All
In The Family: Disharmony In Gaza
By Remi Kanazi
22 June, 2007
Countercurrents.org
A
new craze is taking form in political circles throughout the international
community. After the Gazan "civil war" which killed 90 people
(only 617, 910 less than the American civil war) everyone and their
grandmothers seems to be an expert on Palestinian politics and its internal
affairs. Hamastan, as it is now being called in Gaza, like the multitude
of evil empires that have taken hold throughout world history, is scaring
the bejesus out of Fatah, Israel, the US, the European Union, the Arab
States, and most theater goers of Spiderman 3. The reason: Hamas, as
if it was filming the promotional video, "How to Spank a Militia
in 3 Easy Steps," routed Mohammed Dahlan and his US backed henchmen
in Gaza before dinner was on the table.
This backyard beating prompted
Israel and the US to embark on a new strategy. The two nations are bolstering
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and head of Fatah, because
of a new "window of opportunity." This opportunity is claimed
to be the chance to embrace so-called Palestinian moderates. The US
and Israel believe they can rejuvenate the corrupted peace process,
which is about as alive as Ariel Sharon, by helping to consolidate Abbas's
power in Fatah's heartland—the West Bank. What these think tank
geniuses forget to mention is that this window had been open in the
same capacity after the passing of Yasser Arafat. Furthermore, they
persist in pushing forth a vision of paradise in the West Bank, with
children dancing in the street greeting their new liberators with flowers
and candy, reminiscent of the vision of the fall of Baathism—minus
the 650,000 deaths and actual civil war.
The propaganda machine in
the US has been working at full steam to enlighten its citizens on just
why Hamas is filled with foaming-from-the-mouth jihadists. Only a few
anti-Semites have come out to criticize America's policy towards Hamas,
namely ex-Ku Klux Klan member Jimmy Carter. In plain terms, this "violent"
and "fundamentalist" organization cannot be allowed to function
because it's a terrorist organization, with terrorist values, terrorist
roots, and a terrorist vision of the future. The only problem with these
labels is Hamas's lack of terrorism. The group, infamous for its history
of suicide bombings, hasn't been behind such an attack in more than
three years. The group imposed and abided by a unilateral cease-fire
with Israel even before it came into power and held onto the cease-fire
while Israel continued to attack the organization. The group only ended
the cease-fire after persistent Israeli attacks on it and the civilian
population of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Nonetheless, when Hamas
ended the cease-fire it didn't revert back to suicide bombings, but
rather engaged in some firing of Qassam rockets, which are about as
deadly as a Roman candle at a Fourth of July beach party.
The Western press fails to
recognize that outside of its dream world, where Paris Hilton is queen
and real news is crap, Hamas is the democratically elected majority
party in the Palestinian territories. This makes the accusation that
Hamas staged a coup against Fatah all the more silly. George Bush can't
stage a coup against the president; he is the president (no matter what
Dick Cheney says). Furthermore, Hamas only took action against Dahlan
and his clan of thugs after a major buildup of Dahlan's militia by the
US and Egypt. The international community is reveling in the breakdown
of Palestinian society because it feels it can now impose more desirable
realities on the ground. Yet, contrary to the thought of most Westerners,
Palestinians do value democracy, as long as it doesn't come with a side
of cluster bombs and forced starvation. Abbas's illegal appointment
of a new government is going to sit as well with Palestinians as Jerusalem's
gay pride parade sat with ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The fact remains, the international
community, specifically Israel and the US, missed a huge window of opportunity
after the election of Hamas. The group had significantly moderated,
ironically much more in action than words, and deserved a chance to
govern without being bankrupted and imprisoned. Now Hamas is being told,
oddly enough like democrats and republicans tell Iraqis, that they are
to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and govern in Gaza without
the basic means of survival. Granted, Gaza can't function with the world's
strongest nations investing in its failure, but so what, get 'em next
time right?
Rubbing Hamas' face in the
dirt (along with the 1.4 million people of Gaza) like schoolyard bullies
may seem like an after school delight, but it will only foment more
hatred against Israel and more disgust with Fatah. There won't be three
states, four states, or any other "new solution" to combat
the power of Hamas: any vision for the future will ultimately have to
pass a unified Palestinian litmus test for it to stick. Abbas can pretend
that Gaza is now Hamas's mess, but he was elected as head of the Palestinian
Authority, and will be held to account politically if he keeps treating
Gaza like an unwanted stepchild. Even for someone who likes international
popularity and money more than George Bush likes bombing brown people,
Abbas will eventually come around to engage with Hamas. Whether Abbas
likes it or not, his brothers are in Hamas, and no matter how well he
gets along with his neighbors, if he doesn't make peace in Palestinian
society, the rest of his family is going to think he's self-serving
sellout.
Remi Kanazi is
the co-founder of the political website www.PoeticInjustice.net.
He is the editor of the forthcoming book of poetry, Poets for Palestine,
for more information visit Poetic Injustice. He can reached via email
at [email protected].
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