The leader of the Palestinian militant Hamas government in Gaza has condemned the United States for killing al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.(Update: In Arabic he called Bin laden a "mujahid" - a holy warrior.)
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says the operation is "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs."
Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza on Monday that although Hamas had its differences with al-Qaida, his group condemns the assassination of "a Muslim and Arabic warrior" and prays that bin Laden's "soul rests in peace."
This is the group that Jimmy Carter believes is the key to peace.
Based on my years of contacts with Fatah and Hamas, I am confident that, if handled creatively and flexibly by the international community, Hamas' return to unified Palestinian governance can increase the likelihood of a two-state solution and a peaceful outcome.
Jimmy believes that a group that considers Bin Laden a warrior and hero, and that shoots guided missiles at schoolbuses, is going to make peace. What a tool.
Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad's Palestine Today's headline on Osama Bin Laden's death reads "Martyrdom of "the leader of al Qaeda" bin Laden through a precise operation, and the United States has his body."
Islamic Jihad, it will be recalled, hosted a reconciliation meeting between Hamas and Fatah last week. So they must be a great group by Carter's standards as well, since they also encourage the PA to include radical Islamist terror groups into its government.
Someone should really ask "The Elders" what their official position on the assassination of Bin Laden is. Since their entire shtick is that they are so old that they can speak their minds without any political pressure (sort of like Helen Thomas), it would be most enlightening to see if Carter condemns it as an extrajudicial killing in another country and an illegal act.