Tony Blair falls for it. This from Reuters:
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) – Palestinian group Hamas is sending some “not unhelpful” signals about the Middle East peace process but should be clearer on where it stands, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview broadcast on Friday.
Asked by Al Jazeera television about hints by some members of Islamist group Hamas about a potential change of position, Blair drew a parallel with the Northern Ireland peace process, saying those talks had only been successful when rival parties had agreed on shared principles.
“Some of the signs coming out of Hamas are not unhelpful, but we need to know where they really are,” Blair said in the interview, which was recorded on Monday.
He did not specify which signs he was referring to.
Blair did not mention which helpful “signs” have been coming from Hamas, because there simply haven’t been any. The comparison between Northern Ireland and Hamas is totally unfounded. Northern Ireland fought for independence. The Northern Irish Catholics wanted to unite with the Irish Republic and eliminate English rule from their territory. They did not want to wipe England or the Northern Irish Protestants off the map, as Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the map.
This is a classic example of liberal rhetoric which totally distorts the truth.
Read Hugh Fitzgerald’s piece on Tony Blair here.
Crossposted from The American Israeli Patriot.