(Commentary) Noah Pollak - If anyone doubted whether there was real substance to the Hamas-Fatah "unity government," Mahmoud Abbas' New York Times op-ed provides the proverbial teachable moment. After statehood, he dismisses even the pretense of working toward peace. Instead, he openly promises that Palestine would assault Israel relentlessly in international legal, political, and diplomatic fora. This is where Fatah and Hamas now join together in substance as well as appearance. Until today, Fatah had convinced the world that it had submitted to the linkage of peace with statehood: a Palestinian state would only arise through negotiations with Israel that, at their completion, would require the Palestinians to cease their claims against the Jewish state and declare the conflict over. Hamas, on the other hand, has been perfectly happy to give its blessing to the creation of a Palestinian state - just so long as the continuation of terrorism and the quest for the ultimate destruction of Israel, diplomatically and otherwise, is preserved. Today, Abbas has brought Fatah and Hamas together in this goal. It is an important moment. Both factions now agree on a strategy of statehood without peace.
2011-05-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive