While Rice has stated the U.S.A.'s desire is to "establish that we have now a common approach to moving forward on developing, articulating a political horizon" which can only mean an independent state to offer frustrated Palestinians in this the 40th year of their occupation, Condi has been frustrated at home.
Author and Mid East analyst, Patrick Seale reported in The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs , that Secretary Rice "has been knifed in the back by the hawkish pro-Israeli Elliot Abrams, the White House's main advisor on Middle East Affairs, but also that President George W. Bush himself has failed, at a critical moment to support her…Olmert had phoned George Bush on Feb. 16 and had secured a private assurance from him that the Mecca agreement changed nothing and that the U.S. would join Israel in continuing to shun Hamas. In the Israeli view, the Mecca accord had actually set back the cause of peace by legitimizing Hamas!" [page 12, April 2007 Vol. XXVI, No.3]
But hope is on the horizon, for the International community has responded and has ended the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic isolation.
A senior Norwegian official has already met with Hamas Cabinet Members and European and U.S. diplomats have met or have plans to meet with Abbas and independent members of Cabinet. And even the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers — the U.S., U.N ., European Union and Russia — have said they would judge the new government by its actions.
In March 2006, this reporter spoke with Anwer M. Zboun, newly elected Hamas member to the Palestinian Parliament/PLC who lives in the Abiet refugee camp and has a Masters Degree in Physics. He stated unequivocally, "Hamas is a Palestinian resistance movement and we are not against any people. We are against the occupation. We want to rebuild what the occupation has destroyed. Hamas was born from the suffering of the Palestinian people and we belong to the global Muslim movement. It was on December 14, 1987 after an Israeli driver killed nine Palestinians that the first Intifada [uprising] began and the Islamic Resistance movement in Palestine was renamed Hamas.
"Hamas is a national liberation movement based on Sharia; Islamic Laws and Orders. Hamas is not against any religion. We are not a terrorist movement, but we resist the occupation. Christians voted for us for many reasons and they know we are faithful to this cause: that God knows better than we ourselves know what is for our benefit. We do not force anyone to believe as we do. The public and private schools both teach Islam and Christianity.
"In November 1988 Arafat issued a birth certificate for the Palestinian State and under religion he stated: 'None.' This is because we are a secular state. As Muslims and Christians we live together peacefully and our attitude is citizenship is for everyone. Everybody should have freedom of belief, traditions and a personal life. Hamas does not propose anything that contradicts Christianity.
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