CBS Incorrectly Claims Hamas Was Elected to Power in Gaza


By Brad Wilmouth | November 22, 2012 | 17:20



One of the recurring myths sometimes repeated about the Gaza Strip's relationship with Hamas is that the terrorist group gained control through the electoral process. On both the Monday and Tuesday editions of the CBS Evening News, anchor Scott Pelley devoted a brief segment to providing background information on the Gaza Strip. And, on both nights, he erroneously suggested that Hamas came to power through election. (Video below)

But, in reality, Hamas came to control the Gaza Strip by staging a violent coup in June 2007 overthrowing the rival Fatah party's executive authority. After Hamas narrowly won the popular vote in the Janaury 2006 parliamentary elections, Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party was still the legitimate president for both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas overthrew Fatah's executive authority in the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade.

After Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament in January 2006, Israel had joined with the Quartet entities -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia -- in imposing economic sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, affecting both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But, after the Hamas coup in Gaza in 2007, sanctions affecting the West Bank were lifted to assist Fatah, while the blockade was imposed on the Gaza Strip to weaken Hamas.

Returning to Monday's CBS Evening News, Pelley began the segment, which displayed a map of Israel and the Gaza Strip as he spoke:



We wanted to remind you tonight of what Gaza is and how it came to be. The Gaza Strip was laid out in 1949 after the war that created Israel. It's home to Palestinians displaced in that war and to the generations that followed. Only 25 miles long, roughly 10 miles wide, Gaza's population is 1.7 million, most of them living in poverty.

Without explaining that Israel launched a preemptive strike in the 1967 Six Day War because Egypt, Jordan and Syria had amassed troops next to Israel's border and were likely about to invade, Pelley continued:

Israel captured Gaza in 1967 and occupied it until 2005.

Then came his suggestion that Hamas came to power through the democratic process as he concluded:

One year later, the Hamas political party won the election there. The U.S. says the Hamas military wing is a terrorist organization.

The year "2006" displayed on screen, which is the year Hamas won parliamentary elections, but not the year when they staged the coup against President Abbas, which was 2007.

Notably, on Tuesday's show, during a similarly worded segment, the year "2006" on screen from the previous night was changed to "2007" as the year when Hamas supposedly was elected to power. The June 2007 coup by Hamas was still not mentioned.

Also of note, during a CBS Evening News report in July 2011, correspondent Barry Peterson had similarly claimed incorrectly that Hamas was elected to power in the Gaza Strip. Peterson:

The Israelis blockaded Gaza in 2007 after the terrorist group Hamas won elections, and Israel maintains tight control of its checkpoints as Egypt does from its side.


Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2012/11/22/cbs-incorrectly-claims-hamas-was-elected-power-gaza#ixzz2D3NrGe2z

It seems the democratic right of the people to vote in their government of choice is a wonderful thing that everyone supports...until the people choose a government somebody doesn't like.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600372.html

The political situation regarding the politics of Palestine is contentious to say the least and goes far beyond the scope of any simplistic editorial opinion. Propagandists on either side can (and do) have a heyday with it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_general_election,_2012

Some people cant seem to handle the reelecting of President Obama, some are even talking seceeding, why would I care on the legitimacy of the election of another country when in my country we are in our own turmoil, obviousely no where near the level in Gaza or Israel. Frankly I could careless how Hamas got to power. We would be wise to stay out of others business, even if that country are partners, I doubt they care two bits about us or who we elect.

Israel's long-standing relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood was instrumental in the founding of an offshoot organization, Hamas.


According to Robert Dreyfuss, author of "Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam":

"And beginning in 1967 through the late 1980s, Israel helped the Muslim Brotherhood establish itself in the occupied territories. It assisted Ahmed Yassin, the leader of the Brotherhood, in creating Hamas, betting that its Islamist character would weaken the PLO."

Of course The Jewish Federations of North America, Inc. tells it differently and denies that they created Hamas. "Israel had nothing to do with the creation of Hamas. The organization grew out of the ideology and practice of the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood movement that arose in Egypt in the 1920s.

Hamas was legally registered in Israel in 1978 as an Islamic Association by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. Initially, the organization engaged primarily in social welfare activities and soon developed a reputation for improving the lives of Palestinians, particularly the refugees in the Gaza Strip."

According to Charles Freeman, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, "Israel started Hamas. It was a project of Shin Bet [Isreali domestic intelligence agency], which had a feeling that they could use it to hem in the PLO."

The Muslim Brotherhood, and its many manifestations like Hamas,Al Qaeda and bin Laden, serve as an ever-present and manufactured "terrorist" threat, used constantly as a pretext to justify repressive measures at home and expanded imperialistic objectives abroad.

Because, despite all the rhetoric about the threat of "political Islam", unbeknownst to the general public, the manipulation of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the world is still a mainstay of American foreign policy.

I have little faith that our elections are fair. Electronic voting machines can easily be programmed to elect anyone and the programming code cannot be detected by your average election volunteer.

The money and power brokers know who they want to be in charge of their corporation (The United States of America is a corporation) and they are not about to let the people (sheeple) elect the candidate of their choice. They have been buying presidents ever since they came into power.

Iran!
Hamas,Muslim Brotherhood!

Twas bryllyg, and ye slythy toves
Did gyre and gymble in ye wabe:
All mimsy were ye borogoves;
And ye mome raths outgrabe.

Myth and Fact: The Creation of Hamas

Dr. Mitchell Bard



Myth:

"Israel created Hamas."

Fact:

Israel had nothing to do with the creation of Hamas. The The organization grew out of the ideology and practice of the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood movement that arose in Egypt in the 1920s.

Hamas was legally registered in Israel in 1978 as an Islamic Association by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. Initially, the organization engaged primarily in social welfare activities and soon developed a reputation for improving the lives of Palestinians, particularly the refugees in the Gaza Strip.

Though Hamas was committed from the outset to destroying Israel, it took the position that this was a goal for the future, and that the more immediate focus should be on winning the hearts and minds of the people through its charitable and educational activities. Its funding came primarily from Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The PLO was convinced that Israel was helping Hamas in the hope of triggering a civil war. Since Hamas did not engage in terror at first, Israel did not see it as a serious short-term threat, and some Israelis believed the rise of fundamentalism in Gaza would have the beneficial impact of weakening the PLO, and this is what ultimately happened.

Hamas certainly didn't believe it was being supported by Israel. As early as February 1988, the group put out a primer on how its members should behave if confronted by the Shin Bet. Several more instructional documents were distributed by Hamas to teach followers how to confront the Israelis and maintain secrecy.

Israel's assistance was more passive than active; that is, it did not interfere with Hamas activities or prevent funds from flowing into the organization from abroad. Israel also may have provided some funding to allow its security forces to infiltrate the organization. Meanwhile, Jordan was actively helping Hamas, with the aim of undermining the PLO and strengthening Jordanian influence in the territories.

Though some Israelis were very concerned about Hamas before rioting began in December 1987, Israel was reluctant to interfere with an Islamic organization, fearing that it might trigger charges of violating the Palestinians' freedom of religion. It was not until early in the intifada, when Hamas became actively involved in the violence, that the group began to be viewed as a potentially greater threat than the PLO. The turning point occurred in the summer of 1988 when Israel learned that Hamas was stockpiling arms to build an underground force and Hamas issued its covenant calling for the destruction of Israel. At this point it became clear that Hamas was not going to put off its jihad to liberate Palestine and was shifting its emphasis from charitable and educational activity to terrorism. Israel then began to crack down on Hamas and wiped out its entire command structure. Hamas has been waging a terror war against Israel ever since.





http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=64336

Who is the terrorist organization, Hamas, Israel, or both?

I agree.

Well let's see... Israel "wiped out Hamas's entire command structure"
..Does that qualify as terrorist activity?

Did they arrest the Hamas "criminals" and give them a fair trial? Nope. By "wiped out" does that mean they just assassinated them? Probably.

So why are they so shocked, horrified and surprised that Hamas has been waging war on them ever since? What do they expect?

Israel creates its own enemies, pisses people off and then cries like a baby and screams "terrorist!" if anyone fights back.

you must be happy, another opportunity to slam Israel! i see the hate is in full swing today...

Is Israel "slammed" by somebody's opinion based on facts? If so, it must be true that the pen is far mightier than the sword.

Who's hate is in full swing today?

i see no "facts", just someones hateful opinion... can you or anyone else prove any of this garbage is true? i already know you can't, so are you just wanting to argue, or do you have any kind of evidence besides someones hateful, snide comments?

What would you expect the Jewish Federation to say about this? They, as always, refuse to take any responsibility for the reason they are so hated.

If they were as nice and as innocent as they would like the world to believe, they would not have so many enemies.

Israel was founded on terrorism. Why do you think they would change their methods?

They supported Hamas and funded Hamas to fight another one of their enemies. These are the facts.

From your cut and paste post above:

"Israel's assistance was more passive than active; that is, it did not interfere with Hamas activities or prevent funds from flowing into the organization from abroad. Israel also may have provided some funding to allow its security forces to infiltrate the organization."

Note how they try to minimize their support and funding here: ..."Israel also may have provided some funding to allow its security forces to infiltrate the organization."

That statement illustrates two things. YES they funded Hamas. (not "may have funded Hamas.") And: their method of Operation (as always) is to "INFILTRATE" the organization.

Infiltration is what they do best. They even infiltrated the Catholic Church, the American government, etc. Infiltration is their most powerful weapon.

"More passive than active" means they infiltrated and funded "covertly" so as not to be too obvious.

RE: "i see no facts...."

Typical. You are blind to the facts as always.

Israel slams itself enough as it is. All one has to do is point out their deeds.

maybe, but the "deeds" you are pointing out are never confirmed, just some print you happen to find on the jew hating sites... i'll even use your words here... prove any of it...

Never is a strong word. Please be more specific.
I have the same access to the news as you do. How would you suggest a 'deed' be confirmed?

how ignorant... they are surrounded on all sides by a religion that hates them, and you say it's Israels fault... every country in the world does covert operations, but only Israel is evil... oh yea, the US too, because they back Israel... you sound like every muslim i have ever talked to, except they openly admit they hate jews, where you can't admit it...