Some optimists are hoping that Hamas will moderate its views now that it has to govern. But that’s not happening yet. Khaled Meshal, the exiled political leader of Hamas, said this weekend that Hamas would not “submit to pressure to recognize Israel, because the occupation is illegitimate and we will not abandon our rights,” The New York Times reported. And he insisted that “resistance is a legitimate right that we will practice and protect.”
Meanwhile, the Bush administration has already made up its mind. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that the United State will no longer provide aid to the Palestinian government (but will provide some humanitarian aid). And she said Monday while in Europe (in photo) trying to convince Russian, European Union and United Nations officials to also cease their governmental aid, “You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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