Word: palestinians
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...After years of drift, the three-week war in January and a shift to harder line positions on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides, the prospect of bridging the gap between the two camps looks more remote than it has in eight years. Looking for a way into the problem, the U.S. and the international community are starting with delivering help to Gaza. On Monday, Clinton will attend an Arab-sponsored summit at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that aims to organize and fund the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian enclave. The enormous suffering of civilians during...
...hopes of toppling Hamas. Now the State Department is offering to pump something in the range of $900 million in humanitarian assistance into the enclave, but there is probably no way large amounts of aid money can be distributed in Gaza without at least indirectly helping Hamas. No other Palestinian organizations have the infrastructure to put that money to use, and the international agencies that operate there have often found themselves shaken down by Hamas. Given the Islamists' political control of Gaza, there's little prospect of any administrative authority functioning there without the consent of Hamas...
...Administration says it is aware of the problem. "We need to ensure that the assistance is provided to the people in need via the Palestinian Authority, and not to fuel Hamas or [be] diverted by Hamas for political purposes," says one senior National Security Council (NSC) official. The State Department says it will work with longtime partners to make sure the money only goes to civilians...
...Humanitarian aid does little to help the U.S.'s medium-term goals in Gaza: curtailing the flow of arms to Hamas and boosting the Palestinian Authority there. And in fact, the lack of progress on those goals undermines the good that the aid itself can achieve. "In order for the humanitarian response to be as effective as possible, you need a solution to smuggling [of weapons into Gaza by Hamas] and you need a solution to divided authority [between Hamas and Fatah]," admits one senior State Department official. But none of the money the U.S. plans to pledge...
...Israel to engage Hamas. "Whether we like it or not, Hamas will not go away," wrote the group , which included Israel's chief negotiator at the Camp David talks, former foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami. "Since its victory in democratic elections in 2006, Hamas has sustained its support in Palestinian society despite attempts to destroy it through economic blockades, political boycotts and military incursions... An Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement without Hamas will not be possible...