Hamas in Gaza (merged thread)

[Culpeper]

The great government of Hamas ordered it's terrorists to remove their masks except when attacking Israel. Abbas has set up an emergency government and outlawed Hamas. Some morons are firing rockets into Israel from Lebanon. Israel is in the middle.

Like Steve suggested. Which side do you think Israel is going to get aggressive with? Is the world really going to do anything to Israel if they put the squeeze on Hamas? Either militarily or diplomatically? Already the Strip is isolated. Hamas won the battle. Now it time to go hungry. People on the street in the Strip are stating things like, "I only have God and a bag of flour", and "We just went back 100 years". So much for radical Islmasist ideas and the general Muslim public.

I'm surprised nobody has started a thread entitled, "Is Hamas and the Gaza Strip another Iraq". Let the moral relativist officer corps begin.

[Jedburgh]

USIP, Jun 07

Public Opinion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: From Geneva to Disengagement to Kadima and Hamas

Israeli analysts and pundits enjoy quoting Henry Kissinger’s assertion that “Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic policy.” Kissinger’s comment, while stressed too strongly, captures well the common understanding among political scientists and international relations specialists that domestic considerations have a significant effect on foreign policy. This monograph focuses on one particular domestic imperative of utmost importance in periods of conflict and its resolution: public opinion.

Intercommunal and international conflicts affect the most basic elements holding societies together: beliefs, value systems, collective memories, and identity perceptions. The disruption of these same elements—due to conflict—can heighten emotions and increase stress, a situation that often takes a costly toll on society. These situations are made worse when leaders make bad policy decisions. In such times, then, leaders must be attuned to public sentiment, as public-opinion
support becomes critical.

How does public opinion act as a domestic imperative on policymaking? This monograph addresses this question, using extensive research on both Israeli and Palestinian public opinion collected during the second intifada, which began in 2000....