Courting Terrorists ; Jihadists Gain Ground in Palestinian Government

Summary

---

Contrary to a widespread misconception, Adolf Hitler did not gain power in 1933 in Germany as a result of an election victory in the elections held that year the Nazi Party actually lost 2 million votes. But joining a coalition with other, more moderate parties, Hitler and his henchmen soon subverted the new government and grabbed the absolute power he had sought all along. Though history doesn't necessarily repeat itself, one shouldn't ignore the lessons that can be learned from it. One important lesson is that whenever a coalition is formed between moderates and anti-democratic extremists, it is only a matter of time until the extremists take over.

This is what's probably going to happen soon on the Palestinian political scene, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas terrorists have announced the imminent formation of a National Unity Government. Though it would be going too far to call Mr. Abbas' Fatah movement "moderate" or "democratic," there still is some difference, at least outwardly, between it and Hamas, whose declared aim is the destruction of Israel (as well as Jordan), replacing it with a jihadist, fundamentalist state as part of an Islamist caliphate in the broader Middle East.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Courting Terrorists ; Jihadists Gain Ground in Palestinian Government

Contrary to Hitler, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, having received a majority in the Palestinian elections early this year, on the face of it didn't need a coalition partner to set up shop. B...

See the full content of this document

---