Doesn't Hamas's Electoral Victory Give Them A Democratic Mandate For War?

[Median Democrat]

Hamas refused to renew the truce. Israel refuses to halt its current offensive. There is a lot of talk directed at the "leadership" but, shouldn't criticism be directly leveled at those Palestinians and Israelis who voted for their respective leaders?

I always hear folks claim that the Israeli/Palestinian people want peace. Okay. So, why do they elect leaders who insist on promoting violence? Does anyone want to make the argument that the Israeli/Palestinian people should not be held accountable for the action of the leaders they democratically elected?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021801571.html

/snip

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 18 -- The radical Islamic group Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament Saturday during a somber swearing-in ceremony, and legislators from the new majority quickly made clear that they would not abide by signed agreements that recognize Israel's right to exist.

In a speech to the new 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, staunchly defended past agreements with Israel, including the 1993 Oslo accords that created the Palestinian Authority and legislature that Hamas entered Saturday. Abbas, the Palestinian Authority's president, called for the immediate renewal of negotiations with the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, declaring, "There is a Palestinian partner" for such talks.

"We, as presidency and government, will continue our commitment to the negotiation process as the sole political, pragmatic and strategic choice through which we reap the fruit of our struggle and sacrifices over the long decades," Abbas told lawmakers gathered here in the government compound known as the Muqata, as well as those who participated by teleconference from the Gaza Strip.

Past agreements with Israel were backed by Abbas's Fatah party, now a minority for the first time. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, maintains that negotiations have failed to achieve Palestinian independence and has favored an armed campaign that has included more than 50 suicide attacks inside Israel during the most recent uprising.

/snip

So, Hamas was elected on the premise that an armed campaign would achieve better results. Given this mandate, isn't it better to let the hostilities continue so that Hamas can deliver on its democratic mandate from the Palestinian electorate?

[stray cat]

1. It was the charter they were elected under and the course they chose to take

[Median Democrat]

2. The Palestinians Chose Hamas Over Fatah - Hamas Has A Prop 8 Type Mandate

While this may be difficult to understand from our perspetive, is this too different from the U.S. where millions of Americans voted for George Bush even after it was proved that the Iraq war was based on a fraudulent intelligence?

The media would like to blame the leaders, but what do the people on the ground in Israel and Gaza want? Do they really want peace? Or, perhaps, the average palestinian version of Joe the Plumber wants to wipe out Israel, and perhaps the Israeli version of Joe the Plumber just wants to wipe out all Palestinians. Perhaps the "leaders" are actually the most civilized voices in this conflict, and the Palestianian Joe Six-Packs want to seriously rumble.

Can you see Joe the Plumber saying we need to negotiate? Perhaps Hamas actually does have a democratic mandate from the Palestinian people to try to wipe out Israel. I am sure if they gathered signatures Proposition 8 style amongst Palestinians, a majority of them would vote "Death to Israel." Likewise, it would be interesting to see a Prop 8 referendum among Israelis regarding whether or not to halt this offensive.