Issues Under Fire: Direct Dialog With Hamas Can Not Be Avoided
If the Obama administration hopes to have a snowball's chance in hell of changing its current trajectory toward certain failure in quelling the violence between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, it would be wise to open a diplomatic channel to deal directly with Hamas ASAP! As a regional player, legally and democratically elected, who currently holds the fate of nearly two million Palestinians in their hands, to continue to ignore their legitimacy, is to guarantee a continuation of needless death and destruction.
The longer Hamas is marginalized, ostracized and treated as the stepchild of the Middle East, the longer they will fight for their basic rights to be recognized and included. The West must eventually concede the fact that Hamas is here to stay. While they may have lost some support among some Palestinians, Hamas still enjoys a significant amount of clout and political capital to wield during times of crisis.
Since Hamas has forged an alliance with Fatah (albeit shaky in its infancy) its going to be difficult to continue the divide and conquer strategy. It may have taken the Palestinians awhile to see the advantage of uniting as one, but they have finally arrived. To be sure, Fatah and Hamas still have considerable differences, but their demands for freedom, respect, self determination and a secure state of their own line up perfectly.
Watching one's own people being killed like ducks in a barrel has a tendency to bring those people together. Whether they be Fatah or Hamas, in the end, they're all Palestinians being imprisoned or occupied by Israel. If they're smart, they'll not turn their backs on one another anymore.
The more innocent civilians killed in Gaza, the more anger will build in other areas of the occupied territories. The more anger that builds beyond Gaza, the stronger the unity between Hamas and Fatah will bond. To think the US-Israeli Union can negotiate any agreement affecting the Palestinians going forward without Hamas being consulted is to keep thinking inside that very small box.
Bottom line: Since the Obama administration has already compromised its so-called principals against negotiating with terrorist organizations by engaging the Taliban for the release of one alleged deserter (Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl), humanity would almost demand this administration engage Hamas directly to bring relief to the lives of millions.
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