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Hamas Must Choose between Power and Terror

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - As Israelis agonize over endangering innocent Palestinians while killing terrorists, the murder of Eliahu Asheri reminds us that, to Palestinian terrorists, there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli. An 18-year-old Israeli boy, hitchhiking by the side of the road, can be summarily kidnapped and executed, and this is dubbed a legitimate act of "resistance." After Hamas was elected, many observers explained that the support the group received should not be interpreted as popular support for continuing the terror war against Israel, but a desire to be rid of Fatah's corruption. If this is true, then the fall of Hamas would not be a negation of Palestinian democracy, unless Palestinians favor continuing terrorism against Israel over establishing their own state. And if the majority of Palestinians favor terrorism, then Israel is within its rights to demonstrate the consequences of that choice as well. Natan Sharansky has consistently warned against the dangers of blindly promoting elections in societies that do not meet the "town square test" - whether one can freely say what they want in the town square without fear for their lives or freedom.
2006-06-30 00:00:00
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