Egypt's ruling party attacks Hamas and allies

[question everything]

Source: Reuters Africa

CAIRO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling party accused the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas on Wednesday of adventurism, irresponsibility and ignoring Egyptian advice on Gaza. The National Democratic Party (NDP) said in a statement that Egypt was the victim of an organised campaign by Hamas and its regional allies -- Iran, Syria and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Iran and Hezbollah have criticised Egypt for failing to open its border with Gaza, in effect cooperating with the Israeli blockade of the impoverished coastal strip.

"(The party) notes that the leadership of Hamas is responsible for the turn that events have taken (in Gaza)," said the NDP secretariat. The statement also condemned Israeli raids which have killed almost 400 people in Gaza. "The Hamas movement has thwarted all attempts to achieve Palestinian national unity and has not accepted repeated Egyptian advice on the importance of maintaining the truce (with Israel)," the NDP statement added.

(snip)

The statement went beyond criticism of Hamas by the government, which has said that it gave repeated warnings before Israel attacked last Saturday and that those who ignore warnings have only themselves to blame for the consequences.



Read more: http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnLV83566.html

[Larkspur]

1. Hamas is Shiite based and Egypt and Saudi Arabia who joined Egypt are Sunni

The war in Gaza is not just about Israel versus Hamas. It is also Shiite versus Sunni.

[pennylane100]

2. I read somewhere,

that all the members of the Arab League (Maybe wrong wording), are Sunni. It is amazing that our media does not inform us of the intricacies of these conflicts. It might lead to a better understanding on how to help bring about peace.

[NashVegas]

3. There Will Be Peace

When we no longer need their oil and can stand back and let them pound the snot out of each other until a clear winner emerges, and that winner is some people who are, themselves, tired of the fighting and ready to offer a fair peace.

[singingbiscuit]

4. There Will Be Peace

When everyone has pounded the snot out of each other and the whole place has no more people in it.

Sorry to be pessimistic, but it seems as if the only peace that can come out of this is when there are no more people left to fight.

Grasshopper Wars come to mind:

Long, long ago, in the pine barrens of Lenapehoking, where modern day Flemington, New Jersey, now stands, there was a Lenapé village. This was before the wapsitak, the white ones, came to our shores. Across the river, in what is now Pennsylvania, another village stood. Some say it was another tribe, some say it was another village of Lenapé. Either way, the people of the villages liked to visit back and forth whenever they could. The men of the villages would hunt together, the women of the villages would work together, and the children of the villages would play together.

One day, as the children were playing together, a boy from the village across the river saw a streak of green in the grass and, following it, soon caught the largest grasshopper he had ever seen. He laughed happily as he played with his new pet and soon a group of the other children gathered around him. He showed them all the grasshopper and how agile it was. They all agreed that it was the largest grasshopper they had ever seen.

But one of the boys from the first village grew envious, and he began to scowl and fret. Why shouldn't he have that large grasshopper? After all, was it not found on his village territory? Hastily, he snatched the grasshopper from the other boy and this set off a fight. Then, like a chain reaction, a free-for-all began between the children of the two villages.

Soon all of the children were involved in the fray. The battle quickly polarized between the villages, each child siding with his village brothers and sisters. Hearing the screams of the battling children, the village women rushed from the fields and lodges where they were working. Seeing their children attacking one another, they too joined the battle and began defending their children. Soon they too were pummeling one another and pulling hair.

When the men returned from the day's hunt, they found their women and children huddled all around; injured, bleeding and worn out from the prolonged fight. None of them could recall any longer why the fight had taken place, and could only tell of being attacked by the members of the other village. Anger then grew between the men too, and they took their women and children to their respective villages. The village chiefs swore vengeance on the opposing village and the friendly exchanges between the villages ceased.

It was many seasons later that the truth was discovered. What had begun as child's play and a jealous argument grew into an unnecessary fight and long seasons of discontent between the two villages. Friendships were lost and much unfounded anger was exchanged. And this fight is remembered in our histories as "The Grasshopper War".

http://www.geocities.com/shabak_waxtju/grasshopper_war.html">from the Lenape

[NashVegas]

8. Great, Then We Won't Have So Much of a Global Warming Problem

The avoidance of war is not peace. It's just "not fighting yet." It's a false peace that constricts peoples' movements and sentences them to living in fear. "Can't say anything bad, here, it might start a WAR."

The villagers in your story learned an important lesson they might not have if not for the fight. One of the lessons you have to learn, as a grown-up, is how to get into fights in such a way that agreed-upon rules will be adhered to. One is how to end it. And another is how to tell what's worth getting into a fight over in the first place.

[singingbiscuit]

9. Good point

Global warming? Just get rid of all the people! Problem solved!

:evilgrin:

[singingbiscuit]

5. Refer to this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x254307

[Tempest]

6. That's not the only reason

The Egyptian government relies heavily on western support to stay in power.

They won't upset that apple cart.

[Baby Snooks]

7. Shi'ite versus Sunni

Hamas and Hezbollah are Shi'ite supported organizations and so the Arab League nations, mainly Sunni, are going to be uncomfortable with both. The exception is Syria which is both Shi'ite and Sunni and supportive of Hamas and Hezbollah as well as al Queda which of course is Sunni supported. The Shi'ites in Syria are a minority and yet they have political power through the Alawites who are a Muslim sect that is Shi'ite and yet is inclusive of Christian traditions including a reverence for the Virgin Mary and actually are considered infidels. They control the military. Syria is probably the most complex country in the Muslim world because of the fact that while the minority Shi'ites rule through the military the majority Sunnis govern through the Ba'ath Party which is Sunni. Syria has remained a secular country but one that basically is a dictatorship supported by the military. And of course Syria claims that Palestine was part of Syria and the UN had no right to partition it which fuels the situation and always has.

The Shi'ites are far more fundamentalist than the Sunnis are and so they are the main supporters of position that Israel has no legitimate right to exist as a state. And of course then would like the Arab League nations to "submit" to the clerical rule of fundamentalism. Which most of the Arab League nations refuse to do. With the exception of Saudi Arabia which is "co-ruled" by the Saud family and by the Wahabi clerics. Our best Arab ally is also our worst enemy. The West has always walked a tightrope with Saudi Arabia because of the oil and the Saud family has always walked a tightrope with the Wahabi clerics who view the West as a society of infidels whose morals have corrupted the Saud family and so threatens to corrupt the morals of the Saudi people. From time to time the Saud family engages in acts merely designed to appease the clerics as we all saw in the case of the Saud princess who was beheaded along with her lover in a public square years ago. And as we saw on 9/11.

Not that anyone can know what would happen but Hamas at one point agreed to acknowledge Israel's right to exist in return for its release of land under the original partition and the creation of Palestine as a separate state. Israel of course refuses to acknowledge Hamas as a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people as has the United States. But the reality is the Palestinians elected Hamas to be their representatives. Reality obviously has not mattered much for the past 60 years.

The Arab League nations will either be able to force a cease-fire, primarily by putting pressure on Syria, or this may become an actual war. Which may or may not expand into a regional war.

The real problem is we see Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations. Many Palestinians and Lebanese see them as political parties. And not necessarily as "Shi'ite" political parties. The line between Shi'ite and Sunni has become blurred and many in the Arab world no longer make the distinction that we do. Although many of us don't.

[dnbn]

10. Hamas is a Sunni organization.

There are very few Shiite among the Palestinians.