Middle East Politics.Net » Hamas

Collective Despair Over Gaza

davidhulme — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:43:57 +0000

People around the world, among them journalists, commentators, bloggers, scholars and government leaders have decried the Israeli attack on Gaza. International Herald Tribune and New York Times columnist Roger Cohen writes in The New York Review of Books (February 12 issue), “I have never previously felt so despondent about Israel, so shamed by its actions, so despairing of any peace that might terminate the dominion of the dead in favor of the opportunity of the living.” Reflecting on the peace and reconciliation that France and Germany, and Germany and Poland have achieved in the years that have followed WWII, Cohen wonders why it is that Israelis and Palestinians cannot make the same turn in their collective thinking.

Gaza Set Back 20 Years

davidhulme — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:31:16 +0000

The latest war in the region ended January 18 when Israel and Hamas each declared separate ceasefires. During 23 days of bombardment and ground fighting, 1300 Palestinians (mostly civilians) and 13 Israelis (3 civilians) died. The disproportionate death toll tells the story of military asymmetry, but not the true dimensions of the human tragedy. In addition to loss of innocent life on both sides, there are almost 5,000 Palestinians injured, 21,000 homes lost and 50,000 people displaced. More than a million citizens of Gaza are struggling in what some have described as the world’s largest prison, sealed off from help. Infrastructure and agriculture are wrecked. Schools, factories and hospitals are severely damaged or destroyed. Palestinian sources within Gaza claim 60% of agricultural land destroyed and 80% of this year’s produce obliterated. Financial loss in the agricultural sector is said to be $170 million. It may take 20 years for Gaza to get back to where it was on December 26, 2008, the day before the latest war started.

David Hulme

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Grossman and Gaza

davidhulme — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:44:41 +0000

Israeli author, David Grossman has a reasoned piece in the NYT today about the current Israeli campaign to crush Hamas. He argues for a 48 hour unilateral ceasefire on Israel’s part. Grossman, whose eldest son was killed in the 2006 Lebanon War, maintains that such an approach taken early in that conflict, would have put Israel in a much better position now. During the proposed 48 hour ceasefire, he suggests that international mediators should be invited to resolve the immediate crisis. His analysis takes note that Israel has the duty to defend not only Israeli citizens subject to Hamas rockets, but also innocent Gazan Palestinians.

David Hulme

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Hamas Anniversary Draws Both Celebration and Discomfort

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:38:58 +0000

Supporters of Hamas gathered in Gaza City on Sunday to mark the 21^st anniversary of the Sunni organization’s founding. Presumably in recognition of the occasion, a meeting involving Israeli and Egyptian officials took place in Cairo in an attempt to seek renewal of the current ceasefire agreement between Hamas’ military apparatus and opposition forces in Gaza. Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, as an estimated 150,000 demonstrators fervently waved green flags (considered to be the traditional color of Islam) in what is perceived to be an intentional showcase of Hamas’ strength. Gazan Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is reported as saying “We tell the occupation and the world we are here steadfast on our land and we will defend ourselves and we will defend our land and we will defend our right.” If it was not a political rally, an objective observer might even have mistaken it for an athletic event due to the concerted effort to display symbols of loyalty throughout the venue. Some speculate that, though the rally serves to commemorate the group’s anniversary, its timing is also related to the reality that the ceasefire agreement may not be renewed. Both Hamas and the Israelis accuse the other side of failing to honor its side of the truce.

Paul Shapiro

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Former President Carter Meets with Exiled Hamas Leader

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:33:57 +0000

Late into the hours on Sunday, former President Jimmy Carter met with Khaled Meshaal, the militant leader of Hamas who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria. We know that the major issues discussed in that meeting include the fate of Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas back in the summer of 2006 and has been held captive ever since. The 2^nd issue is a broader negotiation for peace. There has been a six-month ceasefire that has by and large held in Gaza. That peace agreement ends this week. We will have to wait and see how that plays out. Jimmy Carter’s last meeting with Meshaal was in April. When he returned to the United States, he was under great criticism from the Bush administration, which called the meetings unhelpful. The United States classifies Hamas a terrorist organization.

Paul Shapiro

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Syria on Stage Again

sanajong — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:48:42 +0000

As Syria steps onto the main stage again and foreign dignitaries are eager to do business with its president, Bashar al-Assad, is it necessary or fair for the West, under pressure from Israel, to continue to demand that it break ties with Hamas and Hezbollah?

If these are legitimate and recognized political parties in the Middle East –what legal grounds do we have in order to make such demands?

Sade San A Jong

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Blair Still Seeks a Two-State Solution for Israel/Palestine

rooparad — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:09:54 +0000

Tony Blair has called for the Gaza Strip to be brought back into peace process, so that a two-state solution can remain a proposed negotiation between Israel and Palestine. Blair emphasizes that even though Hamas has been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2006, instead of having the West push their ill feelings onto Hamas, they should try to have Hamas drop their anti-Israeli sentiment and work together to build a peaceful solution. Blair contends that it is necessary for the Israelis to try and maintain a relationship with the Palestinian Authority because then Palestinians will be more apt to work with the Israelis and settling much of the conflict that has erupted recently. Blair also talks about how the stability of Gaza is weakening daily. With the smuggling in of weapons and the need for necessities, Gaza’s economy continues to destabilize. Blair hopes that “people with a moderate and modern view of Palestine” win in the next Palestinian elections. Even if Hamas does win, he says that it is necessary to persuade them to adhere to and support the political process of a peaceful future between the Palestinians and Israelis.

However, Blair does not hide his fear that a two-state solution may be becoming an unfeasible future.

Roopa Radhakrishnan

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Israel Opens Gaza Border

rooparad — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:23:21 +0000

Since November 4, Israel has refused to open its borders with the Gaza Strip due to the violence that occurred between the two societies especially since Hamas has taken control. However, tensions have died down a little today. Israel was ordered by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to deliver truckloads of food, water, fuel, and other necessities that the Palestinians need.

Official within Barak’s office say that he took this action because the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha will be taking place next week. The Israeli government has already taken steps to free some Fatah members from prison due to the holiday. Officials from both Israel and from the Gaza Strip hope that these necessities delivered from the Israeli government will be an opening for better relations in the near future.

Roopa Radhakrishnan

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Tense Egypt-Hamas Relations Take Turn for Worse

alqassar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:23:30 +0000

Tense relations between Egypt and Hamas have soured after Cairo for the first time openly accused the Islamists of torpedoing Palestinian reconciliation talks.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying on Thursday that months of Egyptian-mediated talks between rivals Hamas and Fatah failed in November because of “Hamas’s lack of enthusiasm toward reconciliation.”

As the only Arab nation bordering the Gaza Strip, Egypt has been trying to achieve a detente between Fatah and Hamas and end their conflict, which saw Hamas violently eject Fatah from Gaza in June 2007, spilling into Egypt.

Cairo is worried about a repetition of the chaotic scenes last January, when hundreds of thousands of Gazans broke through the Rafah border crossing and the Israeli lockdown on the territory, to spend a few days shopping in Egypt.

Following the breach, in August Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman began hosting inter-Palestinian talks involving 13 factions, including Fatah and Hamas, in the hope of reaching a consensus on a unity government.

A deal was almost reached that would have seen a technocrat government set up without Fatah or Hamas figures that would be acceptable to the international community, much of which boycotts Hamas.

Yousif Al Qassar

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Israel Convicts Top Palestinian

jbhughes — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:17:40 +0000

Abdel Aziz Dweik, the Speaker of the Palestinian parliament, has been convicted by an Israeli military court of being a member and an officer of an illegal organization, Hamas. He has been in prison since his arrest in 2006 and is awaiting sentencing. He and many other Palestinian legislators were detained after Hamas-allied militants captured an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Shalit still remains in the militants’ custody.

Jamie Hughes

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