BBC:
Palestinian militant group Hamas has won a sweeping victory in municipal elections in the West Bank. The Palestinian electoral commission said that in the biggest city, Nablus, Hamas took 73% of the vote, while the mainstream Fatah organisation took 13%.
Nablus has traditionally been seen as a Fatah stronghold... This week's poll is viewed as an important indicator for elections to the Palestinian parliament scheduled for 25 January 2006. ... Hamas' charter commits it to the destruction of Israel, and the group has been responsible for most of the suicide attacks inside Israel. Israeli officials have warned that the peace process will end if the group becomes the dominant Palestinian political party.
If and when Hamas takes over, then all negotiations will cease. Israel will complete the Security Fence/Wall and call it a day.
I believe that early in the New Year, Hamas - and Hizb'Allah and IJ and the rest of the jihadoterrorists, (and aided by Iran and Syria) - will step up attacks against Israel. This time (and as a result of the Gaza withdrawal), Israel will utterly squash - as in ERASE - these groups from the West Bank and Gaza. This time, the IDF will leave a heap of rubble in its wake; after all, this time - because she is NOT an "occupier" - Israel dosen't have to pick up the pieces afterwards.
Maybe a few real Palestinian moderates, with whom Israel can deal, will rise from the dust; maybe not.
At that point, Israel will have to settle for whatever limited diplomatic gains it has made with other Arab and other Muslim nations. And these might evaporate. Pity.
Pity: if the Bush and Rice had not backed-down, and had supported Sharon (instead of Abbas), and had supported Sharon's DEMAND that Hamas disarm BEFORE being allowed on any ballot, the peace process might be alive. This is another example of how APPEASEMENT fails to deliver the goods - of how appeasement is always COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. Pity.
1 comment:
i think al-qaeda and zarqawi will also start picking up the activity against israel, now that the battle is basically over for them in iraq. 2006 will not be a pleasant year for israel. however, this might be a good thing, as israel will soon be able to resort to full-on war, vs targeted strikes. once the wall is done, gaza and the w bank should be considered a foreign aggressor-power and can be treated as such, as you mention above.
cheers
jp
http://americansforfreedom.blogspot.com
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