Israeli and Palestinian's New Shot at Peace

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 21, 2010
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             Agreeing to start peace talks in Washington Sept. 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rolled the dice, bypassing the militant group Hamas, the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip.  Giving the Obama administration a welcomed shot of adrenalin, the new peace talks defy profits of doom-and-gloom that warn Abbas against losing more credibility with Palestinians.  Hamas and other Islamist groups want peace talks to fail and resume the “infifada” or uprising against Israel.  Hamas has never supported any prior peace agreement and continues its war against the Jewish State.  When Israeli commandos boarded a Cypress-based relief boat bound for Gaza May 31 and killed nine Turkish citizens, Israeli-international relations hit new lows.  Without Hamas’ cooperation, Abbas felt inclined to get his own peace started..

            While Hamas continues its isolation and opposition to peacemaking, Abbas learned a valuable lesson from his late predecessor Yasser Arafat:  That war with Israel only harms the Palestinian people.  After conservative Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, still comatose in a Tel Aviv nursing home, handed over Gaza Sept. 1, 2005, a power struggle erupted between Abbas’ Palestinian Authority and Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh.  Arafat died Nov. 11 2004, never seeing Gaza in Palestinian hands.  Nor did he live to see Hamas’ military coup, seizing Gaza from Fatah June 14, 2007.  Abbas’ recent decision to resume direct talks with Israel carries political risks.  Abbas chose negotiation over the perpetual warfare, chaos and poverty promised by Hamas and other militant Islamic groups.  Despite all the saber-rattling, Abbas knows that Hamas—or other Islamic groups—cannot defeat Israel.

            Returning to direct talks has the blessing of the so-called Quartet, including the European Union, United Nations, United States and Russia, all wishing progress toward direct status talks between Israelis and Palestinians.  Cynics can’t see how Abbas and the Palestinian Authority can enter peace talks when they control only 50% of the population.  Hamas has already denounced Abbas’ plans to travel to Washington Sept. 2 to meet and talk peace with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  Chief Palestinian negotiator Saab Erekat, once a key deputy of Arafat, warned Israelis not to resume building activities in the West Bank or East Jerusalem.  “The most important thing now is to see to it that the Israeli government refrains from settlement activities, incursions, fait accomplis policies,” said Erekat, worried that current Israeli building plans could sabotage the latest round of peace talks.

             Abbas, who threatened to quit as Palestinian Authority prime minister last year, knows that Hamas will never accept any peace deal.  Since Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas by force in 2007, the Palestinian Authority has been unable to persuade Gaza to join forces.  Hamas’ senior leadership wants peace with Israel but only after the Jewish State has been demolished.  Hamas’ key leadership, including its blind and wheelchair bound founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, has been assassinated by Israel and has no intent of seeking peace.  Yassin was killed in an Israeli missile attack in Gaza March 22, 2004.  Only three weeks later his successor Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi met the same fate April 17, 2004.  With so much water under the bridge, Hamas’ government in exile, led by Damascus-based Khaled Mashaal, continues armed struggle against and won’t compromise at the peace table.

            Abbas’ decision to return to Washington indicates his willingness to put massive pressure on Haniyeh to compromise or face a new battle over Gaza.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton knows the tough road ahead but also knows the alternatives.  Years of warfare have left the peace process in shambles and the Palestinians in ruins.  Gaza’s desperate state, leading up to the botched May 31 Israeli boat inspection, underscores how Hamas has no viable approach to help its dying population.  “This is political suicide for Mr. Abbas, it will weaken him, not only in the face of Hamas but also from within Fatah,” said Hani Masri, director of the Badeel think tank in the West Bank capital of Ramallah.  Masri, like other Palestinian critics, have no answer of how to proceed with Israel other than war.  Abbas risks his political career to find peace but the alternatives are far worse.

            Abbas’ decision to return to direct talks with Netanyahu opens up the remote door of a breakthrough peace conference.  “There is no use at all to in resuming negotiations,” said Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh, convinced that with Hamas out of the loop the prospects for peace remain dim.  When negotiations broke down in 2008 midway through Bush’s second term, Abbas caved in to Hamas.  “Abbas is so weak he will go back to the negotiations even though he knows he will gain nothing,” said Hassan Kheisheh, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.  Palestinian skeptics should remind themselves that the last intifada only brought more death and destruction.  Before Abbas’ critics throw in the towel, they should consider recent history.  Abbas must be given credit for realizing that armed struggle against Israel only delays Arafat’s dream of an independent Palestinian state.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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