by Zalman Shoval
According to unconfirmed reports from
Washington, the U.S. intends to recognize the Palestinian unity government when
it is established, even if Hamas does not accept the Quartet's conditions
(recognition of Israel, cessation of terror and adherence to past
Israeli-Palestinian agreements). The official excuse will be that the
Palestinian government will be one comprised of "technocrats," that is to say
experts, not political figures. This argument is not exactly convincing, as half
of the ministers will be appointed by Hamas, a group that the U.S. itself has
defined as a terrorist organization. The practical result is that the U.S. will
ipso facto become a dialogue partner with a terrorist government.
We do not know yet who the experts
(experts in what?) will be in the Palestinian government, but it must be assumed
that they will not deviate from the line Hamas dictates to them.
In 1991, Israel demanded that the
Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference not include official
representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, but the U.S. chose to
turn a blind eye to the fact that the members of the Palestinian delegation were
receiving daily orders from the PLO headquarters in Tunis.
This time, Israel has decided not to
play the game of false appearances, and it expected that the U.S. would take a
similar position (Israel's demand would have been more credible and effective
had all of its government ministers stood behind it). But, as mentioned before,
it appears that Jerusalem's expectations on this matter will not be met by
Washington.
"So why does Israel insist on
rejecting Hamas?" some will ask. "At one time, it was also forbidden to talk
with the PLO, and now it is a dialogue partner on everything." This is indeed
true, but the PLO and Fatah accepted, at least outwardly, certain rules and
commitments, particularly regarding terrorism and violence, that enabled the ban
on talking with them to be lifted. Hamas, on the other hand, has never forsworn
terrorism. If, on occasion, Hamas has offered a "hudna" or agreed to a temporary
halt of violence against Israel, this was only after the Israeli military had
dealt it heavy blows or was about to. Moreover, at the Wye River Conference in
1998, Israel said that for the Palestinian commitment to peace to earn at least
minimal credibility, the Palestinians would have to cancel clauses in the
Palestinian National Charter that denied Israel's right to exist and did not
recognize the Jews as a people. Then-President Bill Clinton justifiably backed
the Israeli demand, and the relevant clauses were annulled, at least in
theory.
Israel thought President Barack Obama
would follow that path and not have any contact, direct or indirect, with a
Palestinian government that included Hamas unless it were to accept the
Quartet's conditions and also cancel its jihadist charter that calls for
Israel's destruction and is laced with anti-Semitic statements.
I will not go into the various
theories regarding the Palestinian "reconciliation" or the doubts about the
veracity or durability of this dubious move, but it is not inconceivable that
this time Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leaders are
striving for something more than just an appearance of unity.
It certainly may be that the move
will set the needle in the direction of extremism, rather than moderation. Hamas
officials have made it clear that they plan to follow the "Hezbollah model" from
Lebanon. That is to say it will place a very limited role in civilian and
administrative matters, but will reserve for itself total freedom of action as a
"popular resistance organization." The implication is clear: gaining political
legitimacy while maintaining the terror option.
The question remains as to whether Obama has
internalized lessons from the mistake made by former President George W. Bush's
administration (the pressure it put on Israel to agree to Palestinian elections
in which Hamas took part) or from his own mistakes regarding the Arab Spring and
his support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama must not err again now in regard
to a Palestinian government that includes Hamas.
Zalman Shoval
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8535
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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