Excerpts: Hamas Winning , Again - Islam "hijacked".12 December 2005
+++HAMAS WINNING
by Dr.Joseph Lerner,co-director IMRA

The PA legislative election was postponed to enable Fatah to make
significant political gains against Hamas Excerpts of Arnon Regular's "Hamas

aims to win 60 percent of PLC seats", Haaretz 11 Dec.'05 which follows
relates the opposite has happened. Fatah is in shambles and Hamas is
ship-shape and gaining in popularity, poised to control the government in
Israel-related issues; and what isn't related?

Abbas announces proudly he won't start a civil war by collecting illegal
weapons. His maximum achievement has been to get Hamas agreement to
temporarily suspend actions against Israel. Hamas stresses that these are
temporary suspensions. All are agreed that the purpose of the attempted
calm is to have a situation in which the January 2006 election can proceed
as planned. To compleete his position, Abbas won't act against Islamic Jihad

which hasn't pledged to avoid terrorism. Abbas cannot keep some of his own
factions from engaging in terrorism.

Significantly, as Arnon Regular observes, parts of Fatah and of
independents are potential Hamas collaborators.

The U.S. insists that Hamas be permitted to field candidates even though
it is disqualified by Oslo agreement and general Western standards. The
U.S. says the problem will be dealt with after the election. How? By
refusal to meet with Hamas? That suits Hamas just fine. Article 13 of the
Hamas Charter (1988) says, in part:"There is no solution to the Palestinian
problem except by Jihad. The initiatives, proposals and International
Conferences are but a wate of time ...". Abbas will be the teflon shield
forHamas whose charter expressly calls for the destruction of Israel and
puts The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in the political world on a par
with the Koran.

Sharon carries substantial blame. He was late in raising the issue and
lacked credibility in his objections. Unlike Oslo, there will be no Nobel
Peace Prize for permitting the terrorists to take over via the ballot. The
victory will surely be celebrated by every terrorist organization for, among

other reasons, demonstrating that terrorism is cost-effective. It does not
have the profound negative impact in the rest of the world that could bring
it into disrepute. No clamour is heard against Hamas paticipating in the
election.

No condemnation of Hamas comes from the Arab/Muslim world. The Jordan
Times Dec.11 '05 editorial "Incumbent to show mercy" --
which also follows -- recalls the Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) recent conclusion that "the image of Islam was being hijacked by
extremists"; a long-standing claim. Surely the Hamas Charter is extremist
yet is never cited as hijacking Islam. Abbas has never named Hamas as a
hijacker.

The Arab/Muslim world fails to realize that by not publicly recognizing
and condemning "hijackers of Islam" such as Hamas, Islam is identified with,

not against, terrorism and, as exemplified in Iraq, brings misery to Arabs
and Muslims.Meanwhile, terrorists march on.
=====================================================

:
HAARETZ 11 Dec.'05:"Hamas aims to win 60 percent of PLC seats" By Arnon
Regular
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"Since Hamas supporters are more disciplined than the rest of the
Palestinian population and vote according to a religious ruling
forbidding them from electing non-Hamas candidates, this electoral
system gives Hamas a major advantage."

"Hamas lists have reserved space for key candidates, such as Fatah
members whose desertion to the Hamas camp is expected to
create momentum ahead of the elections."

"The organization's main condition for joining the government is
that Hamas receive veto power over any political initiative
involving Israel."

"Hamas prefers to put the ministries in charge of people who are
close to the organization and enjoy public and international
prestige, not necessarily in the hands of its members."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
EXCERPTS: . . .
The demand: total obedience

The activities of Hamas, which has completed its election preparations and
its candidate list (although it hasn't publicized the list in its entirety,
fearing that Israel would arrest more of its candidates) are particularly
conspicuous when seen against the backdrop of the overall chaos in Fatah.
The ruling movement is still immersed in internal rivalries, and its members

are busy setting fire to polling stations for the primaries and appealing
the primary results.

Internal Hamas documents obtained by Haaretz reveal the strategy on which
the organization has based its preparations for the elections and show that
it has considered every detail connected to them, leaving nothing to chance.

Hamas sees the system of mixed regional and proportional representation as
highly important.

Although at first glance it may seem to be a merely technical matter, it
actually puts Hamas in an excellent position ahead of the elections, a
position that no other Islamic movement in the area enjoys.

According to Palestinian law, voters will be required to put two slips into
the ballot box: One will be used to vote for a party, and the second will be

used to vote for regional representatives. While the regimes in Jordan,
Egypt and Morocco have maintained regional limitations and have never
allowed elections to deviate from the principle of "one man, one vote," in
the Palestinian elections, each voter has two votes. Since Hamas supporters
are more disciplined than the rest of the Palestinian population and vote
according to a religious ruling forbidding them from electing non-Hamas
candidates, this electoral system gives Hamas a major advantage.

... The internal documents show that for several months, the organization
has been planning for elections within the study groups and sending its
activists a clear message: Vote only for Hamas candidates in your home
district. The orders come with religious rulings saying that people should
vote only for Islamic candidates.

Another aspect of Hamas election tactics also comes across in the documents:

an optimal split of the candidates, between the regional list and the
national one. The documents show that the candidates were chosen by members
of Hamas' political bureau, headed by Khaled Meshal in Syria. The candidates

were chosen with input from the leadership in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and
the jails; the latter, due to their seniority, were given veto power on both

the names and the order in which they appear on the list. The list was given

for approval to Hamas' highest ruling body, the Shura Council.

. . .
Hamas has based its candidate list on two "dream teams," the combination of
which is supposed to give Hamas an advantage over Fatah. One group includes
four prominent "organization" candidates, that is, those involved in Hamas'
charity organizations or its religious framework; they are known on the
local level, but don't have an extensive media presence. The second group
has "statesmanlike traits" - four figures familiar to the public due to
widespread exposure on Arabic satellite television stations and in the print

media, whom the Palestinian public recognizes as symbols of Hamas. ... .

Hamas' brilliant move, as seen in the documents, is that it decided to put
the public figures in the "statesmanlike" group on the list of regional
candidates, while the lesser-known officials on the "organization" list are
on the national list. The logic of this decision is that the well-known
candidates will lead to a Hamas victory on the local level, while the
popularity of the movement will help the lesser-known candidates win on the
national level.

. . .
Taking Fatah candidates

The Hamas lists have reserved spots for key candidates, such as Fatah
members whose desertion to the Hamas camp is expected to create momentum
ahead of the elections. ... .Hamas has already managed to recruit at least
one Christian candidate, Hussam al-Tawil, who will run in the Gaza region.
By the time Fatah completes its candidate list, Hamas is expected to recruit

more Fatah activists in an effort to split the vote of Fatah supporters.
Once Fatah closes its list, even more deserters are expected to stream
toward Hamas; many disappointed Fatah activists will be looking for
somewhere else to go.

. . .
Hamas' decision to pin its hopes on the regional candidate list is the
opposite of the situation in Fatah. Almost every Fatah candidate is hoping
to secure a realistic spot on the national list, and trying to avoid
head-to-head races with Hamas candidates on the regional level. Even
according to Fatah's most cautious estimates, Hamas will win at least half
the seats on the regional lists (33 seats).

According to Fatah's most optimistic assessments, Hamas will win 50 out of
132 parliamentary seats. However, even the optimists say there's a
reasonable chance that Hamas could become the most organized, monolithic
political bloc in the next parliament and will be able to block any law or
political decision it chooses, thanks to the internal divisions in Fatah.
Knowledgeable Fatah officials talk about the rising strength of Hamas ahead
of the elections as a "threat to the national project." Moreover, Hamas is
expected to forge a political alliance with the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, which defines itself as a Marxist group, in an
effort to create a broad opposition and to exploit the PFLP's popularity
among intellectuals.

A key question in Hamas' internal debates is the movement's position on
joining the Palestinian government after the elections. Sitting in the
government would obligate Hamas to moderate its political positions and be
involved, at least indirectly, in negotiations with Israel. ...The
organization's main condition for joining the government is that Hamas
receive veto power over any political initiative involving Israel.

According to the internal Hamas documents, the initial objective of going to

elections is the formation of a strong opposition, which will be based on
the movement's own candidates, as well as alliances with the PFLP,
independent candidates and candidates who left Fatah. The second phase
involves Hamas' agreeing to join the government under certain conditions, as

long as it has control over important "social" portfolios like education,
industry and trade (which even now is held by Mazen Sanukrut, a businessman
close to Hamas), health, and possibly even the treasury. Hamas prefers to
put the ministries in charge of people who are close to the organization and

enjoy public and international prestige, not necessarily in the hands of its

members.

+++THE JORDAN TIMES 11 Dec.'05:
"Editorial:Incumbent to show mercy"
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"kidnappers accuse them of being spies and have demanded the
release of all Iraqi prisoners in Iraq in exchange for their lives,"

"image of Islam was being hijacked by extremists"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
EXCERPTS:
It is a measure of the descent into amorality that is happening in Iraq that

four peace activists, all opponents of the US-led war on Iraq, today may
face execution at the hands of their kidnappers, a previously unknown group
calling themselves the "Swords of Truth."
The four - a Briton, an American and two Canadians - had travelled to Iraq
as a "gesture of solidarity" with the Iraqi people as part of the
Canada-based international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams. But their

kidnappers accuse them of being spies and have demanded the release of all
Iraqi prisoners in Iraq in exchange for their lives.
...two of these four are known in Palestine, where their work for
humanitarian organisations was so highly regarded that not only the mufti of

Jerusalem, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine have called for their
release and denounced their captors. Hizbollah joined in with these
entreaties, as have Muslims from Europe to Asia, moderates to "extremists."
[IMRA: Quotation marks indicate they really aren't extremists,]
... any harm that befalls these four while they are in captivity will be in
contradiction with Islam, which forbids that the innocent be targeted in any

way whatsoever. And while the "Swords of Truth" may claim that the four are
spies, what evidence and in what court have they shown this?
Coming hard on the heels of the meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference in Mecca last week, which concluded that the image of Islam was
being hijacked by extremists, it must be hoped that the "Swords of Truth"
are aware of their responsibility to act according to the tenets of Islam.
... .It must also be hoped that these kidnappers are aware of their
responsibility to their own people. If aid workers and peace activists are
targeted for kidnapping and execution, not to mention journalists and other
non-belligerents, why would or should anyone want to help Iraqis or tell the

truth from Iraq, at a time when Iraqis need help and truth is a scarce
commodity.
[IMRA: But why are these lives more important than others?]
A primary value in Islam is mercy. It is incumbent that mercy be shown to
these four and that their release, unharmed, be assured.

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA

Reproduced by permission of IMRA, Independent Media Review and Analysis, Israel.
 
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=27771