Notes On The Hamas Government

The thing that the current Israeli "incursion" into Gaza make profoundly clear is just how little power that the so called Palestinian government has. I think the term "so called" is appropriate given the complete lack of governing and defense (a basic requirement of any government) that this entity is providing. I think any reasonable person would realize that had an Egyptian national "kidnapped" an Israeli soldier, there would be far more talk going on at the moment. I would hazard to propose that there would probably be some sort of exchange being discussed. However this post is not about what should and should not be done by the Israelis or the actions (or lack thereof) of the international community(tm). This is a note on what the Palestinians need to do if they intend to do more than be a bystander or canon fodder. I wrote back in November of 2004 right after the death of Arafat:

Ultimately though, what has and will continue to stymie the PLO and the Palestinian people is their lack of an economy. That a large majority of palestinians had to depend on work in Israel to make a living is simply inviting failure. Ultimately Israel could afford to simply cut off economic ties with "Palestine" and simply watch them die off. I suspect that "the wall" is a part of that plan. When I was studying Nkrumah's and Fanon's writings I learned that it is not the struggle that is most important but the state one wishes to create. In ones struggle the group must put into practice that which is desired in the end result so that the people can see that the fight is not for the fight but for the life after the fight. In my admittedly limited understanding of this conflict, the PLO, Hammas et.al have been so focused of the removal of Israel (which will not happen so long as the US is it's military benefactor), that they have not even considered a "plan b", A Palestinian state. A state however limited geographically or economically can legally purchase arms without legal interferance. a organization with the label "terrorists" cannot. a Palestinian State, however limited can demand that Israel remove illegal settlers. In fact even a limited Palestinian state could 'deport" any settler within it's borders.
The faster the PLO understands that this anti-colonial struggle is militarily unwinable, the faster it can move to "plan b". Hopefully a part of that 'plan b" is an India type move into information technology. Until then, Palestine will contine to be the playground of the Israeli Military and a testing ground for the US military with poor women and children being the primary victims as more prosperous Palestinians move to other countries and live relatively well.

I want to reiterate this point because Israel, in its blatant and illegal show of force is doing it's best to let the Palestinians know that Israel is in control. There is no place where the Palestinians are that the Israelis cannot go, bomb or otherwise lay siege to. Palestine in Israel's "bitch" and having "gotten out of pocket", is getting corrective behavior, pimp style. I renew the call for the Palestinian government to realize that they cannot defeat Israel (the US by proxy) militarily. However, just because Israel cannot be defeated militarily does not mean that Israel is not defeatable. I propose that since Muslims all over are so concerned with the "ummah" which I would presume includes Palestinians, The Saudis and other rich Arab nations should invest in the infastructure of what we'll call "lesser palestine" (Gaza, etc.). The aim here is to create an economic situation whereby Palestinians by and large have no need to go to Israel for employment or much of anything else. I suggest that the Palestinians cease and desist from any more attacks on Israelis. After decades of fighting exactly what has the "intifada" really done for Palestine? Seriously? While many many young men have "given their lives" to the struggle, Israel is still here, has a far better economy (with much help) and is growing geographically. For every Israeli killed by a suicide bomber, how many Palestinians have been killed? When Hamas took office, the "international community(tm) threatened to turn off the aid tap, which immediatly threatened the government with bankruptcy. This is some kind of joke right? This whole resistance struggle makes for good television and probably puts more money in the hands of Time Warner subsidiaries than any Palestinian.

The second thing that needs to happen is for the other so far "loud mouthed" Muslim nations around Palestine, the ones who have much to say about the situation but apparently don't have enough faith in "Allah" to grant them a victory over Israel, or are simply just too shook, to find their backbone and:

A) develop their military to disciplined units as to not be subject to the same humiliation they were handed in the 7 days war or more recently the fly over by Israel of the president of Syria's home. On a related note: Just how sloppy is your military to even allow a jet from a hostile state to even get that close shows the simply lack of discipline and professionalism on the part of the Syrian military. I assure you that if Syria had flown a plane anywhere near Prime Minister's Olmert's residence, that plane would be in a million pieces and the pilot would now know whether there were in fact "replenishing virgins" waiting in paradise for him.

So as much as the recent incursion into Gaza has shown the clear disrespect that the Israelis have for International law, Democracy, or Palestinian civilians for that matter, so to has it shown the impotence of the Palestinian "resistance leadership" and by extension that of the Arab states around them who have taken no steps to protect their fellow Arabs. I hope that the Palestinian people are taking a long hard look at the burnt out shells of so called "government" buildings and thinking about a new direction.