Just for laughsies, read U.K. Guardian columnist Jonathan Steele’s commentary on the Hamas victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections on Wednesday:
“Wednesday’s election was remarkable also in owing nothing to Washington’s (selective) efforts to promote democracy in the Arab world. Instead, it was further proof that civil society in Palestine is more vibrant than anywhere else in the region and that Palestinian politics has its own dynamics, dictated not by outside pressure but the social and economic demands of ordinary people in appalling conditions. Providing a forum to freely express hopes and fears, debate policy and seek agreed solutions is, after all, what democracy is about….
“Above all, Europe should not get hung up on the wrong issues, like armed resistance and the “war on terror”. Murdering a Palestinian politician by a long-range attack that is bound also to kill innocent civilians is morally and legally no better than a suicide bomb on a bus. Hamas’s refusal to give formal recognition of Israel’s right to exist should also not be seen by Europe as an urgent problem.”
Nah, it’s not urgent–just as the “war on terrorism” (dontcha just love the scare quotes?) isn’t “urgent.” Don’t get “hung up” on those itsy-bitzy non-problems like suicide bombers and train hits, Europeans!
And now, via Little Green Footballs, we have these words from former U.S President Jimmy Carter, who’s almost, but not quite, in Jonathan Steele’s league:
“‘The Palestinian Government is destitute, and in desperate financial straits. I hope that support for the new government will be forthcoming,’ Carter said at a Jerusalem press conference.
“He added that if international law barred donor countries from directly funding a Hamas-led government than the US and the EU should bypass the Palestinian Authority and provide the ‘much-needed;’ money to the Palestinians via non-governmental channels such as UN agencies.”
Yes, let’s use the U.N. to fund terrorist thugs with our tax money.
And speaking of terrorists, here’s another cheery report via Little Green Footballs: One of the Hamas winners in the election was “heroine” Mariam Farahat, who was elected to the Palestinian Parliament on Wednesday:
“In Gaza, Farahat is known as Um Nidal, or Mother of the Struggle – a mother who sent three of her six sons on Hamas suicide missions against Israeli targets.
“‘We consider it holy duty,’ she told ABC News. ‘Our land is occupied. You take all the means to banish the occupier. I sacrificed my children for this holy, patriotic duty. I love my children, but as Muslims we pressure ourselves and sacrifice our emotions for the interest of the homeland. The greater interest takes precedence to the personal interest.’
“She is most famous for her presence in a Hamas video, showing her 17-year-old how to attack Israelis and telling him not to return. Shortly afterward, he killed five students in a Jewish settlement before he was killed himself.
“Um Nidal’s home has become a shrine to her dead sons, with admirers and other members of Hamas often dropping by.”
Sorry, this is beyond comment by me.