Hamas Speaks Mike Rappaport

The Washington Post publishes an op ed from the Prime Minister of the PA — a member of Hamas.  As one might expect, it is filled with lies, distortions, half truths, and indirections.  It would be interesting to fisk it, but not interesting enough — for me at least.

Consider, though, two excerpts.  First:

I hope that Americans will give careful and well-informed thought toroot causes and historical realities, in which case I think they willquestion why a supposedly “legitimate” state such as Israel has had toconduct decades of war against a subject refugee population withoutever achieving its goals.

Thankfully, I think most Americans undestand the answer to this question: Israel has these problems because the Palestinian leaders and a large percentage of its people have embraced corrupt, racist, hatefilled practices which involve refusing compromises for peace, while preferring wars that they consistently lose. 

Second:

But there is a remedy, and while it is not easy it is consistent withour long-held beliefs. Palestinian priorities include recognition ofthe core dispute over the land of historical Palestine and the rightsof all its people; resolution of the refugee issue from 1948;reclaiming all lands occupied in 1967; and stopping Israeli attacks,assassinations and military expansion.

It might seem odd that Hamas, whose charter and principles clearly embrace the destruction of Israel, would be willing to sign on to what some regard as such “reasonable demands.”  But these demands, especially as Hamas understands them, would involve the destruction of Israel, and so there is nothing peculiar here.