(Washington Post) Dore Gold - Hamas has seen a strange turnabout in its international status. Today, while Hamas is being shunned by its traditional Arab backers, many Western countries and especially their foreign policy elites have begun talking more seriously about the benefits of reducing the isolation to which the group has been subjected by Europe and the U.S. Almost all of the Arab states, save Qatar, have made strong moves to curtail Hamas' funding, influence and power. Yet, at the same time, the status of Hamas in the West has been rising. Since 2007, there has been a steady drumbeat of calls in the international community to acknowledge a role for Hamas as a legitimate diplomatic player, even though it has been formally designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, the EU and others. When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas concluded a "reconciliation agreement" with Hamas last month, many Western voices suggested that Hamas would become more moderate and responsible as a result. Ten days later, Hamas operatives in the West Bank abducted and murdered three Israeli teenagers. This was followed by a massive escalation of Hamas rocket fire on Israel. As an Israeli who keeps in touch with our Middle Eastern neighbors, it is bizarre to now see more eye to eye with our Arab interlocutors than with Westerners who insist on engagement with Hamas. Any diplomatic resolution to the war must demilitarize Gaza so that Hamas cannot carry out rocket attacks on Israel. Its underground network of attack tunnels that run deep into Israeli territory must be eliminated. It would be a tragic irony that just as nearly the whole Arab world was confronting one of the main terrorist organizations undermining its security, there were those in the West thinking about courting it. Ambassador Dore Gold, Israel's Permanent Representative to the UN in 1997-1999, is today an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2014-07-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive