Haneyya: Efforts underway to bridle Israeli escalation

[JStone]

Abbas is supposed to release all political prisoners and stop political arrests. He has done neither. Until he complies there will be no reconciliation or elections.

That was not part of the deal Meshal made with Abbas. They agreed to form a caretaker government so that elections could be arranged, with Abbas as both president and pm. This would have been only until a new government was elected in spring. HOFG at first agreed but a few days later objected to Abbas being pm. This is all just another Hamas excuse for not allowing free, fair democratic elections.

I thought it was. It has been a focal point since the Egyptian debates. Hamas announced that it no longer has political prisoners in Gaza. Abbas, however, has been silent on this issue, but there are protests in the West Bank demanding prisoner release.

Offhand I cannot find an actual text of the agreement although it is still a Hamas demand. I don't see how there can be a fair election when the Hamas leadership is in West Bank prisons.

Democracy in Hamastan

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeymPZifhsk]WIDE ANGLE | Gaza E.R. | Excerpt | PBS - YouTube[/ame]

 

[toomuchtime_]

Abbas is supposed to release all political prisoners and stop political arrests. He has done neither. Until he complies there will be no reconciliation or elections.

That was not part of the deal Meshal made with Abbas. They agreed to form a caretaker government so that elections could be arranged, with Abbas as both president and pm. This would have been only until a new government was elected in spring. HOFG at first agreed but a few days later objected to Abbas being pm. This is all just another Hamas excuse for not allowing free, fair democratic elections.

I thought it was. It has been a focal point since the Egyptian debates. Hamas announced that it no longer has political prisoners in Gaza. Abbas, however, has been silent on this issue, but there are protests in the West Bank demanding prisoner release.

Offhand I cannot find an actual text of the agreement although it is still a Hamas demand. I don't see how there can be a fair election when the Hamas leadership is in West Bank prisons.

This was not designed to be an ongoing unity government. It was only supposed to create a caretaker government so that elections could be held. Meshal and Abbas did discuss the prisoners, but nothing about them was part of the agreement. Speculation at the time was that Hamas in Gaza was convinced that the Islamist wins in Egypt meant that they now had the upper hand in negotiations with Fatah, and didn't have to agree to allow Abbas to run the caretaker government. Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

 

[P F Tinmore]

That was not part of the deal Meshal made with Abbas. They agreed to form a caretaker government so that elections could be arranged, with Abbas as both president and pm. This would have been only until a new government was elected in spring. HOFG at first agreed but a few days later objected to Abbas being pm. This is all just another Hamas excuse for not allowing free, fair democratic elections.

I thought it was. It has been a focal point since the Egyptian debates. Hamas announced that it no longer has political prisoners in Gaza. Abbas, however, has been silent on this issue, but there are protests in the West Bank demanding prisoner release.

Offhand I cannot find an actual text of the agreement although it is still a Hamas demand. I don't see how there can be a fair election when the Hamas leadership is in West Bank prisons.

This was not designed to be an ongoing unity government. It was only supposed to create a caretaker government so that elections could be held. Meshal and Abbas did discuss the prisoners, but nothing about them was part of the agreement. Speculation at the time was that Hamas in Gaza was convinced that the Islamist wins in Egypt meant that they now had the upper hand in negotiations with Fatah, and didn't have to agree to allow Abbas to run the caretaker government. Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Indeed, and why would that be? That is what the propaganda media won't tell you.

 

[JStone]

I thought it was. It has been a focal point since the Egyptian debates. Hamas announced that it no longer has political prisoners in Gaza. Abbas, however, has been silent on this issue, but there are protests in the West Bank demanding prisoner release.

Offhand I cannot find an actual text of the agreement although it is still a Hamas demand. I don't see how there can be a fair election when the Hamas leadership is in West Bank prisons.

This was not designed to be an ongoing unity government. It was only supposed to create a caretaker government so that elections could be held. Meshal and Abbas did discuss the prisoners, but nothing about them was part of the agreement. Speculation at the time was that Hamas in Gaza was convinced that the Islamist wins in Egypt meant that they now had the upper hand in negotiations with Fatah, and didn't have to agree to allow Abbas to run the caretaker government. Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Indeed, and why would that be? That is what the propaganda media won't tell you.

Propaganda

Hamas And The Islamization Of Gaza: Mkhaimer Abusada, Professor Of Political Science, Al-Azhar University in Gaza.

The Gaza Strip was known as a very traditional and conservative society long before Hamas seized control of it in June 2007. The densely populated Strip is primarily inhabited by Palestinian refugees who have long suffered from poverty and negligence. But since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, it has intensified its efforts and activities to Islamize the social life of local Palestinians. Islamization of the Gaza Strip refers to the efforts and process to impose Islamic laws and tradition by force.
The process of Islamization is being imposed by the Hamas government and its security apparatuses as well as volunteer dawa groups who go from door to door asking people to adhere to Islamic laws and hijab conservative dress. Beyond its imposition of Islamic social codes on daily life, Hamas controls the social, educational and religious systems that indoctrinate the residents with Islamic values that have a long-term effect on the nature of Gazan society.

The formal educational system in Gaza (with the exception of UNRWA schools) is completely controlled by Hamas. This was facilitated by the general teachers strike at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. Hamas was able to replace them with its own ideologue teachers. The educational system is undergoing a process of Islamization – in August 2009, the beginning of the school year, Hamas’ Education Ministry imposed the hijab on school girls and transferred male teachers to boys schools.

The Islamization process is also facilitated by the tendencies of local residents, both male and female, to adjust themselves and conform with Hamas’ Islamic values. One of the most visible signs is the increasing number of bearded men, and women wearing hijab and veil in the streets of Gaza. Some of them grow beards for religious reasons, but women simply do not want to be harassed by Hamas “morality police” and dawa groups. These dawa groups are a civilian network of Hamas volunteers who belong to Islamic charitable societies, and deal with cultural, educational and religious matters.

The Hamas government stepped up the social Islamization process of Gaza in 2010. According to a statement released by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights in mid-September, these efforts included the repression of civil society and severe violations of personal freedom. For example, Hamas banned the smoking of nargilas (water pipes) by women in public places. Smoking and partying in a public place was the reason Hamas police closed the Beach Hotel in Gaza for three days in mid-September, as well as many other tourist places.

Crazy Water Park, one of the Gaza Strip’s most popular entertainment sites, was closed down in mid-September by Hamas police for allowing mixed swimming. Two weeks later, the site was set on fire by a group of unknown gunmen. The Hamas government issued a strong condemnation and promised to pursue the perpetrators. Although it is not clear which Islamist group was behind it, Islamist militants allegedly supported by Hamas who objected to mixed-gender socializing, are to be blamed.

A troubling development this last summer was the expanded role of Hamas’ “morality police.” The Hamas black-uniformed police began to patrol the beaches of Gaza to ensure that men and women are dressed “appropriately” and that unrelated men and women are not mingling. The morality police are monitoring public places, streets and mixed universities for any suspicious and immoral behavior.

Hamas’ strategy is to Islamize the Gaza Strip step by step to avoid provoking neighboring Arab countries and the international community. Hamas has always denied accusations of turning Gaza into an Islamic emirate, but in a very recent interview with Reuters, top Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar asked: “Is it a crime to Islamize the people? I am a Muslim living here according to our tradition. Why should I live under [Western] tradition?” Zahar defended Hamas laws and efforts, but declined to say how far it would go with Islamization.
THE DAILY STAR :: Opinion :: Commentary :: Hamas and the Islamization of Gaza

 

[toomuchtime_]

I thought it was. It has been a focal point since the Egyptian debates. Hamas announced that it no longer has political prisoners in Gaza. Abbas, however, has been silent on this issue, but there are protests in the West Bank demanding prisoner release.

Offhand I cannot find an actual text of the agreement although it is still a Hamas demand. I don't see how there can be a fair election when the Hamas leadership is in West Bank prisons.

This was not designed to be an ongoing unity government. It was only supposed to create a caretaker government so that elections could be held. Meshal and Abbas did discuss the prisoners, but nothing about them was part of the agreement. Speculation at the time was that Hamas in Gaza was convinced that the Islamist wins in Egypt meant that they now had the upper hand in negotiations with Fatah, and didn't have to agree to allow Abbas to run the caretaker government. Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Indeed, and why would that be? That is what the propaganda media won't tell you.

Once again, cut the crap. If you've got something to say, say it instead of hinting that you know something I don't.

 

[P F Tinmore]

This was not designed to be an ongoing unity government. It was only supposed to create a caretaker government so that elections could be held. Meshal and Abbas did discuss the prisoners, but nothing about them was part of the agreement. Speculation at the time was that Hamas in Gaza was convinced that the Islamist wins in Egypt meant that they now had the upper hand in negotiations with Fatah, and didn't have to agree to allow Abbas to run the caretaker government. Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Hamas in Gaza's objection to Abbas running the interim government is what shot down the deal and prevented elections from taking place.

Indeed, and why would that be? That is what the propaganda media won't tell you.

Once again, cut the crap. If you've got something to say, say it instead of hinting that you know something I don't.

Like I said before.

Abbas is supposed to release all political prisoners and stop political arrests. He has done neither. Until he complies there will be no reconciliation or elections.

These arrests are illegal whether they are in any agreement or not.

Also, like I said before. I can't find an actual text of that agreement.

 

[JStone]

Democracy in Hamastan

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV2j-N4AaBI]Hamas brutality against Fatah on Palestinian TV - PA public - YouTube[/ame]

 

[toomuchtime_]

Indeed, and why would that be? That is what the propaganda media won't tell you.

Once again, cut the crap. If you've got something to say, say it instead of hinting that you know something I don't.

Like I said before.

Abbas is supposed to release all political prisoners and stop political arrests. He has done neither. Until he complies there will be no reconciliation or elections.

These arrests are illegal whether they are in any agreement or not.

Also, like I said before. I can't find an actual text of that agreement.

But if you've searched, you've found summaries of the agreement from Arab sources, Israeli sources, US and European sources and none of them connected Hamas in Gaza's rejection of the Meshal-Abbas agreement to the release of prisoners. Why do you make this shit up? All the evidence either one of us could find indicates Hamas in Gaza rejected the Meshal-Abbas agreement that would have allowed elections to take place because they didn't want to risk losing power.

The Islamists in Egypt appear to have won in free and fair elections, so why is Hamas in Gaza so afraid of allowing the Palestinian Arabs to hold elections?

 

[P F Tinmore]

Once again, cut the crap. If you've got something to say, say it instead of hinting that you know something I don't.

Like I said before.

Abbas is supposed to release all political prisoners and stop political arrests. He has done neither. Until he complies there will be no reconciliation or elections.

These arrests are illegal whether they are in any agreement or not.

Also, like I said before. I can't find an actual text of that agreement.

But if you've searched, you've found summaries of the agreement from Arab sources, Israeli sources, US and European sources and none of them connected Hamas in Gaza's rejection of the Meshal-Abbas agreement to the release of prisoners. Why do you make this shit up? All the evidence either one of us could find indicates Hamas in Gaza rejected the Meshal-Abbas agreement that would have allowed elections to take place because they didn't want to risk losing power.

The Islamists in Egypt appear to have won in free and fair elections, so why is Hamas in Gaza so afraid of allowing the Palestinian Arabs to hold elections?

In addition, Fatah has realised that the changes taking place in the Arab world are likely to impact on the Palestinian arena. Indeed, the Palestinian street has started, sooner than was expected, to call: ‘The people want to end the division, the people want to end the occupation...’

Fatah realises that the above demands would come at a high cost; i.e., the PA would be ‘violating’ its security and political commitments towards the Israelis. Thus, as a compromise between their position and that of the public, Fatah and Abbas called for the formation of an interim government and the holding of elections without looking to further attempts at reconciliation.
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1- Partial implementation of the agreement: The two parties would agree on a compromise - the freeing of political detainees; support of public activities and the formation of a reconciliation government that would be immediately implemented.
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3. Pursuing measures by the authorities in Ramallah and Gaza to rebuild confidence. These measures include the release of political detainees, increasing demands for freedoms, and allowing institutions affiliated with the two sides to operate freely within the PA territories.

4. Ending the PA’s security coordination with Israel which is no longer justified especially when Israel has insisted on continuing with settlement building. In addition, this coordination is a major obstacle that is hampering national reconciliation.

Fatah-Hamas reconciliation: Developments and prospects

 

[JStone]

Democracy In Pallyworld

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV2j-N4AaBI]Hamas brutality against Fatah on Palestinian TV - PA public - YouTube[/ame]