Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Hamas and Palestinian Statehood

Anyone who expected Hamas to support the bid for Palestinian statehood recently brought to the floor of the United Nations is clueless.

Hamas views the United Nations as an American and Israeli dominated institution, and any effort to gain statehood would be seen as a betrayal to the Hamas conception of a Palestinian state that includes the land that is Israel.

Hamas hasn’t exactly captured the mind of the Palestinian people since taking power in 2006. They’ve taxed many Palestinians to the point of even greater impoverishment, while many Hamas cadres drive around in fancy cars. Hamas is now viewed by many as no better than the Palestinian authority they replaced.

Mahmoud Abbas drive for United Nations statehood has little chance of passing, that is beyond the point. Abbas has dared to try something different. The Middle East peace process has been marred by started and failed negotiations, hot rhetoric of hatred and destruction, and sporadic outbreaks of war that just leads to more death and violence.

This “something different” has won Abbas support because the Palestinian people have grown fatigued with a lifetime of war, with nothing more than words and rockets in return.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1005/Hamas-popularity-hits-a-new-low-after-opposing-UN-statehood-bid.

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