In a recent report published in Maariv, Ofer Shilah, wonders whether the Israeli army intends to attack Gaza or not, confirming that neither Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, nor his Defence Minister Ehud Barak, believe that such an attack is beneficial. Had they believed in it, Shilah writes, they would have attacked a long time ago.
Thus, as he believes it is futile to remove Hamas government by force, he also insists that it is imperative to talk to Hamas. While a majority of Israelis and none-Israelis think this way, many others think the opposite. Robert Satloff, Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is an example of those who oppose talking to Hamas. "Engaging Hamas" Satloff wrote, "also would knock the wind out of Abbas' administration, essentially throwing the Palestinians to the wolves of Hamas. ... Unsatisfying as it may be, the right course for US policymakers is to persist in the strategy adopted after Hamas' Gaza putsch last summer." In face of such viewpoints that openly encourage Palestinian schism, we do commend the Palestinian President's last initiative (June 5, 2008) for a dialogue with Hamas.
The question of engaging with Gaza/Hamas today is most urgent. Gaza is a human disaster caused by a harsh Israeli and international blockade, by a continued Israeli military aggression and by a national schism, both geographic and political. All this is apt to lead to radical reactions that may not be confined to the Gaza strip, but may 'radiate' into Israel, the West Bank and the whole neighbourhood. Besides, it is of paramount importance for everybody's interests to keep Hamas united because there will be one clear address to deal with, especially as Hamas has shown interest in being a partner, something that will eventually lead it to accepting international facts, not what Israel wants to impose.
With regard to the Palestinian interests, the Gaza-Hamas question is one of top priority because one can notice an inclination on Hamas' part toward compromised solutions based on the principle of being a partner. This can be clearly read in Hamas' call for the Arab Quartet to mediate in Palestinian reconciliation. Important though they may be, negotiations with Israel while neglecting a central partner, like Hamas, will promise no fruits.
Timely call
Frankly speaking, what cannot be stomached by many observers and Palestinians is the exaggerated tolerance on the part of Palestinian National Authority in their negotiations with the Israelis, while this tolerance vanishes at the mention of Hamas. This will naturally instill in the Israeli mind that any peace agreement must be based on Palestinian divide; and that is why Abbas' recent call for a comprehensive Palestinian dialogue was timely.
It must be emphasised that such a dialogue will bolster the Palestinian position in the negotiation process, and a Palestinian schism will never let any party achieve a permanent peaceful agreement. Our call for reconciliation with Hamas stems from its popularity and, therefore, its ability to thwart any peaceful efforts that ignore its role.
At the official Arab level, the merits of reconciliation with Hamas are quite obvious. A continued Arab ignoring of this movement means one thing: pushing Hamas towards the Iranians, while its ready acceptance of any Arab, particularly Egyptian mediation, is an indication of its Arab inclination and commitment. Egypt, in fact, possesses a noted influence on Hamas policy, which has been noticed in the series of activities lead by Cairo: Sponsoring Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue and the continued mediation to forge peace with Israel.
On the international level, France took the lead when Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, talked about French contacts with Hamas, confirming that they were "not the only ones to have them." While these contacts enraged the USA who described it as unwise and improper, Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP, commented on Kouchner's statement by saying, "All that Bernard Kouchner has done is admit in public what everybody is thinking in private." That is, he said, "There can be no solution to the Middle East conflict without dialogue with Hamas." In another occasion, he said that his group welcomes "President Abbas's commitment to dialogue," confirming that "if we had not refused dialogue with Hamas moderates ... the situation would not be as bad as it is today."
According to Socialist MEP Véronique De Keyser, Europe's "anti-Hamas front began collapsing" in March, when Brussels and Washington backed Egypt's efforts to mediate a truce, through Hamas, Abbas and Israel. Other senior EU officials, like Slovanian Foreign Minister, Dimitri Rupel, whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency have also made allusion to possible contacts with Hamas.
In return, Hamas is expected to exert a greater effort for establishing a Palestinian national and political entente. Its success in soliciting the recognition of certain countries, like Russia and China, and to convince others, like France, to establish a dialogue with it, emanated from Hamas' image as a potential moderate Islamic force. This is why the latter should understand that its credibility, specifically before the 2006 elections, was due to its ability to offer needed services to the poorer sector of the society as well as its moderate Islamic ideology that keeps with the general trend of society and the international community. Therefore, Hamas has to strengthen or rebuild mutual understanding with the other Palestinian organisations, particularly Fatah, for it was they who had suggested, lobbied for and accelerated the last Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue initiative of President Abbas.
Professor As'ad Abdul Rahman is the Chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopedia.
