Hamas Stands By as Christians Suffer From Firebombs and Intimidation

JERUSALEM - An attempt by Muslim clerics to close a YMCA branch office in the West Bank has exposed growing tensions between the Holy Land's dwindling Christian community and the new Palestinian Arab government led by Hamas.

Firebombs were recently thrown into the office of the YMCA in a Hamas stronghold, Qalqilya, forcing the group to move to new premises.

http://www.nysun.com/article/31841
___________

why is this relevant?...because we're looking at the Palestenain society and how it is now forming itself. Whereas single incidents mean nothing in themselves, the larger picture however is far more important.


but what i'm actually getting at, and this is only for the brave on this forum and for those who can think about complex environments with various options, and though its only specualation, the answers should be interesting:

what would be preferable for the avg secular palestenain?..life under hamas (given a religious govt, with all its implications .i.e. iranian/saudi arabia style) or extended occupation until a more secular stable govt developes-a far more "paternalistic view"

a religious govt has a far greater chance of keeping the war going than a secular one..hence the question also far ranging implications for both societies.

....and the answer is absolutely no good at all. Religious governments only tend to make the society in question intolerable and hateful toward "outsiders". All we have to do is read history and watch the news to realize this applies to all religions throughout history.

it seems that the choices dont look very good for the palestenains...in fact i would say (from a secular point of view) that they look either bad or worse.

a religious govt or the occupation...and to make it worse, neither has a "termination date." Religious govts aren't known for having elections for the transfer of power, which means hamas may just do the iranian thing, which is have pseudo elections and stay in power....

or tell the israelis (through back channels of course) to stay put and keep hamas from taking full power until a change can occur

They get the religious 'govt' AND the occupation. And unfortunately the past has shown that a secular 'govt' didn't bring the end of the occupation...

I think the one or the other option is one where it really depends on what Palestinians themselves think is bad or worse. Personally, I think Hamas exists because of the occupation, and when and if it ends, Hamas might struggle to survive. I don't know enough about Palestinian politics to know how easily new parties come into being, but the Palestinians need a strong, non-corrupt, and secular political alternative to Hamas to emerge. Given that Hamas has a reputation for not being into corruption, and their need to keep on the good side of the Palestinian population, they may well not interfere in the electoral process when it comes to the next election. But I think it's possible that they might stumble and fall all on their own without any interference from the US or Israel as they were elected to basically 'make the trains run on time'. It's very easy to promise to do that when a party isn't in power, but once they're in power then they'll cop the blame when things aren't fixed...

Violet...

palestenains politics are far more complex than can possibly understood as it involves not just ideology but families and neighborhoods (mix of tribal and modern).....if i were to venture forth i would say that after Hamas fails or attempts to make the place "religious" they'll have a mini revolution.... A religous govt can only stay in power via force, after generation two, the original reasons for their arise to power is long forgotten and whats left are the "moral squads" roaming the streets looking for transgressors ...

(on that note, i came across the jewish version, as i slept over a girls house in a religious neighborhood...they came knockin at 2:00am....)

i see the biggest problem with hamas that if the cant get the trains to run on time, they can just send some rockets over to israel, wait for the retailiation and claim israel wiped out the "tracks"....they have an easy excuse.

its a real mess.....

than you will live like enemies.