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Old 11-20-2012, 01:49 PM   #321
Flames Fan, Ph.D.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HPLovecraft View Post
Highly dubious conclusion unless you believe the only goal of Hamas is peace and co-existence with the Israeli state, and these were the the only reasons individuals voted for them.
Agreed insofar as it is a bit of a mind exercise, since we're unlikely to see the day.

But a unified state would nullify two of Hamas' attractions (for lack of a better term):

1) Outright violence in the form of missiles / bombings are no longer necessary under a true one state situation.

2) Civic initiatives like schools / healthcare etc... that Hamas bankrolls will receive national funds.

I see three types of people voting for Hamas today: the violent, the reactionary, and the desperate, yet civic minded (again for lack of a better term). The violent are driven solely by point #1, and always will be. The reactionary will occasionally cling to point #1 but would drop Hamas in a heartbeat if there was peace. For the civic minded, they're holding and their nose voting for Hamas for point #2; they turn a blind eye / are not interested in the violence.

Under a putative single state, only the violent will be served by voting Hamas. Everyone else will migrate away. The violent, as anywhere, are the minority.
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