All the news that's fit to scare us

And I did deliberately parody the NYT tagline.

I notice that this item (from the Henry Jackson Society - good guys on the Middle east - check out the reason for their name via their website) hasn't been referenced on the Simply site. So, although it's almost 3 weeks old, here goes.

The Society took its story from Ha'aretz (Snoopy, you're slipping: it's your job - and Gideon's of course - to keep an eye on these things, not leave it to someone 2000 miles away), and they head it "Will Hamas Ever Moderate?" You don't need me to tell you the answer to that (rhetorical) question.

Early in the article is this quote: "According to a Haaretz report last week, a secret vote in Hamas was conducted to elect new members to the group’s political bureau and Shura Council. The results saw Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Hamas’ administrative wing in the Gaza Strip, get elected to head the movement’s political bureau in Gaza." Translation: real hard-liners elected to replace/control not quite such hard-liners.

And this is important because? Well, because "Haniyeh is a noted hardliner who is less amenable to finding a political solution with Hamas’ Palestinian political rival Fatah or Israel for that matter."

It's not good, but it's hardly news, even if we do need to to be told.

By Brian Goldfarb.