HAMAS: TRUE FACE OF THE PALESTINIANS

The Case for Hamas (WSJ-BOTW)
Foes of democracy have pointed to the success of the terror group Hamas in last month's Palestinian Arab elections as proof that dictatorship is better. Uri Dan of the Jerusalem Post counters this argument, noting that from Israel's standpoint Yasser Arafat's Fatah was scarcely better:

Arafat's salami plan for Israel's destruction was a great success. Most of our politicians and media were willing to join Arafat's dance of death as they turned a blind eye when he fostered not only the Fatah and Al-Aqsa Brigades, but also the Hamas. Shin Bet reports describe how Arafat exulted, in the presence of his aides, whenever he received reports of suicide bombings.

Now that Hamas has come out of the Palestinian closet in all its murderous glory, most Jews realize that this is the true face of the Palestinian people.

Another Post piece reports that Hamas leaders say "they plan to make the Palestinian economy independent of Israel's":

The Palestinian economy is closely linked to and very dependent on Israel's economy, and separating the two would be very difficult for the Palestinians. The currency Palestinians use is Israeli and much of the agricultural produce and manufactured goods made in the Palestinian Territories are sold to Israel. Exports to other countries is limited. Industry is limited, which is why many Palestinians once worked as laborers in Israel.

Since the intifada broke out in 2000, Israel limited the number of these laborers greatly for security reasons, causing Palestinian unemployment to skyrocket. Israel said last year it wanted to stop all Palestinian workers from entering Israel by the year 2008.

Hamas's isolationism thus dovetails nicely with Israel's security needs. The only drawbacks of this arrangement are higher labor costs in Israel and deeper poverty among the Palestinian Arabs.