Al-Arabiya Editor: HAMAS Is To Blame For The Gaza Crisis

In what amounts to a breath of fresh air coming from an Arab point of view, an editor for Al-Arabiya, writing the in British Ashark Al-Aswat, is saying what is unthinkable among many in liberal and Islamist circles - HAMAS is responsible for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza because they won’t stop the firing of rockets into Israel:
[[[[“Hamas committed a stupid act when it gave the Israelis an excuse to launch attacks in retaliation for a few antique rockets,” Rashed wrote in the London-based daily Asharq Al- Awsat.
“Prior to that, Hamas committed a big crime against the Palestinian people by overthrowing the Palestinian Authority [in the Gaza Strip]. The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have suffered a lot because of Hamas’s actions. Hamas is bringing Israel back into the Gaza Strip after it was liberated by the Palestinian groups.”
Rashed questioned the wisdom of firing rockets and mortars at Israel which, he said, was only increasing the suffering of the Palestinians, let alone that they were not causing much harm to Israel. He pointed out that “only” 10 Israelis were wounded in the recent attacks as opposed to the “huge disaster” that has befallen the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.]]]]
The Palestinian Authority was quick to agree and carried even further:
[[[[A top PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas was “holding more than 1.5 million Palestinians hostage” in an attempt to rally the Arab and Muslim masses against the PA and Israel.
“Of course, we strongly condemn the Israeli measures against the residents of the Gaza Strip, but Hamas is also responsible for what’s happening there,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are paying a heavy price for Hamas’s irresponsible actions.”
The official also accused Hamas of ordering owners of bakeries to keep their businesses closed for the second day running to create a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas is preventing people from buying bread,” he said. “They want to deepen the crisis so as to serve their own interests.”
The official said that contrary to Hamas’s claims, there is enough fuel and flour to keep the bakeries in the Gaza Strip operating for another two months. “Hamas members have stolen most of the fuel in the Gaza Strip to fill their vehicles,” he said. ]]]]
Anyone with enough sense to tie their own shoes can see that HAMAS continues to provoke Israel with incessant rocket fire into civilian areas. There’ve been several hundred in the last few days alone. Yet the condemnation of Israel for sealing off the border crossings is vociferous. It’s refershing to actually hear other Arabs placing the blame where it squarely belongs - with the lunatics who keep trying to murder Israeli civilians.
Simple math. Want food and fuel? Stop firing rockets.
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/al_arabiya_editor_hamas_is_to_blame_for_the_gaza_crisis/

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