US President Obama said throughout his campaign that he would meet with his Iranian counterpart. At the time, Senator Hillary Clinton opposed him and suggested that this was naïve.
Meanwhile, reports from London talked about a line of communication or dialogue between Hizbullah and British officials, a European parliamentary delegation recently met with members of Hamas' political leadership in exile in Damascus to discuss ways to end the group's international isolation, and the media also reported that the White House did not rule out negotiations with the Taliban.
In an obvious contradiction to this flow of American and Western diplomacy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the promised financial aid to Gaza is conditioned on prohibiting any access to this aid by Hamas. Moreover Clinton made it clear that Hamas must comply with the Quartet’s demands, mainly that Hamas must acknowledge Israel's right to exist, before joining a unity government and having access to the US aid.
Hamas is standing at a critical junction and facing mounting pressure to make some time-sensitive decisions on a wide range of issues. Recovering from the Gaza war, breaking the siege on Gaza, negotiations with Israel on a long-term truce, negotiations on a prisoner swap and Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks are all urgent and sensitive negotiations, especially in light of Israeli political developments and its government changes. The stakes are high for Hamas but the price is just as high. Any compromises to be made by Hamas will assuredly mean a significant change in the political map of the region.
Hamas' compliance with the Quartet’s conditions could open the door for the movement to take part in a Palestinian national unity government that is able to deal with the international community and end the siege, which could facilitate and perhaps even speed up the Palestinian national reconciliation process as a whole.
A national unity government is without a doubt a pressing popular national Palestinian demand that Hamas is very aware of and would give Hamas legitimacy as well as grounds to work in the West Bank. Compliance with the Quartet’s conditions would also mean giving Hamas access to the international stage, something Hamas has been eager to achieve for a long time. Such a compromise, though, would at the same time cost Hamas dearly if it is made without approval from Syria and Iran, who are considered Hamas' backbone and its strongest supporters in the region.
Analysts think the key to any advancement in the internal Palestinian situation on one hand and the Palestinian-Israeli situation on the other must be parallel to regional negotiations that involve Syria and Iran.
One factor that strengthens Hamas’ negotiating power with Fatah is the fact that the new Israeli government is hardcore right wing, and refuses a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, promotes the expansion of settlements and rejects any negotiations on Jerusalem. Such an Israeli government undermines Abbas and the rest of the “Arab moderate leaders,” and automatically empowers Hamas and other resistance groups in the West Bank and Gaza.
Critics of the US policy of not negotiating with Hamas ask: Is Hamas more of a threat to the US than the Taliban and Iran? How can the US justify talking to one group categorized as a terrorist entity but not another one?
Media reports from Egypt noted that Egypt has dispatched two of its top officials to convince the Americans and the Europeans to accept a weaker commitment by Hamas to peace with Israel for the sake of forging a united Palestinian government. The US and Europe will have to decide soon on the nature of the relationship they want to have with Hamas and the upcoming Israeli government keeping in mind that both were democratically elected.
Refusing to talk to Hamas while embracing a right-wing Israeli government would be considered an early blow to President Osama’s efforts to send a different message to the Middle East than did his predecessor George W. Bush.
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