Word: gaza
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...Abbas, a moderate secularist who has been the titular leader of the Palestinians since the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004. Abbas has dismissed the Hamas-led government elected in January 2006 and appointed a new Cabinet of technocrats. To avoid a repeat of Fatah's defeat in Gaza, the U.S. moved swiftly to bolster Abbas in the West Bank by lifting an embargo on aid funds for the Palestinians. The new strategy--shared by the Israelis, the Europeans and the Bush Administration--is to flood Abbas' government with cash and attempt to transform the West Bank, while putting Gazans...
...that strategy: it won't work. The world clamped a boycott on the Palestinians after Hamas' victory over Fatah in the January 2006 elections; but as Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser under President Jimmy Carter, says, that U.S.-Israeli policy "put a lot of pressure on the Palestinians in Gaza, which helped to radicalize them without any compensatory relaxation for the Palestinians on the West Bank." The U.S.'s new "West Bank first" strategy aims to correct that shortcoming, but given the Palestinians' defiant mood, the tardy gift could turn into a nasty surprise for Abbas. Robert Malley, a Middle...
...what should be done? If the new course charted by Israel and the White House--of coddling Abbas and slapping down Hamas--seems likely to fail, what might succeed? In the long run, squeezing the Gaza Strip won't help moderate Palestinians any more than pushing democracy on them did. Avoiding a takeover of the Palestinian cause by even more radical elements will instead require a more pragmatic and clear-eyed strategy than the Bush Administration has so far pursued. And that means that sooner or later, the U.S. and Israel will have to find a way to engage with...
...Israel are justifiably reluctant to deal with Hamas. But failing to do so risks strengthening the organization's radical voices. That's why it's time for a different approach--one that can protect Israel's interests while still reaching out to forces within Hamas that might steer Gaza in a more constructive direction. True, Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, but there are some signs that it sees compromise to be in its self-interest. Hamas has reason to avoid provoking Israel--in part because, as Major General Giora Eiland, retired head of Israel's National Security Council, says, "military...
Will anyone take up the offer? The Bush Administration probably won't consider any contact with Hamas until the Gaza leadership mends ties with Abbas' West Bank government. That may yet happen. Though Hamas was merciless against its foes in the first hours of the Gaza conquest, the group declared an amnesty for Fatah's thousands of fighters, including a dozen senior officials. Even after Abbas kicked Hamas out of his government, the group has been careful not to pick fights with him. The group's political leader, Khaled Mashaal, declared that "Abbas has legitimacy ... he is an elected President...