Arab views of Hamas

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No one has the right to call on Arab governments to rescue them, when they were not consulted in the first place. Indeed, the Hamas government turned its back on Arab decisions and advice. Those who got involved in this vicious fight and who involved the Palestinian people with them should bear responsibility and prove what wisdom, if any, lies behind it.

Why Ask for Help without Consulting First?

By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed

06/07/2006

“Where are the Arabs? Where are Arab governments? Where are Arab rulers?” It has become customary for every side looking for a way out of a major crisis to send out such distress calls, just as they are now doing in the occupied Palestinian territories, where civilians are being killed indiscriminately, houses are being demolished and basic services, such as electricity and roads, being destroyed.

The groups making these calls ought to ask themselves: Who consulted Arab people or governments before kidnapping the Israeli soldier or before carrying out military operations that only lead to enormous damage being inflicted on the people, as we are now witnessing in Gaza? Did the Palestinian government inform Arab leaders about the operation or seek their advice? Why then are they entitled to ask for help?

Regretfully, Hamas has only paid attention to its own views. It has openly rejected the united Arab stance and announced it was determined to pursue the what it believed was the only method, while being fully aware that most Arab governments called for calm and not for carrying out small acts that could lead to huge damage, as was the case in the instance . While Arab governments reject the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, this sort of action is exactly what Israel wants, in order to justify an unequal confrontation between one party which strikes blows and another that complains and seeks help from the helpless.

What can Arab governments do in this case? Nothing, except condemn and denounce Israeli aggression. No Arab government or people want to be pulled into a battle they know they will lose. The history of the four countries, which border Palestine, is ample proof of this. Why should they destroy their countries? Is it for the sake of defending the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier? What victory is worth all this bloodshed and destruction?

The Palestinian president and experience Palestinian groups warned Hamas and other factions of the consequences of firing missiles devoid of any military value and of entering into unequal battles that will destroy everything the Palestinians have built so far and lead to a political, military and moral failure.

I know many are asking themselves these very questions but lack the courage to say them in public, for fear of embarrassment. They too look forward to an end to this disaster caused by a worthless kidnapping.

It seems that at every step that Hamas takes only sinks it further in the Palestinian mire, and in the process has transformed it into a "blood-thirsty" coup movement in front of its own people.

Judging Hamas's Actions 15/11/2007

By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed

Hamas broke away from the Palestinian Authority and took over Gaza by force.

Some of its members threw a defenseless Fatah employee from the rooftop of a 15-story apartment building to his death. Hamas’ security forces killed peaceful demonstrators in the streets and prevented people from praying in public squares; all this in just under five months.

Hamas openly abused the political system that brought it to power and in the process ruined intra-Palestinian relations. Therefore we wonder, why the reckless behavior and why all this violence?

This year Hamas celebrates its twentieth anniversary, which in terms of political movements is not an adolescent period, but rather a period that is usually defined by maturity, experience and wisdom. But what should be recognized here is that the older the Hamas movement gets, the bigger its mistakes become.

It is strange that our initial concerns were greater for the older Fatah movement, especially after the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004; a crisis was expected because of the leadership vacuum. However the Fatah movement despite the numerous contradictions and multiple leadership figures did not go through any turmoil. All its leaders consented to the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and pledged allegiance to him. However, the Hamas movement proved the exact opposite after the death of its founder and leader Sheikh Yassin. It is quite the coincidence that his death and Arafat’s death were only eight months apart.

Let us compare the two organizations for a moment; Hamas, not Fatah, suffers from an absence of leadership. It had become an organization synonymous with controversy and opposition, putting an end to Sheikh Yassin’s policy of not fighting with the Palestinian Authority or its other sister organizations.

On the other hand, Fatah under the leadership of Abu Mazen adopted a calm stance against the humiliation and degradation from their fellow Palestinians in Gaza; however this did not solve their problems.

What is also strange is that Hamas is now the party that prevents any attacks against Israel. Under its governance, not a single suicide operation was conducted against the Israelis; in fact most of its military activities has centered on Fatah and its affiliates.

When we hear statements out of Gaza, we see contradictions between Hamas's leaders; with even greater contradictions from its leadership in Syria. Yet the question remains, who is the real leader of this lost organization? Why do its leaders threaten Israel, calling for it to withdraw from the West Bank only to accept the Israeli occupation and rise against the Palestinian Authority?

Hamas, during the time of Sheikh Yassin, refused to be in a position of power, however, in the Mashaal/ Haniyah era, it clings to power to the extent that it refuses to provoke Israel, as well as failing to defend 64 of its prominent figures who were arrested by Israel and remain in its prisons.

It seems that at every step that Hamas takes only sinks it further in the Palestinian mire, and in the process has transformed it into a "blood-thirsty" coup movement in front of its own people.