National Unity in Palestine

Hamas, realizing that its sponsorship of terrorism and refusal to recognize Israel have placed the Palestinian Authority in desperate straits, will now be forming a “national unity government” with the Fatah party of the PLO. The hope is that the involvement of Fatah will end the economic and diplomatic cold shoulder which has been delivered to Hamas.

Fatah, of course, will thus return to its old ways, putting on a public face for the civilized West, while delivering support to terrorism as direct as Arafat’s paychecks for suicide bombers. The Jerusalem Post also reports that 61 percent of Palestinians now support “military operations” inside Israel, hardly dampening Hamas enthusiasm for that part of their activities. Gilad Shalit remains in the hands of his Hamas-affiliated abductors. Ismael Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who will remain Prime Minister in the new government, insisted that there will be no recognition of Israel: “The Quartet wants us to recognize Israel’s right to exist and to abandon the armed struggle, and this won’t happen.” An official statement from the Hamas party echoed this sentiment: “Hamas will continue to have its political agenda … We will never recognize the legitimacy of the occupation.” Neither will it recognize past peace agreements.

The unity government is based upon the so-called “Prisoners’ Document,” drafted largely by terrorists in Israeli jails — many with blood on their hands. Their document calls for “widening the circles of resistance” and securing the “release of all prisoners” held by Israel, including those guilty of murder, “by all means.” It also calls for financial support for the families of murder-suicide terrorists. Abbas himself declared that the conflict will end “only when the Palestinian rights are achieved, when we establish our sovereign state with its capital as Jerusalem, and when the problem of the refugees is solved” — involving the destruction of Israel by demographic means.

So this new “unity government” is one that furthers the abrogation of all previous peace agreements, snubs its nose at the Quartet and the Road Map, ratifies the endorsement of terrorism and the destruction of Israel, all while putting on a Fatah facade for the benefit of the West. My prediction is that it will be a resounding success, with Kofi Annan’s enthusiastic support, a UN endorsement, a declaration from the French, British and Russians that this is a great stride forward for peace, and European millions filling Hamas coffers, where the funds will be diverted towards terror within moments of their arrival. Bets, anyone?