Daily Alert Archives

Isolating Hamas

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - * Hamas is not trying to escape its isolation by meeting the demands of the international community. It has made no move toward recognizing Israel's right to exist, accepting previous agreements made with Israel, or committing to, let alone abiding by, the Quartet's road map. * What Hamas is doing is hoping that it can use the suffering of the Palestinian people - the same people who presumably chose Hamas because they were so tired of PA corruption and anarchy - to pry open Western coffers without compromising one wit. * So far, the U.S., Europe, and Israel are together on making a clear distinction between direct, strictly defined, humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and helping Hamas out of its box. This means providing medicines through international organizations, as Israel has announced it is willing to do with some of the suspended Palestinian tax transfers. For the Quartet it may mean paying PA health workers salaries, but not through the PA itself. * What it clearly should not mean is taking over, either directly or indirectly, the PA's vast patronage payroll, including tens of thousands of "security forces" and other employees.
2006-05-15 00:00:00
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