In a recent round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has halted negotiations in light of retaliatory Israeli bombings which have already taken dozens of Palestinian lives. Casualties of the violence numbered 70 on Sunday alone. Hamas still refuses to recognize Israel though I wonder if the average Palestinian feels as strongly about the issue as the Hamas leadership.
While the majority of those slain have been Palestinians, Israeli civilians like those in the border city of Sderot are also suffering from the violence. Thirteen Israelis have been killed so far by the recent rocket fire from Palestinian militants. The BBC reports, "People think twice about walking the streets, shopping for food and clothes, and letting their children play outdoors. Businesses have few customers, house prices have dropped dramatically, and more than 3,000 of the town's 24,000 residents have upped and left." If the goal of the terrorists is to coerce Israelis by inspiring paralyzing fear, it seems like they've done a good job, at least in some parts of Israel.
I found this quote by Ahmed Abdullah particularly interesting. He said of Hamas, "they need to be given a chance, they need to breathe--if you give Hamas a political opportunity then it will only moderate the movement." Many in Gaza view the bombings from Israel as punishment for supporting Hamas.
Although democratically elected by the Palestinians to represent them, could this be an example where democracy is something that the United States should not support, or is Abdullah correct in thinking that increased political power for Hamas will lessen the need it feels to resort to violence?
BBC News: Cat and Mouse, Abbas Breaks Contact
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
While a complicated senerio, I believe that most Palestinians voted for Hamas because they wanted the corrupt government of Fatah out and Hamas was the only viable alternative. Hamas's killing of Israeli civilians is absolutely immoral. However, it is undeniable that Hamas has some legitimate complaints. It is hard to say whether or not they would whole hearted act peaceful if were allowed to have their demands met, but they aren't peaceful now and we will never know until we try. I want to qualify this to only meeting demands that are recognized by the international community as being legitimate...like removing the settlements and lifting certain restrictions...I don't think the complete removal of the state of Israel is a feasible possibility.
Post a Comment