The election of Hamas to the government of Palestine is both terrifying and intriguing. “Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party leader and former Israeli prime minister, said Israel shouldn’t be surprised by the Hamas victory – the establishment of “Hamastan,” he called it,†reported by CNSNews.com.
Hamas, an acronym which in Arabic also means “zeal†or “ardor,†was founded in 1988 and quickly adopted as the military arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Indiana 1994), at 694, et. seq. It was financially supported by Saudi Arabia and others. Hamas’ charter of thirty-six articles makes it clear that nationalism and religious faith are intertwined such that for that reason no territory in Palestine may be left in the hands of non-Muslims. Further, Hamas’ charter spells out that there can be no solution to the Palestinian territorial claims except through Jihad. Hamas must engage in and promoter terrorism and warfare against Israel to fulfill its charter.
The election of Hamas to the government of Palestine will permit the international community to directly address Hamas’ commitment to warfare as the sole solution it will consider to its claims on Israel’s territory. Further, actions by Hamas can now be laid directly at the feet of Palestinian government and accountability might be more easily achieved. By going legitimate, Hamas might be forced to divorce its actions from its rhetoric in order to remain in legitimate power.
However, it is possible Hamas will drag the Palestinians back down the path of warfare and humiliation that have plagued those Arab nations with implacable designs on the territory of Israel. Those Arab nations were defeated by Israel in 1948, 1967, 1973 and throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After each conflict, the Arab nations that participated in warfare with Israel lost their military establishments, lost territory to Israeli occupation, and were humiliated. Israel has incrementally vacated territory taken in these wars in exchange for peace with those Arab Nations. Hamas, on the other hand, arrogantly believes it can better the record of those Arab Nations and refuses to face the fact that if its theology is true, Allah’s will has been clearly announced.
If Hamas fails to go legitimate, if it embroils the Palestinians in another military confrontation with the Israelis, Hamas is more likely to set back Palestinian aspirations for another century, and maybe, irreparably. If Hamas continues to bring about confrontation with the United States, Hamas may be forced to join the Taliban in the twilight of history.
