Al Jazeera’s English-language website contains about a dozen reactions to the news of Osama bin Laden’s death at the hand of American soldiers, reportedly members of U.S. Navy “SEAL Team 6.”
Most of the reactions share the tone employed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said, “This is a resounding triumph for justice, freedom and the values shared by all democratic nations fighting shoulder to shoulder in determination against terrorism.”
Even a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority was basically reasonable and positive: “Getting rid of Bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods — the violent methods — that were created and encouraged by bin Laden and others in the world.”
However, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, offered just the latest proof of the nature of Hamas (and their associates in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood): “We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior. We ask God to offer him mercy with the true believers and the martyrs.”
As if that isn’t frightening and reprehensible enough, Reuters suggests that “In Gaza, Hamas now faces a challenge from al Qaeda-inspired groups that consider it to be too moderate.”
It makes this week’s coming unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah, the so-called “moderate” Palestinian party currently in control of the West Bank, that much more troubling. The move proves that even the “moderates” have no interest in peace with Israel, at least not unless it’s a “peace” that shrinks Israel to indefensible borders which Hamas and friends hope and believe will leave it vulnerable to attack — perhaps by Egypt under Hamas’ newly-influential co-conspirators in the Muslim Brotherhood.
The only difference between Haniyeh and bin Laden is capability; if Hamas thought they could do what al Qaeda has done, they would do it. As the UN-led charade of a “peace process” continues later this year, America must judge the Palestinians by the most venomous snake in their leadership, just as al Qaeda was judged by Osama bin Laden — a comparison which can’t help but bring a potential solution to mind.
