Leakers have planted this strategy to scare Hamas and the Islamic qorld. If it is the strategy, Europe, the U.S> and Israel better be ready to enforce it before the Palestinian territories become a haven for all kinds of terrorists. The West cannot allow Hamas to remain in power and must not negotiate with groups they have labeled as terrorists for their beliefs and their behavior.
Let's see how this plays out. Big stakes here, particularly if Iran or the Saudis creep into the picture.
Here's Friedman's take on it:
"I don't think it will be so simple.
The sense I got from Hamas officials here is that Hamas will be low-key
and patient, trying to rule as long as possible without money from abroad,
working on improving Palestinian governance and hoping that Palestinian society
will remain steadfast — and that the Arab world and Europe will somehow
intervene to keep Israel and the U.S. from depriving Hamas of its legitimate
mandate.
As Farhat Assad, the local Hamas spokesman, remarked: "I thank the
United States that they have given us this weapon of democracy. But there is no
way to retreat now. It's not possible for the U.S. and the world to turn its
back on an elected democracy."
But Hamas will have its hands full managing the West Bank, where it doesn't have as many people or arms as Fatah. As the Israeli strategist Gidi Grinstein put it, Hamas "is like a snake that swallowed an elephant." It has a lot to digest before it can move sharply in any direction."
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