The Voice of Hamas Outside the Middle East

Scanning such major Western news outlets as CNN, MSNBC,
and the BBC, I could find plenty of articles mentioning Hamas. One article cites Secretary of State Hillary Clinton describing Hamas as "not only a terrorist organization but...increasingly a client of Iran". Another article will mention Obama's unwillingness to deal with Hamas, even if they did send him a personal letter. But one thing you will rarely hear in the West is the voice of Hamas itself. The only recent articles I could find quoting Hamas officials were simply about the announcement of ceasefires . Since three of the four members of the so-called "Quartet" of intl. mediators (the U.S., E.U., and U.N.) refuse to communicate with Hamas "terrorists", it seems that the Western public is also not allowed to access their point of view.

So I was curious to know if it would be any different with Russia, the one member of the Quartet that does maintain ties with Hamas. Here is some of the evidence I found that Hamas is treated differently in the Russian media (which is mostly state-controlled, by the way, and falls into line with govt. policy). For example, this new article from RIA Novosti ("Russian Information Agency News", one of if not the biggest news source in the country) talks about how Hamas officials have called on the Intl. Criminal Court to issue an order for the arrest of Israeli leaders like Shimon Peres, Ekhud Barak, Ekhud Olmert, and Benjamin Netanyahu (all this comes on the heels of the ICC's indictment of Sudan's president for crimes against humanity). Unfortunately, there isn't an English version of the article, but I'll translate the heart of it:

"In an announcement, Hamas said that the ICC should issue an order for the arrest not of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, but for the leaders of Israel, guilty of crimes against the nations of Palestine and Lebanon...During the recent war with Israel, 1300 people, including a few hundred children, were killed in Hamas-controlled Gaza. About 1400 people, the majority of them peaceful civilians, became victims of Israel's war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006. According to Hamas, the 'unjust' decision of the ICC...is yet more evidence that 'with every day the UN is increasingly turning into a tool in the hands of strong states, primarily the U.S.' and serves their interest 'at the cost of weak nations'...."

Here is another article, concerning the recent intl. conference on foreign aid and the reconstruction of Gaza (to which Hamas was not invited). Translated excerpt:

"...'Ignoring the legal power that exists in Gaza [i.e. Hamas] may be seen as a deliberate frustration of the efforts at reconstructing the region,' said official Hamas representative Fauzi Barkhum, whose words were broadcast by the Arab media. According to him, Palestinians consider the aid a humanitarian action and ask that politicization of the question be avoided...In the opinion of observers, the beginning of work on Gaza's reconstruction could get held up, despite all the international efforts, because of the Israeli blockade of the enclave and internal Palestinian antagonisms. ...According to Makhmud Abbas, the international aid should be put at the disposal of the Palestinian Admin. on the West Bank. At the same time, representatives of Hamas believe that the intl. aid should be given directly to those who are governing Gaza..."

At first, I was totally perplexed why Russia would recognize Hamas as a legitimate force in Palestine since they have the same negative discourse about "Islamic terrorism" that we have (recall the protracted debacle with guerilla separatists in Chechnya). Perhaps this is part of Russia's attempt to re-assert its role as a world superpower and a counter-point to the influence of America and her Western allies? Or maybe it's part of a practical solution, as Russian officials claim: "the reconstruction of Palestinian unity is necessary in order to decide urgent questions regarding the overcoming of the destructive consequences of the recent bloodshed in Gaza and, above all, for the attainment of a lasting truce."

Regardless of the motive, articles like these show that currently Hamas is not dismissed (and hence silenced) as a terrorist organization in Russia; nor is the "Arab media" spurned as a tool of the terrorists--it is cited as a source like any other. I would hardly argue that Russia's media is free and progressive, but here is at least a willingness to listen to "the other side" (officially, Russia supports Abbas's regime) and report their point of view to non-Middle Eastern audiences.

BBC News: Gaza homes destruction 'wanton'

While I was looking at the BBC News today, I noticed this article and the accompanying audio slideshow. I felt that, in many ways, it connects well with Rhiannon's post on "who teaches Palestinians to hate" and the "creation" of "terrorists."

The article cites an Amnesty International report that argues that Israel is breaking international law with the destruction of Palestinian homes. The Israelis countered, saying that the destruction was in accordance with international law and the destruction was necessary because of "operational needs." This is contradicted within the article by the citing of Breaking the Silence, which includes testimonies of Israeli soldiers, and the statements that many of the destructions were not necessary and taken out without an immediate threat. In many cases, according to the Amnesty International group, the destruction occured after the Israeli military controlled the area. This, coupled with the fact that few of the homes had legitimate reason to be destroyed (ie, booby trapped, hiding militants, etc), the destruction was "wanton." The Israeli Defense Forces countered the arguments, stating that the terrorist organizations "operated from within the civilian population, using them as a cover and made cynical use of the IDF's strict rules of engagement, opening fire from within civilian population centres, mosques, schools, hospitals and even private residences of citizens in the Gaza Strip... The IDF emphasises that the terrorist organisation, Hamas, and its infrastructure were the target of Operation Cast Lead, and not the civilian population in Gaza." That, however, is difficult for the civilians, and their families, physically, emotionally or psychologically hurt by the destruction caused by the Israeli military.

The audio slideshow focuses on a specific family who's house and livelihood were destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces. The pictures show the destruction of the house while the audio includes the father's commentary on how everything was destroyed when the house was attacked. He couldn't understand why his house was targeted. He had built the house for his wife and seven children to have someplace to be safe. Now that haven is gone and there is no way to rebuild because there is nothing left in Gaza. One of the most poignant comments he makes is, "I hope there will be a future, but I don't see any future." In many ways, these articles connect to Rhiannon's post on the creation of terrorists through, in part, personal experiences and hatred of "the enemy." The idea of losing one's home through a military attack (natural disaster, possibly, military attack no) is often unfathomable in the West/United States but is seemingly common in the Occupied Territories/Palestine. And the West wonders why the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is still so heated and so contested.

After reading the article, I went to the websites of CNN and MSNBC to see if they had reported anything similar to the BBC article citing the Amnesty International findings (that being, the destruction of Palestinian homes or even listing the attacks on Palestinian civilians). Neither sited listed anything. Both, however, listed stories of the Palestinian driver in Jerusalem that drove a construction vehicle into a bus and police car on Thursday. They also listed the missile strikes on a town in southern Israel that prompted retaliation in Gaza. Thus, Israel is defending itself against hostile, barbarous, stubborn Arab neighbors with no emphasis on the other side of the story. The Palestinians are lumped as a single entity, one identified as the terrorist Hamas organization.