Dr. Gold, the President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, appeared on Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine this afternoon. Host Amatzia HaEitan asked him whether the expected ascent of Hamas following the Palestinian Authority elections will hurt the PA in the international arena.
Gold responded:
"There will be a great struggle of media spins and public relations in the coming days. Hamas and its parent organization, the Islamic Brotherhood, are viewed differently in various Middle Eastern countries. In Jordan, the Brotherhood is legal, while in Eygpt, it's outlawed. The question is whether Hamas will be perceived as part of the world jihad - or as an organization that can become moderate...
"Israel's position helps mold the world's reaction; the Americans and Europeans first read what is written on the Israeli sites, and then they make their decision. The world certainly won't be more stringent than Israel."
The Hamas terror organization is committed to the destruction of Israel, and has murdered hundreds of Israelis over the past five years.
"It is important to say," Dr. Gold emphasized, "that Hamas is an organization that identifies with the goals of world jihad. [Hamas leader] Mahmoud A-Zahar has said that Hamas victories are supposed to strengthen the mujahidin i [Islamic terrorists] in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Hamas sheikhs provide inspiration for Al-Qaeda...
"Israel [can affect] world considerations, depending on what information it publicizes... For instance, one Israeli site, intelligence.org, shows important information on Hamas, such as the fact that Hamas sees itself as connected with Osama Bin-Laden and the rebels in Chechnya; the world must know this."
Q. "How then must Israel relate to a situation in which Hamas becomes an integral part of the Palestinian Authority? We see that Israel continues to give in in this area."
Gold: "Israel has already dealt with a similar question in the past, and there are strict standards [for contacts with terror organizations]. Even though we allowed the PLO and Arafat in the past to be part of the diplomatic process without giving up terrorism, the standards still exist. The charters calling for Israel's destruction must be changed, and they must give up and condemn the use of terrorism. I don't see Hamas fulfilling these conditions, but Israel must insist on it. Otherwise, there will be those who will try to explain to us that Hamas can become more moderate."
Gold provided a specific example of the tendency to see potential moderation in Hamas:
"In late September 2005, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice appeared in Princeton University and tried to compare Hamas to the IRA in northern Ireland. She said that just like the IRA became more moderate after entering the political process, the same could happen with Hamas.
"In my opinion, this comparison is not at all accurate, since the IRA wanted only to banish the British from Ireland, and did not want to destroy London - while Hamas has a clear agenda for an Islamic contiguity from Egypt to Iraq... Recent statements by Hamas leaders show that it has not given up its principle goal of destroying the State of Israel."
Gold told CNN of Israeli concern that if Hamas gains power, it could "form the basis for a militant Islamic threat against Israel that we have never known before... It simply doesn't work when you have a committed ideological movement like Hamas, which in addition has religious motivation. They can't be tamed by garbage collection."
Gold responded:
"There will be a great struggle of media spins and public relations in the coming days. Hamas and its parent organization, the Islamic Brotherhood, are viewed differently in various Middle Eastern countries. In Jordan, the Brotherhood is legal, while in Eygpt, it's outlawed. The question is whether Hamas will be perceived as part of the world jihad - or as an organization that can become moderate...
"Israel's position helps mold the world's reaction; the Americans and Europeans first read what is written on the Israeli sites, and then they make their decision. The world certainly won't be more stringent than Israel."
The Hamas terror organization is committed to the destruction of Israel, and has murdered hundreds of Israelis over the past five years.
"It is important to say," Dr. Gold emphasized, "that Hamas is an organization that identifies with the goals of world jihad. [Hamas leader] Mahmoud A-Zahar has said that Hamas victories are supposed to strengthen the mujahidin i [Islamic terrorists] in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Hamas sheikhs provide inspiration for Al-Qaeda...
"Israel [can affect] world considerations, depending on what information it publicizes... For instance, one Israeli site, intelligence.org, shows important information on Hamas, such as the fact that Hamas sees itself as connected with Osama Bin-Laden and the rebels in Chechnya; the world must know this."
Q. "How then must Israel relate to a situation in which Hamas becomes an integral part of the Palestinian Authority? We see that Israel continues to give in in this area."
Gold: "Israel has already dealt with a similar question in the past, and there are strict standards [for contacts with terror organizations]. Even though we allowed the PLO and Arafat in the past to be part of the diplomatic process without giving up terrorism, the standards still exist. The charters calling for Israel's destruction must be changed, and they must give up and condemn the use of terrorism. I don't see Hamas fulfilling these conditions, but Israel must insist on it. Otherwise, there will be those who will try to explain to us that Hamas can become more moderate."
Gold provided a specific example of the tendency to see potential moderation in Hamas:
"In late September 2005, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice appeared in Princeton University and tried to compare Hamas to the IRA in northern Ireland. She said that just like the IRA became more moderate after entering the political process, the same could happen with Hamas.
"In my opinion, this comparison is not at all accurate, since the IRA wanted only to banish the British from Ireland, and did not want to destroy London - while Hamas has a clear agenda for an Islamic contiguity from Egypt to Iraq... Recent statements by Hamas leaders show that it has not given up its principle goal of destroying the State of Israel."
Gold told CNN of Israeli concern that if Hamas gains power, it could "form the basis for a militant Islamic threat against Israel that we have never known before... It simply doesn't work when you have a committed ideological movement like Hamas, which in addition has religious motivation. They can't be tamed by garbage collection."