The AP: Wilfully blind, ignorant, and stupid

Wow. Just when I think the AP can’t get any dumber, they surprise me. Get a load of this drek put forth as analysis of what Hamas’ position on Israel is:

JERUSALEM (AP) – Islamic Hamas militants who swept the Palestinian parliamentary election have a clear domestic agenda: purging government corruption and restoring order to lawless streets. But they are much murkier when it comes to explaining how they’ll deal with a Jewish state whose existence they reject – but cannot ignore.

“What their real agenda is I can’t say,” said Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi, a former Fatah legislator re-elected to parliament on a small party list. “I don’t think they have it fully formulated.

“We know what they say, they want all of Palestine (including Israel) and say that negotiations did not work,” Ashrawi said. “They talk about wanting reform. That doesn’t mean they will do it.”

Funny, that sounds like a real agenda to me.

“Hamas can’t deal with people’s daily life without coordinating and dealing with Israel,” Okal said.

One way to do that would be by inviting Fatah to join its government and let Fatah deal with Israel – an idea Fatah rejected on Thursday. Another would be to abandon its violent ideology.

Since the election, Hamas leaders have signaled things could go either way.

Really? They have? How?

One leader, Mushir al-Masri, said recognizing Israel and negotiating with it are “not on our agenda.” But Mahmoud Zahar, the group’s top leader in Gaza, said he was ready to maintain the ceasefire if Israel does likewise.

Okay, let’s see if we can work out the logic here. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. This is its stated goal. They say that they will neither recognize nor negotiate with Israel. But they might–maybe–could possibly extend the ceasefire (but only if Israel doesn’t assassinate any of their people on their way to blowing up Israelis). And this constitutes “things could go either way”?

No. Once more, the AP whitewashes terrorists’ words and deeds.

Yoram Schweitzer, an Israeli expert on terror, said he expected Hamas to be its pragmatic self where Israel is concerned.

“In principle, they will say they want all the lands back. Pragmatically, they will accept Israel’s existence,” Schweitzer said. “They will strive not to recognize it officially, and will be willing to accept it in the interim until a final decision is made by future generations.”

And we base this opinion on…? What, something like this, which was said only two days ago?

“Negotiations with Israel is not on our agenda,” said Mushir al-Masri, who won election in his home district in the northern Gaza Strip. “Recognizing Israel is not on the agenda either now.”

That’s from an AP story. Reuters buries this near the very end of its story, but at least Reuters isn’t trying to cover up the truth about Hamas’ goals:

Hamas has mostly respected a truce for nearly a year, but says it will not give up its guns or its charter demand for an Islamic state to encompass Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

If only the world worked the way the AP wished it worked, instead of how it actually does.