Hamas Wants Weapons, Not Humanitarian Aid

As we all know, following its recent victory in Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas' first diplomatic endeavor was to send a mission to Moscow to meet with Russia. As a member of the quartet, Russia specifically acted against a quartet agreement to not meet with the Hamas government until it recognized Israel's right to exist and the legitimacy of the peace process. Russia, for its part, claimed that the meeting would be used to insist to Hamas that it do just that.

Well, Hamas didn't. But it did get a Russian offer of 50 Armored Personnel Carriers and two helicopters to continue its fight against Israel. That's progress, for Hamas at least, which is used to making its own weapons. But for peace?

Yet it doesn't end there. Instead, Reuters reports, Hamas "political leader" Khaled Meshaal -- and do notice that Reuters lists him as a political leader rather than a leader of Hamas' supposedly separate militant wing -- was recently in Doha, Qatar, urging supporters to send weapons, fighters, and money to the Hamas government to fight Israel -- not food, medicines, and supplies to help the Palestinian people.

This is all while Hamas asserts to Western audiences that it should be treated as a legitimate government. When will it learn that the only way to help its people is to pursue the peace process and accept a two state solution? More importantly, when will those in the West who favor continuing aid to Hamas start to see through Hamas' two-faced rhetoric? Probably never. But one can hope.