Thomas Friedman has an excellent column on the dilemma faced by world leaders with respect to Hamas.
But the democratic election of people who have supported and sponsored terror is nothing new.
It’s happened many many times in the past, including in Israel itself.
But with Hamas, it has leaders and wannabe leaders stymied…falling back on old, tired, hackneyed approaches, like sanctions and shunning. These have proven to be as ineffective as military action when it comes to dealing with volatile and unpredictable situations.
Some observers have called the Palestinian-Israeli conflict intractable. But it’s not. It just involves greater political will and leadership than has been shown thus far, with the possible exception of that shown by Ytzakh Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
They had hammered out a solution, because they talked to each other. They actually talked and made visits to each others’ homes.
But the powers that be- for some reason- didn’t like that.
They distributed posters of the Israeli leader dressed as a Nazi, then arranged for his murder and for the destruction of the Arab. In the process, they killed hope.
And now, despite all the understandable reasons as to why Hamas got elected, those same little minds are doing it again.
Friedman, who knows as much as anyone about this issue, knows very well how the Palestinians feel and how the Israelis feel…they want peace…regardless of how their leaders feel. But, like so many, he doesn’t strive for or recommend anything positive; he ends his column today with the following para-
So, yes, in principle, Hamas doesn’t deserve to be treated like a democratic government. But in practice, Hamas has something Israelis badly want: a cease-fire — not recognition. Israel chose to destroy Yasir Arafat’s government and got Hamas. What if it destroys Hamas? What will it get then? I don’t know, but the answer is not simple. Designing the right policy to deal with a democratically elected terrorist group that deserves to be spurned but has something you want is not in the textbooks.
He asks the question…will Israel destroy Hamas they way they did Arafat and if they do…what will they get? He doesn’t know.
One thing is for certain, you cannot have any positive influence on the thinking of a person or a group if you shun them…you only alienate them more.
Influence is derived through dialogue, information exchange and a sincere effort at understanding.
So far none of our esteemed leaders or would-be leaders seem to have have grasped that.
Did you know that the Gulf Cooperation Council of Nations Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates employee nearly 10 million migrant workers mostly for southeast Asia. Did you also know that the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council have an economy growing at a rate greater that 6%? Did you know that the Palestinians have a workforce of 800,000 people? The Palestinians also have an unemployment rate of 67%. This mean that about 270,000 Palestinians are without work. But the Arabic Nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council employ 10,000,000 migrant workers. Why do the unemployed Palestinians stay living in a battle zone? Did you know that a trip from the Gaza Strip to Dubai is 2149 km or 1335 miles? The UAE has about 2,000,000 migrant workers. They also have a booming economy.
part of the problem with our perception of this conflict is that too often, we don’t understand the history or grasp the current facts.
I know all those thiongs.
And yes, I know that the unemployment rate in the territories is very high.
The problem is that israel controls all exit permits and denies most applications.
The Gaza-Egypt border has been reopened with a festive ribbon-cutting, a milestone for the Palestinians who for the first time are taking control of a border crossing without Israeli veto powers and gaining some freedom of movement.
Those are the words of Aljazeera.net in Nov 25 2005. I added a link on my page if interested.
while many bemoaned their assention to power, they falied to realize that hamas had essentially painted itself into a corner; hamas must now meet the needs of the palestinians, both in its interior management (the effects of the u.s. and israel witholding aid from the hamas admin have recently manifested as public payroll woes), and in resolving the crisis with israel, or they, and their rhetoric, must surely be viewed as a failed platform. both fronts will require that hamas seek dialogue, which can only be achieved if hamas softens its posturing and rhetoric.
hamas must either bend or fail. i’m hoping for the former, as a failed admin would only prolong the process.
and i don’t mean to put the entire burden on hamas/palestine (certainly, israel has contributed its fair share to the crisis. they, too, must be open to discussion, and then to concession). just trying to find some optimism in it all.
KEvron