Any doubt about how the United States makes its policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be dispelled by the Obama administration's near-instant reaction to the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation announcement: it is determined to be fully in sync with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Without even hearing the details of the agreement, the White House, as reported in the New York Times, "all but dismissed" it:
The White House, which has been debating how best to revive peace talks ahead of an address to Congress next month by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all but dismissed the proposed reconciliation by reiterating the longstanding American designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization that has never expressed a willingness to recognize Israel, let alone negotiate with it.
"As we have said before, the United States supports Palestinian reconciliation on terms which promote the cause of peace," Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in the administration's only public response. "Hamas, however, is a terrorist organization which targets civilians."
He added that any Palestinian government had to accept certain principles announced by international negotiators known as the Quartet: the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. They include renouncing violence, abiding by past agreements with the Israelis and recognizing Israel's right to exist. Hamas has never agreed to those conditions.
Then Congress spoke. Gary Ackerman, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a pro- Netanyahu stalwart, weighed in on the agreement:
"It calls into question everything we have done," Representative Gary L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, said in a telephone interview. He later issued a statement saying the United States would be compelled by "both law and decency" to cut off all aid.
"I don't think there is any will on the part of the administration or the Congress to provide funds to a government that is dominated by a dedicated terrorist organization," he said.
On a roll, Ackerman then said that the deal "will be paid for with the lives of innocent Israelis." Ackerman, like most of his colleagues, never seems to notice all the innocent Palestinians who die at Israeli hands (many, many more than the number of Israelis who are killed by Palestinians), as evidenced by his cheerleading for the Gaza war. Nor did he care that he did not know the terms of the Fatah-Hamas agreement.
Of course, Ackerman's statement is typical of the congressional response. In fact, one of the reasons that AIPAC cutouts like Ackerman are first to issue press releases on any matter related to Israel is to set the tone for their colleagues by indicating what the right (i.e., politically safe) position is.
But the position itself is dead wrong.
The right position would be to simply wait and see what the Hamas-Fatah agreement says. Already today, Haaretz is reporting that, under the terms of the agreement, President Mahmoud Abbas will be handling negotiations for any new unity government. (As usual, the Israeli view of events in its own region is not as stridently "pro-Israel" as in Washington.)
Considering that even Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly praised Abbas for his commitment to peace, it is just possible that Hamas will, following Abbas's lead, change its position in coming days.
Unfortunately, the U.S. reaction to the Hamas-Fatah agreement makes any such change less likely.
In fact, the administration's demand that Hamas recognize Israel in advance of any negotiations with Israel could well ensure that there won't be any. So could our demand that it accept all previous agreements negotiated by the Palestinian Authority.
All of these issues would naturally be addressed in the context of negotiations. Demanding that Hamas accept them in advance — a position devised by the Israeli government and then pushed on the United States and the European Union — is an act of diplomatic sabotage.
There is only one demand we should make of Hamas, that it cease all acts of violence. Hamas has, in fact, lived up to that commitment during various cease-fire periods with Israel. In partnership with Fatah, it would likely do so again.
In any case, a mutual cease-fire is a reasonable demand, one that would facilitate negotiations. But the people issuing demands in Jerusalem and in Congress seem to have no interest in negotiating. Their goal is delivering for Israel which, of course, is a way of delivering for their campaigns.
This is the third time in the last few months that the combination of Netanyahu and the lobby (including, of course, its congressional allies) have successfully pressured the administration to do its bidding. The first came when the United States was forced to stand all alone at the United Nations and veto a resolution condemning Israeli settlements (a resolution that embodied the Obama administration's own policy). The second was when the administration said that it would oppose any Palestinian declaration of statehood at the United Nations this coming fall.
It appears that the administration has little interest in playing the role of "honest broker," at least until after Election Day 2012. And after that, there is the 2014 congressional election. And then the 2016 presidential election. And so it goes.
Meanwhile, as General David Petraeus famously warned us last year, the perception that the United States is in Israel's pocket "presents distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests...Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples" in the Middle East.
But, hey, that's only the national interest he's talking about. What does a general know about politics?
Follow MJ Rosenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mjayrosenberg
Bernard-Henri Lévy: "Oh ! The Fools!"* (On a Palestinian Munich)
That is all true! Hamas is a 200% terrorist organization bent on destruction of State of Israel by systematic killing of its innocent civilians by Iranian made rockets and acts of suicide bombing. Since taking over the Gaza strip unilaterally given up by Israel in 2005 - Hamas took over that area and transorfmed it into a launchpad for Kassam and Kornet rockets.
Comrade Rosenberg with his fellow "analysts" from Jewish Voice for Peace and other ultra leftist (= anti-Israel) activist groups tries again and again to use an evil argument of moral equality of Hamas' bloody terrorism and Israel's right to defend itself form that terror. With Goldstone Report mostly retracted (albeit unofficially) recently - there is no evidence of any other goals of Hamas that destruction of Jewish state. And Rosenberg's quote "..But the people issuing demands in Jerusalem and in Congress seem to have no interest in negotiating" is as absurd as most of his other "analysis" - nobody wants peace more that Israelis - both Jewish and Arab (20% of Israeli citizens).
"The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday condemned the killing by U.S. forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an "Arab holy warrior."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-slams-killing-of-holy-warrior-osama-bin-laden-1.359416
Only people like Rosenberg are fooled into thinking that Hamas wants peace.
On the US killing Bin Laden:
"Hamas released a statement on Monday condemning the killing of Osama bin Laden, calling the event an "assassination" of an "Arab holy warrior."
"Striking a very different tone, the Palestinian Authority said on Monday the killing of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by US forces was 'good for the cause of peace.'"
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=218811&R=R3
And, in a poorly publicized story:
"A rocket fired from Gaza hit a United Nations compound, injuring three.
The rocket fired April 22 was intended to hit southern Israel; it landed near the Karni border crossing and hit a United Nations building.
Initial reports said the injured were UN relief workers."
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?Itemid=3387
I wonder how the UNGA will view any upcoming request for recognition of a Palestinian state when, after the formation of the "unity" government, Hamas shot a rocket that hit UN property and personnel. Do you think they'll blow it off because the rocket was supposed to hit Israelis?
Israel is having a temper tantrum.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-freezes-cash-transfer-to-palestinians-due-to-fatah-hamas-unity-deal-1.359123
"The tax refund payments are an outcome of arrangements made in the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993. These tax refund payments were supposed to finance the costs of the Palestinian Authority (PA) established in the occupied Palestinian territory under the Oslo Agreements — but now make up only one-third or one-fourth of the Palestinian budget [depending on how you calculate the budget]."
Aren't you guys tired of trying to spin this? Everything is well documented now, and the world is wiser to the tall tales. I do not think the world expects Israel to honor what they have agreed to. Israel does not give, it TAKES (like in lands, water etc.) It was Israel who refused to stop stealing lands to start the peace talks initiated by it's good friend and benefactor, the US, last time. The world knows that too. As for which party wants to see civilians murdered, according to Amnesty International, Operation Cast Lead, the last brutal attack on Gaza, left:
1400 Palestinians dead (including 300 children and hundreds of unarmed civilians)
9 Israeli's dead.
The proof is always in the numbers, whatever the spin might be.
"Steinitz says he will hold up the transfer of $89 million in Palestinian tax funds and customs fees that Israel collects on the Palestinians' behalf."
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/rupp.php?articleid=10195
Of course wanting peace meant that on September 25, 1997, Mashal was the target of an assassination attempt carried out by the Israeli Mossad under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet.
"The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion. It does not refrain from resorting to all methods, using all evil and contemptible ways to achieve its end. It relies greatly on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, the Rotary and Lions Club, other sabotage groups. All these organizations work in the interest of Zionism... They aim at undermining societies, destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion.
The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying. Leaving the circle of struggle with Zionism is high treason, and cursed be he who does that. "
Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, said the group would "respect Palestinian national will even if it was against our convictions", an apparent reference to a referendum on a peace deal."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/israel
He has also said,“In our opinion, the problem is not in the position of the Palestinian people, but in the occupation. We are for peace in the region, which may become possible only after the end of the occupation.”
Towards Palestinians?
Perhaps those could soften as well--that is how reconciliation takes place.
"Egyptian officials, emboldened by the revolution and with an eye on coming elections, say that they are moving toward policies that more accurately reflect public opinion. In the process they are seeking to reclaim the influence over the region that waned as their country became a predictable ally of Washington and the Israelis in the years since the 1979 peace treaty with Israel...Egypt’s shifts are likely to alter the balance of power in the region, allowing Iran new access to a previously implacable foe and creating distance between itself and Israel, which has been watching the changes with some alarm. “We are troubled by some of the recent actions coming out of Egypt,” said one senior Israeli official, citing a “rapprochement between Iran and Egypt” as well as “an upgrading of the relationship between Egypt and Hamas.” “These developments could have strategic implications on Israel’s security,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issues were still under discussion in diplomatic channels. “In the past Hamas was able to rearm when Egypt was making efforts to prevent that. How much more can they build their terrorist machine in Gaza if Egypt were to stop?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/world/middleeast/29egypt.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print
As much as I work and donate for a just peace, I can't get over the facts that it was a foolish thing to create a state in a disputed area/civilization, surrounded by hundreds of millions of the displaced cousins.
Practically speaking.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/29-2
She is an inspiration.
Unfortunately, she is roundly demonized by the oppressors.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=218462
So much for your Hamas friends joining the peace train. I noticed that there is not one pro-peace quote from Hamas in the entire article.
"Hamas prime minister says recognition of Israel impossible after 'the Zionist entity' rejected the Palestinian unity deal."
If you want Hamas to recognize Israel, encourage Israel to welcome the Hamas/Fatah accord.
Also, call for the Netanyahu led Likud to amend its charter which prohibits the creation of a sovereign continguous Palestinian state and the sharing of Jerusalem as a capital.
The dishonesty is so blatant, I don't even know why I bother coming around here.
Rational discussion is all but impossible.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-s-ban-ki-moon-welcomes-palestinian-unity-deal-1.358913
Like Israel, U.S. govt is a kakistocracy.
The legal tsunami is on its way
The significance of a Palestinian state joining the UN is that, for the first time, it will be the Palestinians who will decide what the international legal framework is that is binding in their territory.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-legal-tsunami-is-on-its-way-1.358758
www.arabnews.com/opinion/letters/article375120.ece
If they are impulsive enough to declare a state, Israel will annex the entire West Bank.