There’s that word, “moderate” again. A terrorist elected by popular acclaim must perforce become a moderate, right? From the Bandar Beacon, also known as the Washington Post.
JERUSALEM — Hamas leaders say they have agreed to nominate Ismail Haniyeh, a powerful party figure in the Gaza Strip, as prime minister when the Palestinian parliament convenes Saturday for the first time since the radical Islamic movement’s electoral victory last month.
Several Hamas officials, including Haniyeh, said Thursday that an official position had not been reached regarding his nomination to lead the next Palestinian Cabinet. But a consensus has emerged around Haniyeh’s candidacy since Hamas leaders traveled to Cairo this month to meet with government officials and party members in exile, who encouraged them to choose one of their own as prime minister — rather than support an independent nominee who might be more appealing to international donors.
Mousa Abu Marzook, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, told the Dow Jones News Service on Thursday from the Syrian capital, Damascus, that Haniyeh would be nominated when the new parliament meets Saturday.
Haniyeh emerged from the Hamas student movement at the Islamic University in Gaza City. He survived a 2003 Israeli airstrike but is considered a relative moderate in the movement…
Please read Robert Spencer’s excellent “We Have No Peace Process” for background on the Hamas electoral victory.