Tuesday April 18, 2006

I'm Predicting:

Hamas called it a "legitimate act of self defense."
Hamas said that "Israel was responsible" for the terrorist bombing in downtown Tel Aviv that murdered 9 people.

These Hamas statements do not surprise me.
But they do damage, real damage, to Hamas' bigger agenda.

Hamas knows that they must not be seen as a terrorist government if they want to receive the financial assistance that the Palestinian Authority so crucially needs.
Hamas knows that many countries have taken a clear stand on financing terror and they will not give to a state that so blatantly embraces terror. Even Saudi Arabia and Qatar will have difficulty justifying their gifts.
Hamas knows that they need to put their best foot forward - but they simply can not, Hamas lacks all social graces.

Hamas will not change, they will dig themselves deeper and deeper into the abyss - financially, politically, diplomatically.