I’ve been involved in some great discussions over the results of the Palestinian election and listened to many valid points from all sides. Initially I stated that I did not recognize the validity of the new Hamas-dominated government but perhaps that was an incorrect choice of words. But before I get to that I want to preface it by saying I’d like to know how many Palestinians voted for Hamas candidates because they support the policies of Hamas and how many were merely anti-Fatah votes?

It’s no secret that Fatah as an organization is as corrupt as they come. Palestinian politics is dominated by criminals and thugs and Fatah ranks right up there. Since Oslo, the west has given the PA billions of dollars the vast majority of which was stolen and diverted to the accounts of Arafat and his cronies. For this I criticize the west. We knew what was going on but turned a blind eye. Europe even continued its funding. It was only a matter of time before the Palestinian people reached a point of enough is enough and acted. And act they did. The only problem faced by voters was the list of available candidates - the pickings were rather slim. As I said earlier, Palestinian politics is dominated by criminals and thugs. They didn’t have much to choose from. Speaking to friends in Israel I was told that many voters engaged in an anti-Fatah protest vote. Yes, believe it or not my Israeli friends do have Palestinian friends.

That said, the result is the same regardless of the motivation behind it. We now have terrorists in power. So where do we go from here? My first reaction was to deny the validity of the new government. After further thought I came to the realization that perhaps this was not a proper choice of words. By all accounts this was a fair election, it was not stacked in favour of one group over another. Voters were not forced to choose one candidate over another. It then stands to reason the result of this fair election must be valid. Do we refuse to recognize the duly elected government simply on the basis of our contempt for them? Nobody is denying that they are brutal killers but they were elected by the people. It’s not realistic for us to refuse to recognize elected governments because we don’t like them - that is an affront to democracy. If we follow that logic than governments across the entire middle east and Africa are in danger, the majority of which were not even elected at all. We may as well start drawing up our hit list.

But ones recognition of the new government is not synonymous with its endorsement. No one is forcing us to interact or to deal with them. In other words, while I may recognize them I may also refuse to extend diplomatic relations to them. I may refuse to engage in trade with them. I may refuse to participate in any form of dialogue with them. That is my right. I think the proper course of action to take is immediate isolation until such time as Hamas renounces violence. Until they abandon their goal of Israeli destruction. If they refuse then their isolation will continue.

I’m also keenly aware of the fact that Hamas may simply say what we want to hear while they “outsource” their terrorist ways to someone else ala Arafat. Yasser was a master of this. He said all of the right things for the benefit of western ears but his words took on a decidedly different meaning altogether when spoken to Arab ears. Of course he also played the not me card each time a brave Holy Warriorâ„¢ murdered some young people at a pizza joint or some bus commuters on their way to work. We could very well end up back at square one - just insert Hamas in place of the PLO. Nothing has really changed.

Which is where isolation comes in. It’s also of the utmost importance that Palestinian citizens get involved in the political process. It’s interesting to see many of them now demanding the resignation of the corrupt Fatah leaders. This is a step in the right direction. Moderates must become involved if the Palestinians ever hope to achieve statehood. It will never happen so long as Hamas and their kind hold the reigns of power. The destiny of the people is in their own hands.