Staying Neutral the Los Angeles Times Way
Over US objections, Sharon has taken the obvious line that Israel will not let Hamas take control of a Palestinian government to whom the world has granted UN status and international legitimacy. The LA Times Laura King (she's our favorite) does her usual rigorous journalism. She goes through a bunch of stuff about how Hamas has really turned a corner...
Devotion to the nitty-gritty details of governance has become a hallmark of mayors and city council members from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has made suicide bombings and ambush-style shooting attacks its primary trademarks. "It is only Hamas that can accomplish things," Kurd said Monday, ignoring clouds of powdery sand rising around him. "This is what we do: We try to make life better for the Palestinian people - immediately, and on the ground."
And then goes on to imply that Israel is intentionally undermining both these newly found Hamas moderates (has anyone told Hamas about them?) and all of the rest of the nice Palestinians too:
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters in New York during the United Nations summit on Friday that Israel might withhold help for the Palestinian elections if Hamas runs... Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that Sharon's comments weakened moderates such as Abbas and helped strengthen Hamas.
Then, buried deep in the article, is all the stuff about how Hamas hasn't really changed at all...
"Our weapons will remain aimed at the enemy's heart until we achieve liberation," Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, the group's only senior figure in Gaza to escape assassination by Israel, told one cheering crowd. "We are not going to rest until we raise the flag of Islam over the minarets of Jerusalem."
And how their strength isn't really because of Sharon's statements:
In Gaza, Abbas faces a conundrum. Any prolonged period of calm helps bolster his standing, both domestically and internationally. But militant groups such as Hamas, sometimes acting in concert with criminal gangs, can easily orchestrate an outbreak of chaos at any moment through street battles, abductions or brazen, high-profile killings like the assassination this month of former security chief Moussa Arafat.
But lest you think the article is divided evenly between the pro-Hamas and anti-Hamas sections, here's how the article ends up:
As the election draws closer, both sides may have trouble formulating a concrete appeal to voters, said Palestinian analyst Mahdi Abdul Hadi... "But what is less obvious is that Hamas also has a crisis in terms of long-term vision. What kind of a truce do they want: A year, 10 years? Are they ready to accept a Palestinian state inside the 1967 borders, or are they looking for an Islamic state in all historic Palestine? They aren't articulating any of this."
Yeah, Hamas's most powerful leader in Gaza says that their weapons are aimed at the Jews' heads and they're not going to rest till they conquer all of Israel. If only he would articulate what his goals really are. But that's the Los Angeles Times for you: staying neutral by putting anti-Israel propaganda at the front, pro-Palestinian propaganda in the back, and even-handed Israeli "responses" deep in the middle.
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
Devotion to the nitty-gritty details of governance has become a hallmark of mayors and city council members from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has made suicide bombings and ambush-style shooting attacks its primary trademarks. "It is only Hamas that can accomplish things," Kurd said Monday, ignoring clouds of powdery sand rising around him. "This is what we do: We try to make life better for the Palestinian people - immediately, and on the ground."
And then goes on to imply that Israel is intentionally undermining both these newly found Hamas moderates (has anyone told Hamas about them?) and all of the rest of the nice Palestinians too:
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters in New York during the United Nations summit on Friday that Israel might withhold help for the Palestinian elections if Hamas runs... Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that Sharon's comments weakened moderates such as Abbas and helped strengthen Hamas.
Then, buried deep in the article, is all the stuff about how Hamas hasn't really changed at all...
"Our weapons will remain aimed at the enemy's heart until we achieve liberation," Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, the group's only senior figure in Gaza to escape assassination by Israel, told one cheering crowd. "We are not going to rest until we raise the flag of Islam over the minarets of Jerusalem."
And how their strength isn't really because of Sharon's statements:
In Gaza, Abbas faces a conundrum. Any prolonged period of calm helps bolster his standing, both domestically and internationally. But militant groups such as Hamas, sometimes acting in concert with criminal gangs, can easily orchestrate an outbreak of chaos at any moment through street battles, abductions or brazen, high-profile killings like the assassination this month of former security chief Moussa Arafat.
But lest you think the article is divided evenly between the pro-Hamas and anti-Hamas sections, here's how the article ends up:
As the election draws closer, both sides may have trouble formulating a concrete appeal to voters, said Palestinian analyst Mahdi Abdul Hadi... "But what is less obvious is that Hamas also has a crisis in terms of long-term vision. What kind of a truce do they want: A year, 10 years? Are they ready to accept a Palestinian state inside the 1967 borders, or are they looking for an Islamic state in all historic Palestine? They aren't articulating any of this."
Yeah, Hamas's most powerful leader in Gaza says that their weapons are aimed at the Jews' heads and they're not going to rest till they conquer all of Israel. If only he would articulate what his goals really are. But that's the Los Angeles Times for you: staying neutral by putting anti-Israel propaganda at the front, pro-Palestinian propaganda in the back, and even-handed Israeli "responses" deep in the middle.
[Cross-posted at IsraPundit]
