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Palestine reaped 2006 election harvest

Editor’s note: The following column is in response to a June 21 column titled "Civilians the victims in Palestine" by Sousan Hammad.

For once Sousan Hammad and I agree. The Palestinians voted in a Hamas-led government because they were fed up with the corruption of the one leading them. This, and only this, are what Hammad has said that one can agree with.

The error in Hammad’s statements, and subsequent judgments about current events in Gaza and the West Bank, are that Palestinians do not bear some responsibility for what has happened.

As with any election that has been declared democratic, the fallout from the failures of the winning party is on the shoulders of the voters who put them into power.

Though it’s true Hamas did not run on a platform of "destroying the Zionist occupier," most Palestinians know what Hamas stands for and what their charter calls for. To think that electing Hamas for intra-Palestinian government reform would not lead to a severely isolated and crippled society is shortsighted at best.

The problem currently is that it’s too difficult for one to show support to the Palestinians and their cause while making it abundantly clear that they will not support a terrorist organization.

Recently, a shipment of more than two million bullets was shipped in order to be given over to forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party. But instead of going to them, the bullets were taken by Hamas and spread out to different terror organizations vowing to destroy Israel and Fatah for recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

Hammad’s statements that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert succeeded in dividing Gaza from the West Bank indefinitely are ripe with fallacies. Israel played no part in the fighting between the two factions. Israel did not force Hamas’ hand into deciding to do a mass takeover of the Gaza strip, killing innocents and destroying the homes of duly elected representatives.

Hamas must become more isolated and alienated from the world. Only when Gazan residents see that their overlords cannot help them, and that the world will not help them for supporting terrorists, can the future Palestinian state be reunited.

Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert have a chance to not only solidify a lasting peace between the two sides, but to root out one of the biggest factors in the threat to innocent lives the world over: ignorance and ideology.

We can only pray that those living in Gaza will come to realize this sooner rather than later.

Clancy, a political science senior, can be reached via [email protected]

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