Gaza chose terrorism over building a Palestinian paradise
At such dismal times when projectiles are whizzing overhead and hearts are palpitating from the siren call of rockets, with Iron Dome batteries lighting up the sky and the hideous sight of dead Palestinian children paraded in front of TV cameras, let’s engage in a moment of wishful, magical thinking, the alternative universe of what Gaza might have become after Israel had ended its occupation in 2005.
Let’s call it: “It’s a Wonderful Life” for Palestinians, a counter-narrative where warfare and bloodshed never happened because the Gazans were too busy preparing for a new nation. Today, instead of missiles raining down from all directions, Gazans might have been eyeing a bid to host the next World Cup.
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Nothing was inevitable. With Israel’s withdrawal there was a blank slate of possibilities. Today people speak of Israel’s naval blockade and restrictive border crossings (now imposed by Egypt, too) as reasons for why Gaza did not have a free hand in charting its future. But such restrictions on the flow of people and raw materials took place only once it became clear that for Hamas borders and ports are arteries for rockets, artillery, and the kidnapping of soldiers. If the Gazans had spent the last ten years importing equipment with which to build a new nation, there never would have been an Israeli blockade.
While we’re dreaming, it’s important to remember that Gaza is a beachside enclave right on the Mediterranean. For decades it has been an armpit of rubble and dust, but it had the potential to be the harbinger of a Palestinian paradise. If Hamas, fresh from its electoral victory over Fatah, had called up casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, as right-wing a supporter of Israel as there is, and suggested a partnership in casinos all along the strip, rather than firing rockets at civilians and martyring their own, Hamas would have been busy booking Tony Bennett and Britney Spears to headline its hotels for Christmas.
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There was a choice: Nation building or rocket launchings. We know what Gazans chose, a decision that was made permanent when they exercised their electoral franchise and Hamas came to power without city planners, architects, or finance wizards with MBA’s. The message sent to the world was: We’re not ready for statehood. Our diplomacy will focus on blowing things up rather than Palestine rising from the ground. Our tunnels will transport terrorists. All we desire is to obliterate the Zionist enemy with whatever means possible.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.605297
= new reply since forum marked as read
Wasn't addressing you.
I thought you were msongs replying to me. My bad. 
And after Hamas won the fair election they threw all the Palestinian opposition off the rooftops of Gaza and never held an election ever again .
