July 16, 2007
Bush Issues Ultimatum, Of Sorts, To Hamas
President Bush today presented Hamas with a choice: Abide by the Quartet provisions, or get left out of a future independent Palestinian state.
"We're showing the Palestinian people that a commitment to peace leads to the generous support of the United States," Bush said after announcing Washington was sending $190 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Implicit in Bush's remarks was that not a drop of aid would be delivered to the Gaza Strip unless the Hamas-run government there meets the conditions laid out by the Washington-drawn "road map." Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the West, has repeatedly said it has no intention of ever renouncing violence and recognizing Israel -- two of the road map's conditions for Palestinian statehood.
The tiny Gaza strip, which is separated by Israel from the more prosperous and secure West Bank, has been run by Hamas since its fighters violently seized control of the territory a month ago. Israeli forces have amassed around Gaza, with severe restrictions placed on border crossings.
Noting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah government in the West Bank has already established a cooperative working relationship with Israel, Bush said, "America will strongly support [Abbas'] work to help Palestinian leaders answer their people's desire to live in peace," adding that he hoped to "soon begin serious negotiations for the creation of a Palestinian state."
Bush repeatedly emphasized that the only way for all the Palestinian people to enjoy statehood was to go after terrorists, seize their weapons, free Israeli hostages, and root out government corruption.
In order to win their independence, Bush said, "The Palestinian people must decide they want a future of decency and hope, not a future of terror and death." At the same time, he stressed, "We must guarantee the Palestinian state is viable and contiguous."
Following Fatah's retreat to the West Bank, the U.S., EU and Israel agreed to release aid and other funds that were frozen after Hamas' unexpected victory in parliamentary elections early last year. All of that aid was to be directed to Abbas' government; Hamas' shadow government in the Gaza Strip wouldn't receive a penny.
Western donor nations including the U.S. have stressed that all Hamas has to do (more or less) to get those monetary spigots reopened is renounce terrorism and recognize the state of Israel. But with Hamas' Islamic militants running the show in Gaza -- there is pretty much no such thing as a moderate Hamas fighter -- it doesn't seem at all likely Hamas will get a seat at the negotiating table.
Bush called for a meeting on the two-state solution process this fall attended by the Israelis, representatives of Abbas' government and their neighbors "that support the two-state solution." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will chair the summit, Bush said. The president's remarks seemed to indicate Hamas would be shut out unless it changed its tune.
Washington and its partners in the peace process seem to be hoping their isolation tactics will so weaken Hamas it will have to cede control of Gaza. Hamas has already made one notable goodwill gesture by securing the release of kidnapped BBC News reporter Alan Johnston earlier this month. Still, it isn't at all clear that Hamas won't find a way to successfully run the Gaza Strip (success in this region being defined by one's constituents declining to join forces to revolt against you). As some residents have noted, the ubiquitous presence of Hamas' security forces there has established an order of sorts.
So now the West appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach -- wait until the stoppage of external funds, goods and services takes hold and see how the Gazans react. Will they rebel against their heavily armed leaders, who continue to lob rockets at Israel? That depends on how Abbas and his new prime minister, Salam Fayyad, fare in the West Bank, observers agree. It was Fatah's inability to provide for the Palestinians that led to Hamas' electoral victory in the first place, and both Abbas and Fayyad have some house-cleaning to do.
Posted at 3:23 PM
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Alan Johnston, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Fatah, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinians, President Bush
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