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I think he means “grass roots” movement. Either way, the implications are horrendous: Hamas is to be accepted as is.
"Italian FM: Hamas Significant Part of Palestinian People," by Barak Ravid for Haaretz:
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Hamas is a "significant and substantial" part of the Palestinian people, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday.D'Alema expressed fears that isolating Islamic groups like Hezbollah and Hamas will push them towards international terror network al-Qaida.
"Hamas has carried out terror attacks, but it is also a ground roots movement," he said.
You can’t have it both ways. If Hamas is representative of the people, then view the whole Gaza Strip as Hamas, and give no aid and no assistance. Hamas is, after all, a terrorist organization.
If Hamas is not representative of the people, then there is no need to legitimize it, "ground roots" notwithstanding.
"Not recognizing the government elected democratically is not exactly a lesson in democracy, and pushing such a group into the hands of al-Qaida is not in the international committee's interest."
On the contrary, this is the most important lesson in democracy class. Democracy does not give the majority the right to decide whatever it wants. It gives the majority the right to decide between different options that have moral and legal standing. A democracy cannot legitimize murder or rape because the majority wishes to do so. It is still murder. It is still rape. They would still be heinous crimes.
D’Alema is concerned that distancing Hamas would force them into al-Qaeda’s arms. No need to worry…Hamas is already there.
Hizballah just enjoyed a visit in France. At this rate, Hamas should receive an Italian invitation very soon.
Crossposted from The American Israeli Patriot.
Posted by Jay at July 17, 2007 9:17 AM
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Italian leftist politicians are nutroots.
And you know exactly what I mean.
Posted by: Shy Guy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 17, 2007 9:45 AM
What all of Europe needs is another Don Pelayo
Don Pelayo and the Reconquista of Spain
http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/western_civilization/don_pelayo.htm
Posted by: adobe at July 17, 2007 10:09 AM
Last week France said the same sort of thing. Looks like Europe is getting ready to "foist" money on Hamas the way it does with Fatah. Statements like these are just preparing the taxpaying sheep for that eventuality.
At this rate, any lunatic can go to Gaza, start up a terrorist group, kill a bunch of Jews and then ask the stupid infidels for money because it is "a part of the palestinian political process". More likely than not, the request will be granted.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at July 17, 2007 10:53 AM
You rid the garden of noxious weeds by pulling them out by the roots.
If Hamas is a grassroots organization, then this indicates it's the whole of Islam that is our problem, not a "tiny minority of weeds".
We must tend the garden and remove the weeds by their roots.
Posted by: A_Plague_on_Both_Houses at July 17, 2007 11:32 AM
The Satanic Verses:
Article Seven: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will not apply to the Gharqad, which is a Jewish tree (cited by Bukhari and Muslim).
Article Eight: The Slogan of the Hamas
Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief.
===================
May the God of Israel wipe this Islamic Scum from the Earth. Amen!
Posted by: Ynkedoodl2 at July 17, 2007 11:44 AM
This is another strain of the "I'm a Christian AND a Muslim" argument.
SMOKESCREEN!
Posted by: Miss_Anthrope at July 17, 2007 12:01 PM
Correction Hamas is a grassroots terrorist movement.
Posted by: Tristan Joones at July 17, 2007 12:40 PM
I would like to thank Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema for the lesson in democratic foreign relations. So let me see if I got this right.
If a democratically elected party decides to shoot it's political rivals out of existence, that's good for the international committee's interest.
If they continue to conduct missile attacks on the country next door that's good for the international committee's interest.
If you send in non-uniformed combatant's into a foreign country to kill civilians, that too is good for the international committee's interest.
If they wish to wipe said country off the face of the map, yep that too is good for the international committee's interest.
If they wish to murder, take into slavery, kidnap, rape, subvert or subdue said community members, well it's a good thing don't you know.
And if after all that they spread the same to Europe and the rest of the world so much the better. After all it's for the international committee's interest.
Again thanks for the lesson on how the international committee works. I seem to have it all wrong.
Side note. Kinda funny how he slips and says committee instead of people, community, or family of man. Typical political hack. We on the committee knows what's best for the rest.
Posted by: h.beale at July 17, 2007 12:45 PM
"'Hamas has carried out terror attacks, but it is also a ground roots movement,' he [Massimo d'Alema] said."
-- from the article above
A ground roots terror movement, a terror movement with lots of support. And so what is Massimo d'Alema suggesting one should conclude? What do you conclude from the same two undeniable propositions -- that Hamas is a terror movement and that this terror movement has a great deal of "ground roots" support?
Posted by: Hugh at July 17, 2007 12:54 PM
That we have a major religious war on our hands, whether we like it or not.
Posted by: Miss_Anthrope at July 17, 2007 1:20 PM
That we have a major religious war on our hands, whether we like it or not.
Posted by: Miss_Anthrope at July 17, 2007 1:20 PM
Been that way for 1400 years.
at July 17, 2007 1:25 PM
Thanks, Elric66...forgot to mention that.
Posted by: Miss_Anthrope at July 17, 2007 1:40 PM
"Hamas has carried out terror attacks, but it is also a ground roots movement," he said.
...............................
Yes, Hamas is indeed a "ground roots movement". This is important to realize, because it is important to understand how much support Hamas receives from the mass of "Palestinians".
But this fact in no way legitimizes the group.
National Socialism and the Ku Klux Klan were in many ways "ground roots movements", also--but few today would consider the fact that these organizations enjoyed considerable popular support at one time to render them in any way legitimate.
I found Western acceptance for Hamas dispiriting back when there was a lot of self-deceptive talk about how "Palestinians" had "democratically" elected Hamas primarily in a bid for less-corrupt government (and to get some of those pot holes filled, and the trains running on time).
This was ludicrous before--anyone taking the most cursory look at Hamas' charter and history would realize the absurdity of considering them a "partner for peace".
What we have now, though--after the attacks on Israel, after the vicious war of attrocities against their fellow "Palestinians"--throwing people off buildings, knee-capping Fatah supporters so that they could not run before killing them, pursuing wounded enemies into hospitals to finish them off--is something far uglier.
Many--including the Italian Foreign Minister--have seen the full, ugly face of Hamas, and have *still* decided that these are people they can work with.
Unbelievable.
Posted by: gravenimage at July 17, 2007 1:49 PM
I just want to reinforce what others have said above: I think the Italian FM is correct - Hamas is a significant and substantial component of Palestinian society, a true "ground roots" movement.
And that says a lot about the Palestinian Arabs in general and the true prospects for peace.
Posted by: Ryan Jones at July 17, 2007 2:32 PM
Even poison ivy has roots!
Posted by: pythagoras at July 17, 2007 3:27 PM
Well that clinches it.The "international community" only understands one thing....Terrorism.
So if you feel strongly about something then terrorism is the way to get it.
Got it.
It's all legal and uncondemnable.
Nice to know.
Posted by: Dar al-harb at July 17, 2007 7:56 PM
Hamas is "ground roots"--fertilized by the dung of jihad.
Posted by: scaramouoche at July 17, 2007 9:19 PM
Now: if he's calling HAMAS a 'ground roots', i.e., a 'grassroots' movement, what happens to that idiot mantra about the 'peaceful religion' that has been hijacked by 'a tiny minority of extremists'?
If Hamas has grassroots support then that means jihad has grassroots support. That means that a significant number of 'Palestinian' Muslims tacitly or actively support jihad. No 'tiny minority' there!
I have read the translation of the very earliest PLO statement of intent - 1964. In its opening paragraphs it uses the word JIHAD. Although most of the text uses rhetoric superficially similar to left-wing or Soviet material, anyone who knows anything about Islam can see that under that ill-fitting cloak (adopted to deceive Western leftist intellectuals, and to lure Soviet sponsors into continuing to provide jizya, weapons and ammo for the 'revolution') the whole thing is Muslim to the bootstraps.
The Charter of 1968 is similar - a thoroughly Muslim jihad agenda, camouflaged under left-speak.
The Hamas Charter drops the Western/ marxist revolutionary rhetoric and cuts straight to the Quran quotes - with article 8 we are back in 7th century Arabia. And in so doing, it is saying out loud what was driving Muslim Arab behaviour in the ME all along - in the 1880s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, whatever they said in French or English or Russian, whatever rhetoric ('nationalism', or 'pan-Arabism' or 'people's revolution') would serve to dupe their infidel sponsors and negotiating partners.
I wonder what would happen if someone stood up in a church synod, or a university quadrangle, and read the Hamas Charter, in English, or French, or Italian, or German, out loud? ALL of it. It's a nasty document.
How many in Israel have read it? Has George Bush, or Ms Rice, read it? And can they not see that Hamas, and those who support them, mean every single word of it?
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at July 19, 2007 4:09 AM
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