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Friday, June 08, 2007

Clarity Penetrates Ideology

Many moaned that democracy in the Palestinian Authority just brought the thugs Hamas to power. I thought it was a moment of clarity that could pay dividends in the future.

The Palestinians in Gaza are discovering that getting what you wish, a Hamas government committed to killing Jews, isn't as wonderful as they imagined:

Jum'a said ordinary Palestinians were so fed up with the armed groups "they now wish the Israeli occupation would take over in Gaza or hope for the return of Jordanian rule in the West Bank" to get rid of them.

In one recent incident in the West Bank city of Nablus, gunmen told shopkeepers to close their businesses as a sign of solidarity with a Fatah leader arrested the day before in an Israeli raid.

The gunmen shot in the air, stole a bulldozer from the Nablus municipality and closed the main road with mounds of sand, dividing the city in the same way Israeli forces had during their operation.

For the first time in the city, a bastion for militants, most of the shop owners refused to close down.

"These people have caused us a lot of suffering and are not involved in national resistance," said Najah al-Jabaji, who works in an advertising agency in Nablus.

Not that the Palestinians are really pro-Israeli or want the Israelis back. It is more a way to express frustration and opposition to the Hamas government.

Our efforts should remain to ensuring that elections continue to be held in the PA. Democracy needs more than elections, but elections are not optional.

But things are being slowly clarified by a Hamas government. The Palestinians might even finally elect good men.