Hamas slams Arab summit outcome

[Violet_Crumble]

Gaza, Gaza, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- Hamas Thursday slammed the outcome of the Arab summit in Algiers, saying it was disappointing and far below the expectations of Arab peoples.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said, "The summit resulted in an unacceptable outcome which harms our history, religion and civilization."

<snip>

The Arab leaders backed a Saudi peace plan offering Israel normal relations in exchange for full withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, the creation of a Palestinian state and settlement of the Palestinian refugee issue. The plan varied little from one put forward three years earlier.

The United States and Israel also expressed disappointment in the summit, saying nothing new had been proposed.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050324-045909-3048r.htm

[applegrove]

1. I guess the Israelis must really be wishing they had not given the

seed money to Hamas. I'm sure they regretted it ore the years. But just a reminder.

Note To Self: do not give seed money to terrorist group intent on your destruction - to start them up.

[eyl]

3. Well, given that Hamas* was a moderate organization

at the time, is the lesson you're aiming at "never give money to Palestinians ever"?



*or more acurately, Hamas' predecessor

[applegrove]

4. No I am not saying that. I am saying be careful who you start up?

I don't think they started up the Palestinians. The Palestinians were just there as the sons of Sem went on separate journeys. If I had more than a superficial knowledge of the issues.. I would have more to say. As it is.. I wanted to poke some levity at a scary situaton. I can assure you that the average Israeli & Palestinian laugh at hypocracy too. After all if you want to stay sane... in tough & tense times.. you have to laugh.

I understand that Hamas was likely a good alternative to Hezbollah. Now Israel has to deal with all of them it seems. And they may be in a stronger geo-political situation for having done cut their foes into different groups.

Look at the Repukes giving seed money to Nader's campaign. I'm not a powercrat? I don't do that stuff.

[eyl]

6. Well,

hindsight is 20/20

[Violet_Crumble]

7. Hamas was a moderate organisation??

I've always thought that Hamas was created as an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. I've always thought that religious extremists are called that because they're extremists rather than moderates. My understanding was that after Hamas was created, Israel played on the tensions between Hamas and the PLO (which represented secular Palestinians) and in an Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend Moment, Israel chose Hamas as a more legitimate partner for discussion than the PLO, and in behaving in this sort of way towards Hamas committed the same blunder as the US did with the Mujhadeen in Afghanistan. But I'd love to hear more about this moderate Hamas if you have the time...

Violet...

[eyl]

8. Israel supported Hamas

in the late 70s/very early 80s. At the time, the organization (which indeed was an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, though it's status as an "armed wing" came later) was mainly occupied with social and education work. I misspoke earlier; "moderate" may not be the best description of the group, but until the start of the first intifada in 1987 (at which time the name "Hamas" came into use for the first time), their support of armed struggle was mainly theoretical (though Yassin, toward the mid-80s, did try to organize armed activities, for which he was arrested in 1984); the group was not involved in violence. As such, it was a more attractive alternative (prior to the intifada) for Israel than the PLO, whose support of armed struggle was anything but theoretical.

My primary source for this is a Ma'ariv article that came out just after Yassin was killed. If you really want, I can try tracking it down (it'll have to be next week, since I think you need to pay for the online archives), but as it's in Hebrew, I don't know how much help it will be to you. I suggest you look at the wikipedia entry for Hamas, especially at the "History" section of the entry.

You can also find some stuff here and here.

[Village Idiot]

5. It's kinda like the USA giving $$$ to the:

Koreans
Vietnamese
Iranians
Iraqis
Afghanis
Lebanese/Syrians/Jordanians
Pakistanis
Sudanese
Congolese
Indonesians
Bolivians/Columbians
El Salvadoreans/Nicaraguans/Hondurans/Guatemalans
and last, but certainly not least - Israelis

Some corrupt, short-sighted governments never learn!!!!

[bemildred]

2. We seem to be having trouble reaching a consensus here. nt