Hamas rules in the Gaza Strip

Non-Phish General
#1

The middle east is so crazy right now.

"An uncertain new era of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip began at dawn Friday as the Islamist forces swarmed the presidential offices here, looted them, then promised mercy for their defeated rivals. "

Here is a good article if your interested.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Hamas may now rule Gaza, but for many ordinary Palestinians the bloody conclusion of this week’s factional fighting promises only more chaos.

Emergency measures imposed by President Mahmoud Abbas in an 11th-hour bid to bolster his secular Fatah against Hamas Islamists provided little consolation to Palestinians who fear that their dream of a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip may have been dashed for good.“Whether we like it or not, there are two separate entities. Hamas has divided up the homeland,” said Ranya Mustafa, a 32-year-old employee at a non-government organization, referring to Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“Had the president acted earlier, we might not have ended up in this situation,” said Ranya, who lives in the West Bank city of Ramallah.The two regions, which remained in Arab hands after Israel’s creation on most of British mandatory Palestine in 1948, are about 45 km (30 miles) apart. But in the larger West Bank, Fatah still holds sway.

While Israel withdrew from the heavily populated Gaza Strip in 2005, its soldiers and settlers pepper the West Bank in what Palestinians see as further repudiation of the Western-backed Abbas’s authority.“How come they want to implement emergency regulations while our land is still under Israeli occupation? It’s ironic,” said Mohammed Shareef, 40, a Ramallah shopkeeper, referring to Abbas orders.

CONCILIATORY MOVES

Hamas has cast its Gaza takeover as a preemptive move against Fatah elements opposed to its political ascendancy. But facing ever-deeper isolation abroad, Hamas has made conciliatory moves toward Abbas.“We tell Abu Mazen (Abbas) that we still recognize you as the president of the Palestinian people,” Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told a rally in Gaza. “We will never accept the separation of Gaza from the West Bank.”

The fact that Gaza fell with apparently little or no resistance from Fatah fighters who had received Western-sponsored training and arms raised questions about Abbas’s ability to hold out against further Hamas pressure.“Can he impose a state of emergency in Gaza when his men could not even defend themselves? There will be no practical value to this,” said Khalida Jarrar, a lawmaker representing the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Abbas on Friday appointed his former finance minister in the unity government, Salam Fayyad, as head of an emergency cabinet after he dismissed the Hamas-led government of Ismail Haniyeh.
Fayyad is a political independent whose clout among Western governments could help restore direct foreign aid – suspended after Hamas took power following its election victory last year – to the new administration.

“This will be a good step because money will start flowing and there will be regular salaries,” said Ahmad al-Khatib, a 35-year-old civil servant.But other Palestinians said Abbas might have to confront Hamas, rather than continuing to circumvent it diplomatically.

“This situation needs a general, not someone like Fayyad,” said Khalid Ahmad, a 40-year-old taxi driver.

#2

i like this part…

so waring in the streets, assassinating legislators, and burning down buildings is legitimate, but declaring firing a leader of the group that does those things is not. hmmmm.

its really a sad state. although i must say that this may be the only route to a palestinian state. hamas will never be in a position to recognize israel and israel will never be in a position where they can recognize hamas. the support for these political institutions come in a rejection of the other.

however, abbas has made significant enough gestures to satisfy israel’s anti terror stance and gain their support. if he can get enough funding from boarder taxes that israel has been withholding, he may be able to create a strong enough security apparatus to effectively clamp down on hamas. the chances are slim that it would work out but its better chances than they’ve seen in a long time.

your average palestinians on the street simply want and end to violence and the right to make a living to support their families. if abbas can create a situation where border crossing remain open and people can get to work, he will pull more and more support from the radicals.

that’s the faint silver lining on a very dark cloud.

#3

if you did i would be forced to kidnap you.

#4

I have to lean into those of you who have more depth of understanding of the Middle East issues, but on the local NY news this morning they implicated that Hamas is being instigated, financed and armed by Syria and Iran to destabilize the fragile peace that exists between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Do any of you accept this premise, and if so, what would be the reason to aggrevate Israel at this point? Israel would like nothing better than to launch attacks against both Syria and Iran, and in spite of world condemnation against such a move, Israel has been known in the past to not be concerned with what the world thinks of it.

I’m kind of concerned. There seem to be many people in that region of the world who are not afraid of a holocaust of biblical proportions taking place, and as a matter of fact, there seem to be much too many people looking forward to one.

The Mayan 2012 date is looking more and more ominous every day. Another possible implication of trouble in the Middle East is how it impacts the presidential race. Will it make the middle of the roaders lean toward a harder line conservative as opposed to a softer positioned liberal? Will it help Giuliani and McCain and not Clinton and Obama? Is the neo conservative movement in this country really funding Hamas for that reason? Now THERE’S a conspiracy theory.

#5

Wait a second…so you’re saying there’s tons of chaos in the Gaza Strip with what appears to be no end to the killing coupled up with lies, BS, corruption and hatred??

Noooo…REALLY??

Seriously, I REALLY don’t know why the US even bothers. I really don’t…

#6

^$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

#7

It costs FAR more cash than it earns in supporting these nuts. Not to mention the fact that half the reason terrorists want us dead is because of our actions over there. It’s don’t make sense. I wish it WAS for oil and money…at least that would make SOME sort of sense…

#8

Despite their reprehensible tactics, Hamas is seen as a legitimate organization fighting for the liberation of their people by many in the middle east. In addition to mass killings they fund programs for public health, education and employment in an area where 70% of people are unemployed. Organizations in Syria and Iran help fund the Hamas because they consider it a social movement on the level of the ANC in South Africa. Neither government provides direct assistance to Hamas. A good deal of funding comes from donors in Saudi as well.

I think that support for Hamas is generally a function of ideological views rather than military strategy. Although I’m sure there are politicians in both countries that would argue the case you present.

#9

^you made me wonder so I went searching and found this which kind of supports and kind of negates some of what you said.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-funds.htm

Of course, just because they have a name and a web page, doesn’t make globalsecurity.org an unbiased source, but this is intriguing me so I’ll keep looking around.

#10

Hamas did receive funds from iran indirectly after the Palestinian elections. Iran provided aid to the Palestinian government made up of a mixture of politicians loyal to Hamas and Fatah. However, I am pretty sure that they don’t provide any direct funding to the group. I could be wrong though. It reasonable to think that they use back channels and run money through individual donors but direct channels would bring unwanted attention. Doing it that way allows them to deny it if they need to.

here’s an excerpt from an news report just after the elections:

“The supreme leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas has told the ABC that the new Palestinian Government will accept financial aid from Iran. In an exclusive interview with Lateline in Damascus, Khaled Meshaal confirmed for the first time it will take up the offer even if it angers the United States and Israel. In January, Hamas swept to power in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating the once-dominant Fatah Party formed by the late Yasser Arafat.”

#11

Yeah, why care about anything other then what happens in America right? ::slight_smile:

The difference in this is that these are Palestinians killing and fighting other Palestinians. That and oh, I don’t know, this is right next to Iraq where there is another civil war, as well as Hundreds of Thousands of Americans, Lebanon is currently fighting Islamic factions in there refugee camps as well as the recent assassination of the Lebanese anti-Syrian parliamentarian which is only heightening the tensions between those 2 countries, Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, Afghanistan in falling apart at the seams where there are more Americans, and Turkey, once the model for secular Muslim based governments, has seen recent bombings and government tugs of war.

Do you suggest that we just ignore what’s going on?

I understand there is alot of BS, but come on man.
We only have one rock to live on here and things are getting pretty weird around this planet.

My Dad talks about that all the time.
It’s pretty much given that Israel will never be occupied by another country again.
Getting systematical exterminated will do that you as a people.
Whether they launch an attack or wait for one to happen, they will not go down alone.
They have some pretty serious firepower with rockets that can pretty much hit any target in the eastern Hemisphere.

That, and what some see as a “doomsday” device, meaning that if say Iran really does let a bomb go, any country around Israel, pretty much meaning the entire middle east is gonna go with it.

^ Tell me about it. :-/

#12


Stuck here out of gas
Out here on the Gaza Strip
From driving too fast

Two three hey
Ride the tiger down River Euphrates
Ride the tiger down
Ride the tiger down River Euphrates