Hamas and Likud make strange bedfellows
Historically, Likud and Hamas have been entangled in a mutually beneficial dance of death. Hamas thrived on an Israeli policy that was based on the Likud Bloc strategy of cultivating an alternative to Arafat that might win the hearts and minds of the Palestinian masses while allowing Israel to extend its control. [1]
Beginning with the 1977 election of Likud founder Menachem Begin as prime minister, Israel nurtured the rise of the Islamic movement among the Palestinians, first in the Gaza Strip and to a limited degree in the West Bank.
Desperate to prevent Arafat's return under any peace accord and seeking to undermine his popularity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a year later Israel allowed a 42-year old quadriplegic religious leader, Sheik Ahmad Yassin, to license his humanitarian organization, later called Hamas.
Begin's successor was Yitzhak Shamir. Both Begin and Shamir were leaders of the first terrorist organizations that operated in Palestine in the 1940s.
Under Begin and later Shamir, Israel created, funded and controlled the "Village Leagues," a system of local councils managed by Palestinians who were hand-picked by Israel to run local city and village administrations. The plan was devised by Sharon, who was Israel's Defense Minister. Sharon appointed Menahem Milson, a professor of Arabic literature and former Hebrew University Dean, as its first Civil Administration leader in November 1981. Less than one year later, the two broke over Sharon's role in the Sabra and Shatilla massacres and Milson resigned.[2]
In 1984, Shamir was forced into a coalition government with Labor Party's Shimon Peres. Under a shared-leadership agreement, Peres held the office for two years until 1986 before returning it to Shamir. During those two years, the Likud party leaders saw firsthand the behind-the-scenes negotiations take place between Labor Party leaders and Arafat, who was exiled in Tunisia.
Within a year, Hamas leaders exploited the funds that Israel directed to the Village Leagues and collected tens of millions more from supportive Arab regimes angry with Arafat. Hamas used the money to operate a network of schools, medical clinics, social service agencies, religious institutions and provide direct services to the poverty stricken Palestinian population.
Always the survivor, Arafat and the PLO agreed in 1988 to accept the "two state" solution based on "land for peace" negotiations. While Likud responded by trying to sell "autonomy" to the Islamicist movement, Hamas reacted angrily to Arafat's move and its leaders, much to the surprise of Sharon and the Likud, by openly embracing armed struggle against Israel.
The only thing that stopped Hamas from growing further was the return of the Labor Party to power in 1992 and the return of Yasir Arafat to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Arafat's first act was to impose controls on Hamas, while Israel moved to more aggressive policies expelling, jailing and even assassinating Hamas leaders.
Hamas violence achieves Likud goals
There is a natural affinity that exists in a limited way between the policies and goals of Hamas and the political objectives of the Likud Bloc that has brought them together.
Every time Israeli and Palestinian negotiators appeared ready to take a major step toward achieving peace, an act of Hamas terrorism has scuttled the peace process and has pushed the two sides apart.
The startling ease with which terrorism has undermined peace is a testament to the fragility of the peace process and the political weakness of both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. Two specific acts of Likud-inspired violence derailed the momentum of the peace process, too.
Terrorism has been the primary common denominator that exists in the up and down relationship between the leadership of Israel's Likud and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Acts of terrorism can be directly associated with changes in the political leadership of Israel -- influencing the defeat of Labor Party government and the rise of the Likud.
In the last quarter century, Likud Party candidates have served as Israel's prime ministers for 17 years, more than double the eight years served by Labor Party candidates.
Since 1977, four Likud candidates have served five times as prime minister, while three Labor candidates served four times. (Likud's Menachem Begin, 77-83; Likud's Yitzhak Shamir, 83-84; Labor's Shimon Peres, 84-86; Likud's Shamir, 86-92; Labor's Yitzhak Rabin, 92-95; Labor's Peres, 95-96; Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, 96-99; Labor's Ehud Barak, 99-01; Likud's Ariel Sharon, 01-present.)
During the Intifadah (1987- 1993), Hamas violence was mainly directed against Israeli soldiers and security forces, and not civilians. Likud backed Israeli fanatics were also trying to use violence to disrupt the peace process.
Hamas moved from "armed struggle" against Israeli military targets to the more extreme violence in 1994 after a Likud-inspired supporter and settler fanatic, Baruch Goldstein, walked past Israeli guards into the Hebron Mosque and gunned down 29 Muslims as they were praying. Goldstein took a page out of the Likud ideology and hoped the massacre would derail the peace process with Arafat.[3]
In retaliation in April 1994, a Hamas bomber rammed an explosive laden car into a civilian bus in the Israeli city of Afula, killing eight and wounding 50 people.[4]
Less than one year later, another Likud settler fanatic inspired by Likud rhetoric and policies assassinated Rabin. The murder undermined the Labor Party's future and sabotaged the Israeli-Palestinian peace process pushing all sides back to violence.
Rabin's widow, Leah Rabin, directly placed the blame for her husband's assassination on the Likud party and its anti-peace rhetoric.[5] Leah Rabin declared that the assassin was incited to violence by the vicious language of Likud's silver-tongued leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.
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