printCan this be? A Hamasnik—a rather remarkable individual, at that—has had it with blaming Israel for what he sees around him in Gaza and the West Bank. PA Government Spokesman Dr. Ghazi Hamad writes the following in the PA daily Al-Ayyam:
“We are always afraid to speak honestly about our mistakes, as we have become accustomed to placing the blame on other factors. The anarchy, chaos, pointless murders, the plundering of lands, family feuds… what do all of these have to do with the occupation? We have always been accustomed to pinning our failures on others, and conspiratorial thinking is still widespread among us…”
“When you walk around in Gaza, you cannot help but avert your eyes from what you see: indescribable anarchy, policemen that nobody cares about, youth proudly carrying weapons, mourning tents set up in the middle of main streets, and from time to time you hear that so-and-so was murdered in the middle of the night, and the response comes quickly the next morning. Large families carry weapons in tribal wars against other families. Gaza has turned into a garbage dump, there is a stench, and sewage flows [in the streets]…â€?
“The government cannot do anything, the opposition [Fatah] looks on from the sidelines, engaged in internal bickering, and the president has no power… We are walking aimlessly in the streets. The reality in which we are living in Gaza can only be described as miserable and wretched, and as a failure in every sense of the word. We applauded the elections and the unique democratic experience, but in reality there has been a great step backwards. We spoke of national consensus, [but] it turned out to be like a leaf blowing in the wind…”
Well, well, Dr. Ghazi Hamad and Ilana Mercer are not that far apart on the matter of self-determinism, causality, and culpability. Read “Gaza Goes to the Dogs (of War),â€? “Reality On The Palestinian Ground,â€? “Qassam Rockets ‘R’ Us,â€? “Savage Society,” and then return to Hamad:
“It is strange that when a great effort was made to reopen the Rafah Crossing in order to make [life] easier for the residents, somebody fires a missile towards the crossing, or that when there is talk about the need for tahdiah [“calm”], somebody fires another missile… “I have asked myself: What does the resistance gain if the country is all chaos, replete with corruption, crime, and futile murder? Isn’t the building of the homeland part of resistance? Isn’t cleanliness, order, and respect for the law part of resistance? Isn’t strengthening social relations part of the policy of shortening the life of the occupation? We have lost the connection between the resistance and other aspects of life. There is an abyss between the resistance, politics and the people. That is why the people are scattered, with no unifying or organizing [hand]…â€?
Now that a bright Hamasnik has broken with their Israel-ate-my-homework philosophy of Palestinian failing, what oh what will Pat Buchanan, his American Conservatives and Charlie Reese do? The Counterpunch crop? Koffey Annan and the Eurabians? The libertarians who’ve toiled to refine the liberal root-causes rot, rejected by Hamas’ Hamad? What will they do? Declare a fatwa on the man?
My guess is that the Palestinians’ western enablers will ignore Hamad and dissolve into more high-flown banalities about blaming the victims—and by so doing, they’ll continue to maintain the philosophical scaffolding that immobilizes the Palestinians.
(A doff of the hat to Dr. Daniel Pipes for the link.)
At last, someone actually calling a spade a spade instead of an Israeli/American bloody shovel. To tell it like it actually is in that part of the world requires courage. I hope Dr. Hamad has somebody to watch his back.
I remember watching with horrified fascination – and admiration, as Anwar Sadat reached out to Israel, knowing as sure as the sun rises that he was signing his own death warrant.
Could it be that at last another Arab leader has decided that he wants peace for his people more than he wants to live?
[I wouldn’t go all wobbly about this fellow. He takes responsibility for the “sewer” that the PA is, but he has not relinquished “the struggle.”—ILANA]
Ilana,
“Israel-ate-my-homework philosophy” gave me a good laugh. Humor and honesty is good. Thank you, and Dr. Daniel Pipes, for this excellent news. Dr. Ghazi Hamad makes gold out of a horrible issue. Unfortunately, the average Arab of the PLO franchise will not see or hear the words of Hamad. Nothing will change until the ignorant-socialized people understand who their real enemies are and (this is a frightening thought!) they form a union against the wicked imams, the Arafat schools of hate, and corrupt leaders. Teamsters, your opportunity is ripe in the Palestinian territories! With sound advice from the Euro-Arab Dialogue (see “The plight that never shuts up!” at WND), the race hustlers, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and backed by US and EU taxpayers, the putrid potential of Gaza will soon be called “the land of milk and honey.” Wait – wrong people. The God of Israel said that about His people. Exodus 3:8 But there isn’t a reason why any people cannot do the same thing under honest, God-fearing leaders and with the right motives and resources. And, I’m not referring to the man made “god” but to the true God Who will return some day soon to fix this sad state of affairs.
BR,
Dan