Taran RampersadStick this in your hopper for when people say supporting #Palestine is supporting #Hamas. It isn't.
Clearly, the Palestinians have a Hamas problem too.
Phil Wolff@knowprose The original NYT article about #hamas's General Security Service that spied on and ratted out fellow #Palestinians. (via archive.org). #palestine #israel
> “This General Security Service is just like the Stasi of East Germany,” said Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer specializing in Palestinian affairs. “You always have an eye on the street.”
> "The General Security Service’s goals are similar to those of security services in countries like Syria that have used secret units to quell dissent. The files of the General Security Service, though, mention tactics like censorship, intimidation and surveillance rather than physical violence."
So, this makes me ask...
**A. Does Hamas speak for Gazans? **Or is Hamas a militant group that cosplays government? Do Gazans in the Strip believe Hamas speaks for them? Do Gazans in diaspora believe Hamas represents them too?
**B. Can Israel treat with Hamas? **Can Israel or other governments trust that Hamas negotiates in good faith? That the government of Gaza is stable enough to strike a deal that will stick for generations instead of for weeks? *MyPoV: Both parties are assuming bad faith, and it's unlikely to change. *
**C. Casus Belli? **Will this story flip Israel's opposition to treating with Hamas from "We're at war with Hamas, Israel's enemy" to "We're defending you from Hamas, your enemy"? "We're in this together"? *MyPoV: Not likely but someone will try. *
"#Peace" is a side effect of tensions in balance. I haven't a clue how those affected by war construct or repair systems that stabilize those fragile, imbalanced networks of power, wealth, opportunity, freedom, safety, etc. so incrementally better societies emerge from the rubble, through the trauma.