Hamas and other violent groups exist in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority is too weak to control them. At this point, a Palestinian state in the West Bank would be a launching pad for attacks on Israel--just like Gaza.CameronPoe wrote:
They shouldn't tolerate random rocket fire. They should address the issues leading people to constantly rise up in the face of settlement building, denial of the right of return, the absence of reparations for hundreds of thousands of refugees, the annexation of East Jerusalem, Ariel, Ma'ale Adumim, etc. They should bilaterally negotiate a withdrawal from the West Bank with FATAH and fuck Hamas. Any legitimacy Hamas might have had will wane - the only reason they got in in the first place was as a protest vote against - you guessed it - corrupt Fatah politicians.ATG wrote:
Seriously though, step away from the BBC and the anti Israel jaggernaut and ask yourself; why should israel tolerate random rocket fire?
Israel booted settlers, even dug up graves to reloccate the bodies of jews so they could have their dirt back.
What did they get? Rockets. Thousands of rockets and a bunch of idiots dancing in the streets proclaiming they had beat the jews.
Fuck 'em. Send in nurses to remove all children under the age of ten and bomb the place flat.
Hamas has legitimacy in part because it does important social work, providing services to poor people in need. Also because it is well funded. There is no reason to believe that Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank will make Hamas go away or stop its attacks. It will only increase them.