Remember Hamas's journo-bus tour? (see: Hamas's Magical Misery Bus Tour and Butcher on the Bus) Looks like the press wasn't exactly falling for the show: Time: Gazapalooza Summer '07
...First off, we went straight to the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. In contrast to Fatah leaders and their gangsta-fabulous lifestyles, Hanniya and his family still actually live in the 'hood -- in this case Beach Camp, a poor district in Gaza City for refugees from the '48 war. Still, it all got a little thick when Haniyeh himself appeared on the terrace above the journalist throng. I half-expected him to throw roses or start singing: "Don't cry for me Argentina! The truth is I never left you."...
Of course, that doesn't stop them from singing Hamas's praises under their own will:
...as heavy-handed as the Hamas PR was, it pretty much checks out. I've been in Gaza since Thursday reporting on my own without Hamas. For the first time in years, civil society is returning to Gaza thanks to the security provided by the 5,000 members of the Hamas Executive Force, a paramilitary unit that has taken over the policing the 1.4 million people of Gaza. Less than two months ago, Gaza was one of the most dangerous places in the world. But within a week after the Hamas takeover, the crime, the violence, the tribal clashes, the kidnappings and murders by in large ended. This is surely one of the world's most impressive law enforcement achievements, and the fact that it was done so quickly with so few people is a testament to the corruption and collusion that was endemic among the 70,000 or so members of the Palestinian security forces in Gaza who were financed by America and mostly loyal to Fatah.
The new security in Gaza partly explains why there were so many journalists on this tour. After the kidnapping of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, Gaza was a no-go area for us. Now Alan is free and a banner hangs in front of the main press building in Gaza city: "No more threat to our foreign visitors and guests -- Hamas." There is a new sheriff in Gaza.
That sheriff is more Stalin than Earp. Hamas knows, like any good totalitarian, that their hopes are hinged on order at home and violence focused outward.
