Could Hamas be as surprised by its victory as everyone else?

Submitted by Yair Weinstock (United States), Jan 31, 2006 at 15:42

No elected government can claim the right to renounce all prior agreements and expect no consequemces. Any Palestinian governing body will remain dependant on the financial largesse of the EU and US for the foreseeable future, and Hamas has already suggested a technocrat as Prime Minister to keep the funds flowing. Let us not ignore the fact that Palestinian municipalities are connected to the Israeli power grid, and 'accidental black outs' happen even in the US. Ahmadinejad can be far more bellicose in Tehran, than the local Hamas leader in Qalqilya.

Let us all take a deep breath, let the Hamas form a governing body, and in the meantime, we should concentrate on aligning the EU and US behind a clear position regarding our expectations from the new Palestinian government.

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