EDITORIAL DEMOCRACY'S DOWNSIDE.THE radical militant organization Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1987 during the Intifada; it seeks to establish an Islamic state in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip (the former mandate of Palestine). An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas operates mosques, schools, clinics, and social programs but is best known in the West for its military wing, which has carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Israelis. scored a stunning landslide victory in the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in a decade, upsetting the corrupt, longtime-ruling Fatah FATAH - Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (Palestinian National Liberation Movement) party. It wasn't the outcome that Israel, the United States or most of the world wanted. Hamas has engaged in numerous suicide bombings and other acts of terror while calling for the destruction of Israel. Clearly, Hamas is going to have to change dramatically if there's any hope for Middle East peace, as President George W. Bush pointed out. He made it clear that the U.S. will not deal with the new Palestinian leaders unless they give up their policy of seeking the destruction of Israel. Bush's goal has been to see democratic governments flourish in the Muslim world, so now he must show that he really is committed to supporting legitimately elected leaders and parties, even those he sharply disagrees with. The Palestinian people overwhelmingly chose Hamas in these elections, and now we will see whether empowerment will turn its leaders away from terror and toward the road to peace through negotiation. |
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