Column One: Don't worry, be happy!
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Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 5, 2007--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any doubt that Hamas is an Iranian proxy was dispelled this week by a snippet on the Middle East Media Research Institute's blog.
MEMRI reported: "An article in the Iranian weekly Sobh-e Sadeq, circulated among the Revolutionary Guards, states that Fatah documents captured by Hamas have revealed that Egypt played a role in instigating the clashes which led to the Hamas takeover of Gaza. The article added that this is the second time Egypt has betrayed the Palestinians, the first being [the slain Egyptian president Anwar] Sadat's betrayal at the Camp David summit."
So Hamas is sharing the treasure trove of intelligence it captured during its takeover of Gaza with Iran. In the greatest intelligence victory ever accomplished by a jihadist organization, Hamas (and Iran) now possess the files of all of the Palestinian security apparatuses, and the personal papers of Fatah leaders such as Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan.
Hamas sources claim that Fatah's abject surrender of the information should come as a surprise to no one. They brag that in the months leading up to their putsch, Fatah operatives were happy to sell them all the weapons and intelligence information they asked for.
Iran's use of the Fatah files against Egypt demonstrates that the emergence of Hamastan in Gaza endangers not only Israel, but regional security as a whole. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, the US and Israel can all expect reports to surface that will, in the best case, cause them deep embarrassment. Their governments may be destabilized and their security operations may be compromised.
No doubt this state of affairs was central in causing the Egyptians, Saudis and Jordanians to all tell Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah chief Abbas not to clash with Hamas but to try to forge a new accord with it.
And so Hamas's position improves by the day. On Sunday, just after Israel made its first payment of $120 million to Salaam Fayad's Fatah government, Fayad announced that the money will go to pay salaries of PA employees in Gaza.
This tells us two things. First, it shatters the illusion of two distinct PAs - one that is bad and one that is good. By paying PA employees in Gaza, Fayad showed that from Fatah's perspective, there is only one PA, not two.
Second, his move exposes as a lie Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's claim that the money was going only to Fatah. Indeed, it showed that Israel is funding Hamas. After all, if Fayad weren't using Israeli money to pay the Gazans, Hamas would have to pay them out of its own pocket.
BBC reporter Alan Johnston's release on Wednesday was another win for Hamas. After Johnston's release, Britain's new Foreign Secretary David Miliband - whose mother, a Holocaust survivor, is a member of the radical anti-Zionist organization "Jews for Justice for Palestinians" and whose late father was a Communist - gushed over Hamas. Miliband said that Hamas leaders "denounced the hostage-takers and demanded Alan's release. I fully acknowledge the crucial role they have played in securing this happy outcome."
In comments to Parliament, Miliband left the door wide open to the possibility of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government recognizing the Hamas government.
Rather than chide the British for their embrace of a movement driven by barbaric hatred for Jews and bent on Islamic global domination, the Israeli government lavished praise on the British for successfully negotiating Johnston's release and tried to make nice with Hamas. Olmert coyly suggested, "As is known, Hamas members holding [IDF soldier Gilad Schalit] are - in effect - preventing the release of Palestinian prisoners as has been agreed upon."
By thus framing the issue of Schalit's release, Olmert signaled to Hamas that Israel is interested in cutting a deal and has already accepted the Iranian-proxy's control over the outskirts of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
Hamas has other new friends - al-Qaida for instance.
FULL STORY: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183459208479&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter