Another Cozy Islamist State in the Offing
What more could any population desire? First there was economic and civil deprivation of the first order, then there came into being religious fanaticism. Never mind that the population wanted neither the former nor the latter. Both are forced upon them, one by neglect, the other by opportunity. Where there's a vacuum, something will surely rush in to opportunistically take advantage.In the case of the Palestine Authority the vacuum was leadership, aided and abetted by rampant corruption which left the Palestinian people without their due, without the leadership and infrastructure that surely any people is entitled to. Why those who stepped forward in positions of leadership claiming to have the best interests of the people at heart proved in the end no such thing is another story.
First there was Fatah, poorly led and incapable of recognizing and moving toward a role and a goal that would portend a future worth aspiring to for the Palestinians. They preferred, instead of planning for a stable and prosperous future, to instead groom themselves as fighters, 'liberators' in the guise of responsible administrators. Because they promised much, the people trusted them. Because they delivered nothing, the people turned elsewhere.
And then there was Hamas, a movement of religious fanatics with the good sense to understand they could gain the trust of the people by offering social and civic infrastructure that Fatah had ignored. A secular, fed-up population, desperate to advance their cause and their future placed their trust in Hamas. Hamas militants lost no time in attacking all vestiges of Western influence, from Internet cafes to alcohol-serving restaurants and video shops.
Even primary schools came under attack when children of both genders were mixing freely on school property. That is not the Islamic way of life. Sharia law demands otherwise. These are strictures that Palestinians were unaccustomed to, but it would appear they'll accustom themselves. And here's the interesting thing; while the world wrung its hands over the desperate plight of a desperate people living impoverished and hopeless lives of longing, Hamas carefully engineered much of this both to gain international sympathy and to encourage the population to cling more closely to its promises.
With its ascent to parliamentary power, the West placed an aid embargo on the PA because it was Hamas-led, and Hamas's intention is to destroy its neighbour, Israel. Ah, but aid was still streaming through to the PA through the same sources, and in even greater amounts than before. Yet nothing seemed to trickle through to the Palestinians themselves. It was instead set aside for more important matters; spent on Islamic causes and on the militia.
And Iran was happily engaged in spreading its virulent fundamentalism, encouraging and funding and training Hamas just as it does Hezbollah. Even Sudan is helpfully sympathetic to Hamas's aspirations. Fatah never knew what hit them: rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles, guns and explosives all smuggled through the Egypt-Gaza border, along with funds in a network of tunnels to forward the contraband.
Anything and everything that could go wrong for the Palestinian people has, and continues to do so, and will continue to do so. For they are blameless in their choices. Anything and everything wrong that occurs to them is attributable to one causative and one only: the baleful existence of the State of Israel.
That the deliberate machinations of Hamas in extracting funds for their own military use, while depriving the Palestinians and forcing them to live in an extended state of poverty and continuing to gain sympathy abroad - has been a propaganda success is beyond denial. It's yet another kind of political manipulation, ensuring that Palestinians will feel ever more dependent on the good offices and intentions of Hamas. And helping them to turn, in their desperate plight, to Allah.
Yet Palestinians have been treated to the deadly spectacle of Palestinian-upon-Palestinian, locked in deadly combat. Where civilian life has been placed in dire jeopardy by murderous default. They've watched in disbelief as Hamas gunned down Fatah members in front of their families. They've seen Hamas hurl Fatah members from high-rise buildings, and Fatah return the compliment.
They've observed Hamas fighters entering hospitals to riddle wounded Fatah members in their hospital beds with bullets, handily ensuring they will never re-enter the fray. Will they, though, understand that this is a political game for high-stakes power, and that they are mere pawns?
Labels: Middle East, Realities, Religion
posted by Pieface @ Friday, June 15, 2007
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