From the Be Careful What You Wish For department: the Palestinians recently held an election. What could be better? The free exchange of ideas, the will of the people carrying the day and leading to the peaceful transition of government.
Well, it seems no one except the Palestinians like the outcome of the election.
And so the consensus now is to make Hamas a global pariah before they even form a government and assume power. Cut off all funding and humanitarian support until they toe the line and adhere to the terms of their survival as dictated by the world.
In other words, create a situation once again where the Palestinians can do nothing but fail, and then use that failure as justification for punishing them further. This is no different than when Sharon isolated Arafat and removed his capacity to exert any control or authority, made demands of him that could not possibly be met, and then punished him and the Palestinian people for the failure to take action he was incapable of taking because Israel had made it impossible in the first place.
There is another way.
Only the most naive of fools would claim that Hamas is an organization that represents the better impulses of humanity. It is deplorable that as part of their charter they call for the extermination of Israel and refuse to repudiate that objective. There is no question that they have initiated violence against the people of Israel, though there is more than a little room for reasonable debate as to whether that violence has been on all occasions entirely unprovoked. Clearly most of the citizens of the world would not relish the thought of Hamas as a next door neighbor.
The truth though, is that through the political process and not through force of arms, the Palestinian people have spoken and asked that Hamas be the standard bearer for their hopes and aspirations. As a would-be sovereign people, their will should be honored.
Is it reasonable to fear that a Hamas led Palestinian Authority will differ little from the Hamas terrorists we have come to know and abhor? Of course. That should not however preclude them from having the opportunity to lead the Palestinian people forward. Sanctions, suspension of aid, and isolation from the global family of nations are all steps that should be held in reserve to be applied against a Hamas led Palestinian Authority that proves such actions are justified by their own future deeds. They need to be aware that the world is watching, and that if they do not act toward other nations with proper respect and consideration they will receive their justly earned reward. To punish first can only create a bunker mentality and a self fulfilling prophecy of failure. Persecution inevitably leads to the persecuted lashing out in regrettable ways, even when such persecution may well be justified.
It can certainly be hoped that a Hamas led government will comport itself responsibly, with honor and dignity, in a sincere effort to advance the interests of the Palestinian people who elected them. If they do that job well they should be rewarded, by the world at large and by the continued support of their constituency. Should they fail to execute that job effectively, the same people who have just empowered them will kick them to the curb. And if the Palestinian people should prove unequal to the task of controlling their chosen political leaders, then there will be more than ample opportunity for the rest of the world to step in and inflict the justice they seem so eager to dispense now in advance of the crime.
