From yesterday’s press conference at the State Department:
QUESTION:
. . . You said this is a day for celebration, but there's one element I don't understand why we should celebrate, and that is a group that you say is a terrorist group, that vows to destroy Israel, that is proud of having killed people with suicide bombs, is out in the streets campaigning, has people, you know, having political rallies and celebrating their, you know, election votes. What's good about that?
MR. MCCORMACK:
. . . Our view is that democracy, a well-governed democracy, is the way for the Palestinian people to realize their goal of a Palestinian state. Having democratic elections where there is open, peaceful debate about the future for the Palestinian people is a positive development.
Now, what the Palestinian people do with this opportunity that is presented to them, in part through these elections, is going to be up to them. What decisions their leaders take in terms of what the government looks like, what policies they pursue, is a choice. They have a choice before them.
In order to meet their commitment to commence “sustained, targeted, and effective operations aimed at confronting [Hamas],” they chose Hamas.
The rest is commentary, which has already begun.
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