Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Hamas on the Reconciliation Agreement: 'Peace With Israel Is Not On Our Agenda'

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/02/26/fatah_hamas_1355238c.jpg

The Obama Administration's reaction after surprised by the Fatah/Hamas reconciliation agreement was measured, and issued all the usual cliches about any new Palestinian government being committed to peace and renouncing violence.

"The United States supports Palestinian reconciliation on terms which promote the cause of peace. Hamas, however, is a terrorist organization which targets civilians," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

"To play a constructive role in achieving peace, any Palestinian government must accept the Quartet principles and renounce violence, abide by past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist."

The Obama White House, calling a Muslim Brotherhood organization a terrorist group? Someone must be seriously upset.

For their part, Hamas, to their credit, is just as open about their desire to destroy Israel as they've always been, and they were happy to answer the White House.

Mahmoud al-Zohar, the Hamas 'foreign minister' and bagman who participated in the talks said openly that peace with Israel was not on the table. "Our program does not include negotiations with Israel or recognizing it," al-Zohar said in Cairo. "It will not be possible for the interim national government to participate or bet on or work on the peace process with Israel."

Zohar is nothing if not consistent. In the past, he's made a point of threatening Israeli children and calling on his Hamas thugs to target them specifically.

Fatah's mafiosos seem perfectly OK with whom they're getting in bed with.

'Palestinian' unelected Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the darling of the Palestinian groupies throughout the West welcomed the agreement in a message posted on his Facebook page. Fayyad wrote that the deal is a vital step towards unity and would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as capital.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received similar messages from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badia. Since the new 'pro-democracy' Egyptian government midwifed this mob sitdown, it's obvious that they approve of a merger between the two factions, and that Egypt's blockade of Hamas and its peace treaty with Israel is pretty much history - or will be, once the Muslim Brotherhood officially takes over.

The Obama Administration with its obsession on Israel completely missed the other currents going on in the Middle East. The president's 'smart diplomacy' has turned out not only to be amateurish and clueless but actually harmful, as he and his team seem to have a knack for angering both sides of any dispute.

Not only are the Israelis fed up with the Obama Administration,but his favored Fatah terrorists have paid him back for the millions of US dollars invested in them by writing off the so-called peace process entirely, with even Mahmoud Abbas trashing Obama in print.

It remains to be seen if Obama is willing to flout US law as he did before to continue to throw money at Fatah and their new Hamas boyfriends.

More sensible heads seem to be prevailing in Congress, thank goodness.

House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen( R-FL) released the following statement:

“The reported agreement between Fatah and Hamas means that a Foreign Terrorist Organization which has called for the destruction of Israel will be part of the Palestinian Authority government. U.S. taxpayer funds should not and must not be used to support those who threaten U.S. security, our interests, and our vital ally, Israel.

“According to existing U.S. law, such a hybrid government cannot be a recipient of U.S. taxpayer funds because the law stipulates that the PA government must recognize the Jewish state of Israel’s right to exist, among other things. Therefore, in order to implement existing law, the U.S. must end assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

“By entering into this partnership with Hamas, Abu Mazen’s Palestinian leadership has shown again that it is not a partner for peace. If reports are correct, the PA would then be standing with those who want only death and destruction for Israel.

“The Israeli and Palestinian people are eager for peace, but support for this type of PA government is not the way to get there.”


From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia,( who recently broke with Obama's pals over at J-Street in a very public and explicit manner) put out this statement :

"The purported deal, which does not require Hamas to accept Israel’s right to exist, or the binding nature of prior Palestinian commitments, or even to require Hamas to temporarily forgo violence against Israel (as if it were some kind barbaric of addiction, or compulsion), is a recipe for failure, mixed with violence, leading to disaster. It is a ghastly mistake that I fear will be paid for in the lives of innocent Israelis.

Rather than seizing the dynamic of this amazing Arab Spring to simply push for national elections and constitutional reform, the leadership of the Palestinian Authority has once again naively decided to test the trustworthiness of a bloody-handed bunch of terrorist want-to-be theocrats. While this step may be popular among Palestinians, many of whom wish to preserve the fantasy that they can have peace and so-called ‘resistance’ (also known in English as terrorism), the reality is that they can’t.

As in prior cases, the United States will be compelled by both law and decency to withhold any assistance that could fall into the hands or control or even partial control of anyone reporting to, or belonging to a terrorist entity, as is Hamas. And in the current political climate, even assistance that would otherwise have gone to parts of the Palestinian Authority untainted by terrorism may no longer be salvageable.

For months, President Abbas has refused partnership with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in pursuing peace negotiations. It now appears that he is writing off partnership with the United States in helping to govern and develop Palestinian society.

It’s certainly historic leadership. Just not the good kind.”


And Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the highest ranking Democrat on the House foreign aid subcommittee, issued her own statement, warning, “Unless Hamas accepts the Quartet Principles, which include renouncing violence and recognizing Israel, the formation of a unity government with Fatah will be a deathblow to the peace process. . . .A unity government with Hamas would put U.S. assistance and support at risk, based on restrictions I authored as Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.”

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) just tweeted: “Hamas +Fatah=probable suspension of US aid to Palestinian Authority ... Hamas supports terror, killed 26 American citizens.”

Well, actually a lot more Senator, and so has Fatah...but it looks like you get the idea.

please donate...it helps me write more gooder!

2 comments:

Chrysler 300M said...

excellent, so the "peace proces" is really history, and Israel is not under pressure to leave Yesha

Atlanta Roofing said...

It is impossible to predict whether or not this unity government will successfully lay the foundation of Palestinian statehood. However, it is undeniable that the alliance between Hamas and Fatah reflects a significant political change.