The Palestinians voted in free and fair elections, were warmly congratulated on their fledgling democracy by the international community, and on Saturday, their new Hamas-dominated Parliament, was sworn-in.
On Sunday, Hamas announced its nomination for prime minister. Ismail Haniyeh, 46, is a Gaza-born lawmaker, who is generally considered a moderate pragmatist.
This should be a time for celebration but, instead, the Palestinians face troubled times ahead, mainly because the same international community that has been cheering on democracy isn’t prepared to support the democratic outcome that produced a Hamas leadership.
The US and Israel are going a step further, according to Steven Erlanger of the New York Times, who maintains those allies are colluding to oust Hamas from office.
“The intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its President Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election. The hope is that Palestinians will be so unhappy with life under Hamas that they will return to office a reformed and chastened Fatah movement,” he writes.
According to Ha’aretz columnist Gideon Levy, members of the Israeli government consider starving out the Palestinians a subject of intense mirth.
When adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister Dov Weissglass recently met up with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and senior military officials to discuss the imposition of an economic siege, he joked, “It’s like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won’t die.”
Levy is obviously appalled by such flippancy, saying “it again revealed the extent to which Israel’s intoxication with power drives it crazy and completely distorts its morality”.
If Israeli and American hawks have their way, Weissglass will gain a lot more amusing repartee to add to his after-dinner portfolio.
Under discussion are plans to close the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt and turn the Gaza-Israel crossing into an international boundary, which would effectively cut Gaza off from the rest of Palestine.
Other sadistic future delights could involve the cutting of electricity supplies to Palestinian territories, the banning of Palestinian workers from pursuing work in Israel and a blockade on Palestinian exports.
At the same time, Israel intends to continue its policy of extrajudicial assassinations and doesn’t rule out the murder or arrest of Hamas leaders, even if those ill-fated individuals are duly appointed ministers.
Following a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israel plans to hold the Palestinian Authority hostage by refusing to hand over monies it collects on the authority’s behalf relating to tax and customs duties.
During the meeting, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert branded the Hamas government “an enemy”, and has urged would-be international donors to refrain from digging into their pockets to close the gap.
This move will leave an enormous hole in the Palestinian budget as even when the PA does receive a monthly amount of some $55 million from Israel it is still left with a deficit of $70 million. Hamas believes it can recoup some of these losses with aid from new donor countries, but Israel seeks to foil this move by restricting movements of cash and blocking incoming telegraphic transfers.
Tightening the screws even tighter is the US government, which says its laws ban affording aid to Hamas, considered a terrorist organization.
On Friday, the US demanded the return of $50 million handed to the Palestinian Authority last year for the renewal of infrastructure. This petty and parsimonious attitude from a nation that has frittered over $240 billions invading Iraq so that it can ostensibly hand over that ruined nation to Iran-friendly religious leaders. The irony is self-evident.
The mot just for all of the above is “blackmail”.
So what is it that Israel and the US want in return for behaving in a humane fashion in their dealings with some of the poorest and longest suffering people on earth?
In short, Hamas is being asked to run its election manifesto through the shredder and morph into a Fatah clone overnight. Hamas must embrace the existence of an Israeli state, throw away its weapons and adhere to all previous agreements and treaties with Israel, including those enshrined in the defunct Oslo and road map.
In the meantime, President Mahmoud Abbas, who now finds himself in uncomfortable partnership with Hamas, is urging that party to agree to resume peace talks with Israel, even though there have been no such talks on the table since Ariel Sharon took power.
But it isn’t only its external detractors with which Hamas has to be concerned, as according to the Britain’s Sunday Times, “Senior Israeli and Palestinian representatives have held secret talks in America to discuss ways of sidelining Hamas,” and strengthening the position of President Abbas.
For its part, Hamas has agreed to support an indefinite cease-fire with Israel and has refrained from militancy for almost a year. These moves have encouraged many observers to request a “wait and see” attitude from the international community.
Russia, Turkey and Venezuela have all agreed to keep open minds and meet with Hamas representatives, provoking condemnation from Israel and the US for so doing.
The EU, as usual, is being ambiguous with its foreign policy chief Javier Solana, saying it will not abandon the Palestinian people, while on the other hand the EU threatens withdrawal of aid should Hamas refuse to toe the line.
But despite the gloomy forecasts, Hamas intends to carry on regardless in a spirit of optimism, which most people might consider misplaced. Hamas spokesman Nashat Aqtash said he thought Hamas would weather the storm at least initially.
“Hamas had all its leaders deported by Israel in 1992 and imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority in 1996. Many of the leaders were assassinated by Israel. Despite this, it has continued to grow in popularity and strength.”
True, but what happens when and if the rose-colored specs fall off and reality sets in? Will Hamas fold and fade away or, as some Israelis are asking, could a third intifadah be lurking on the horizon? And if so, at whose door should the blame be laid?
