terrorist hotbed.

While Israel may not have handled all situations perfectly during its existence (and what nation has?) we cannot fault its attempts to protect itself and we must applaud its willingness to negotiate in good faith and its desire to live in peace. We cannot expect Israel’s patience to be boundless.

If I seem one-sided its because I believe that Palestine and its leadership needs to bear the brunt of responsibility for the state it finds itself in.