Thanks for your comments Akeel. I hope that what you say becomes so, that Hamas will develop a different outlook now that they have to govern. That would certainly be best for all of us.
You make some valid and interesting points. However, the election of Hamas may ironically enough provide a real possibility to move the region towards a peaceful resolution. Yes, the militant wing of Hamas has engaged in despicable and ruthless acts of guerilla warfare in order to accomplish their objectives, and to date they have shown themselves to be politically inflexible. But the reality is they're a relatively young organization that hasn't born the burden of officially governing their people. Conducting guerilla operations and operating as a 'NGO' is very different than directly steering the political process.
It should be noted that much of Hamas' actions were taken to undermine the power of the PLO. Now that they officially have some authority in Palestinian government, it would seem that they would have much less incentive to use tactics such as suicide bombing to manipulate political process. In other words, now that they have a direct say in the political process, they presumably have less incentive to use such tactics.
Perhaps I'm somewhat naive about this conflict, but I think it's beneficial to look for the possible silver lining in any situation. Whenever there's a great deal of flux in a society, there is also potential for politics to change for the better. That said, I think the only way something positive can arise from this outcome is if the US steps into the process and aggressively promotes negotiation between the two parties rather than flatly refusing to deal with the Hamas.
Commenting by HaloScan
