Israel's new neighbor to be state of Taliban?

GANEI TAL, Gaza – With prime minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza evacuation plan drawing closer, and Hamas swiftly gaining power in the area, analysts are worried the terror group will use its gains to impose a Taliban-like Islamist regime neighboring Israel.

The Palestinian Authority announced yesterday it will hold talks with Hamas and other terror groups regarding the possibility of a "national unity government" that will incorporate the various violent factions. PA leaders have repeatedly expressed concern over Hamas' growing popularity on the Palestinian street, particularly in Gaza, where the terror group has made strong showings in local elections.

With PA leader Mahmoud Abbas reportedly weakened in Gaza, Mideast experts have noted Hamas – which now fires an average of three rockets or mortars per day at Gaza's Jewish communities – is quickly filling the void.

Yudit Barsky, director of the division on Middle East and International Terrorism at the American Jewish Committee, told WND, "Hamas has become the de facto ruler of Gaza's cities. It has used social welfare organizations in competition to the lesser or nonexistent services of the P.A. to garner support for its political candidates. The result is that Hamas has outstripped the P.A. in providing services to the Palestinian population, and is now reaping the political windfall of that investment in Gaza."

The terror group has long administered social services in Gaza, including medical, charitable and educational resources. Hamas also maintains a civilian infrastructure in Gaza that owns several shopping centers and local businesses, sources say.

But lately there have been alarming signs Hamas plans to use its newfound control to enforce Taliban-like rules on Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants.

There were widespread reports during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan of "morality police" enforcing Islamic extremist laws, including the public stoning of suspected adulterers, cutting off the arms of thieves, banning education and work for females, and the imposing of harsh sentences for those in possession of "disgraceful material," such as Western music or books.

Reuven Erlich, director of Israel's Center for Special Studies, a think tank associated with Israeli intelligence, told WND, "Now with Hamas more confident, we are seeing its true nature come out more. They are starting to impose on the local population similar laws [to the Taliban]."

This weekend, a Hamas-run council in the West Bank barred an open-air music and dance festival, saying it was against Islam.

"This is not acceptable," said festival head Eman Hamouri, accusing Hamas of trying to force its values on others. "We condemn this and we have sought the help of the Palestinian parliament to discuss this serious issue."

Senior intelligence sources told WND Hamas in Gaza has established hard-line Islamic courts and created the Hamas Anti-Corruption Group, which sources describe as a kind of "morality police" operating within Hamas' organization.

Hamas has denied the existence of the anti-corruption group. But it recently carried out a high-profile "honor killing" widely covered by the Palestinian media.

On April 8, Yusra al-Azzami, a young female university student from Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, was caught by Hamas, together with another female, riding in a vehicle with two men. The Hamas members, reportedly officers of the Anti-Corruption Group, suspected the vehicle occupants of "immoral behavior" and shot at the car, killing al-Azzami and wounding the other occupants.

Hamas, though, made a mistake. According to Palestinian media reports, in the car with al-Azzami was her sister, her fiancee and her sister's fiancee. The group said they were returning from finalizing preparations for al-Azzami's upcoming wedding.

The matter, according to the Palestinian media, was settled in Hamas' hard-line Gaza Islamic court, not through the Palestinian Authority's official judicial system. The terror group announced it agreed to pay al-Azzami's family $35,000 for the wrongful death.

Said Erlich: "The tragic 'mistaken' murder of al-Azzami demonstrated several alarming factors. Among them that Hamas is imposing Islamic law and order, and also that they have their own Islamic courts and enforcement system."

"[The episode] illustrates the methods of Hamas, which operates in the Gaza Strip like an alternative Palestinian Authority, forcing the local population to accept radical Islamic codes of behavior. Hamas can do as it pleases, among other reasons, because of the of the weakness of the PA and its enforcement agencies," said Erlich.

Barsky added, "The Palestinians are falling for the same trick the Taliban pulled in Afghanistan. Hamas has set itself up as the non-corrupt alternative to the PA. It provides important social services the Palestinian population enjoys. But once Hamas gains control, it will pull the rug out and impose the same harsh lifestyle as the Taliban. The Palestinians clearly have not learned the lessons of the Taliban's rise to power.

Next month, Israel plans to evacuate the Jewish communities of Gaza. Critics worry the withdrawal will be seen as a reward for Palestinian terrorism and argue territories evacuated by Israel will be used by Hamas to stage attacks against the Jewish state.

Hamas regularly fires rockets and mortars at Gaza's Jewish communities. As the Aug. 15 evacuation draws closer, the rocket attacks are expected to increase exponentially so Hamas can claim to its supporters it drove Israel from Gaza, security analysts contend.

A confidential Hamas memo written by Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and obtained last summer by WorldNetDaily, stated the terror group views Sharon's unilateral withdrawal as a capitulation to terror and is planning to continue its "armed struggle" against the Jewish state until "all territories" are in Palestinian hands.

"The withdrawal, if it is implemented, is an important achievement by the Palestinian people, its intifada and armed struggle, its determination and great sacrifice, and confirms the willingness, correctness and usefulness of employing an armed struggle and its ability to attain political objectives," wrote al-Zahar.

Said a senior Israeli security source, "If the Palestinian population had its wits about them, they would oppose Israel's withdrawal because once Hamas gets into power, the way of life in Gaza will change in a shocking way. Soon, Palestinians there will be living in Hamas' version of Afghanistan during the Taliban's harsh rule."

Editor's note: "ISRAEL BETRAYED?" – the July issue of WND's acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine – is devoted entirely to an in-depth exploration of the controversial forced removal of thousands of Jewish residents from Gaza planned for August, and the likely creation of a Hamas-run terror state many believe will follow. Read more about "ISRAEL BETRAYED?"