Guess What Hamas Does NOT Mention in Its Charter

Last week Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a new approach in US policy:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. will no longer give explicit support to governments that are not elected, suggesting that spreading democracy now takes priority over maintaining political stability.

``The past 60 years of trying to buy stability at the expense of democracy is now gone.''

That's all well and good, but what about the democratically elected government of the Palestinian Arabs--Hamas?

In U.S. Policy at a Crossroads: The Relevance of the Roadmap in the Aftermath of the Hamas Victory, Yechiel M. Leiter, Benjamin Netanyahu's former Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Finance, writes that in the case of Hamas, being democratically elected will not be enough:

President Bush did not categorically endorse Palestinian statehood under any circumstance. He made U.S. support conditional on the election by Palestinians of new leaders who not only recognize Israel but also choose democracy and freedom and join in the war against terror. "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror," President Bush asserted.

"The United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure," Bush said.

It is already clear that Bush rejects dealing with a terrorist government and on that basis has already made clear that all contact with Hamas ministers will be cut off. Until it rejects terrorism, recognizes Israel's right to exist, and agrees to abide by the PA's previous agreements Hamas will have to create a Palestinian state without US, and Canadian, aid.

But according to Leiter, creating a Palestinian state is not one of the goals of Hamas:

A Palestinian state is not the goal of Hamas, the goal is Islam. Nowhere in the Hamas Charter is there mention of a Palestinian state. This point is crucial. The new Hamas foreign minister, Dr. Mahmud al-Zahar, has explicitly stated in this regard: "The Islamists' view, which Hamas adheres to, is that a great Muslim state must be established, with Palestine being a part of it." Thus, any attempt to satisfy Palestinian nationalist hunger through sovereignty in "Palestine," or part of it, is pure folly to Hamas. Statehood as offered by the Roadmap is irrelevant.

If what Leiter says is true, then apparently Palestinian Arabs either do not know, or do not care about Hamas' ultimate goal--not that your average Palestinian is a big Islamic fundamentalist. There is no indication that the Palestinians operate with long-term goals. The driving forces for voting for Hamas were basically to destroy Israel and end PA corruption.

The Palestinian Arabs were unaware of the forces they have let loose by putting Hamas in control--but we are in the process of finding out.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Hamas and Terrorism and Bush and Rice.