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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-09-03-makovsky03_ST_N.htm
Hamas Attacks: Deja Vu All Over Again?
(USA Today) David Makovsky - That the Hamas attacks came on the eve of Mideast peace talks is a grim reminder that spoilers will try desperately to upend hopes for negotiations seeking to end the conflict. Hamas' latest attack is reminiscent of the tactics they employed in the 1990s, when their aim was to plant a bomb on an Israeli bus immediately preceding a key moment of peace negotiations. Yet violence in the '90s did not succeed in forcing Israel to withdraw from the West Bank. Four bombs in the course of nine days preceding the 1996 election only angered Israelis and led to Benjamin Netanyahu's first victory as prime minister. Hamas attacks also decreased the popularity of peace talks among the Israeli public, rendering withdrawal tantamount to vulnerability, not security. Hamas has made clear its intention to demonstrate that the security cooperation between Israel and the PA is not strong enough to stop their terrorist activities. The answer must be the continuation of tight Israeli-PA security cooperation to thwart those who want to sabotage the chances of peace. The writer directs the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.