Jules Crittenden hits the nail right on its head:
Unabashed, unrepentant terrorist Hamas, still bent on destroying Israel, vs. corrupt, ineffectual ostensibly repentant terrorism-enabling Fatah, which allowed this state of affairs to develop. The Palestinians, having divided, were in the process of conquering themselves. Not surprisingly, utter murderousness trumped weaseling deception, and Hamas emerged the victor. But like everything else in the Middle East, it’s never that simple. Hamas’ victory almost immediately was revealed to be a disaster, Fatah’s rout an opportunity…
There is talk of concessions, a “West Bank first†initiative to reward Fatah, somewhat prematurely, before it has shown any maturity as a political entity itself. It is up to those who hold the pursestrings — Israel and the west — to quietly ensure that Fatah behaves responsibly. Palestinian peace and reconciliation may well be possible, if the criminal organization that is Hamas agrees to disarm, disband and disavow the destruction of Israel. Anything less will require a measured and reasonable response: the withholding of all cash, and the destruction of Hamas in Gaza by Israel.
The terrorist masters of Hamas, with their exuberant outburst of murder last week, have taken themselves hostage. This is no time to give in to terrorist demands. As we’ve learned, that only encourages them. If they will not release themselves, there is nothing we can do for them. If Hamas is bent on destroying itself, we shouldn’t try to stop them. If Fatah wants to lead the Palestinians, it will need to show it is capable of doing so.
I believe that this is an opportunity for the West and Israel to completely isolate Hamas, while at the same time helping the Palestinians in the West Bank. We must invest bigtime in the West Bank (and Abbas). Of course, our help should not be free: Abbas has to give us something in return. This means that he will have to fight terrorism actively; the PA TV should stop worshipping terrorists; schoolbooks should not contain any anti-Semitic propaganda; Abbas must use the money he gets to improve the lives of the West Bankers, etc.
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