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A Long-Term Truce in the West Bank

(The National-UAE) Michael Young - In the West Bank, a long-term truce is effectively in place. Palestinians have no stomach for a new armed struggle, Hamas' default scheme if all else fails. Islamist parties have lost momentum throughout the Middle East in recent years. They offer no persuasive vision for nation-building. In Iraq's elections last weekend, religious parties lost ground to broad-based "nationalist" lists. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is divided over how to deal with the state. Hamas has failed in its bid at governing, and its crushing of Fatah in Gaza in 2007 created many enemies. Even Hizbullah, arguably the most successful of the Islamist groups, has dangerously antagonized Lebanon's Sunnis in recent years, while all it offers to the Lebanese is a prospect of incessant conflict with Israel. Handing Hamas a lifeline now is a terrible idea. It would only increase Syrian and Iranian control over the Palestinians at a time when PA Prime Minister Fayyad is strengthening autonomous state institutions. It would also indicate that Hamas has succeeded, when the movement has, in fact, systematically undercut Palestinian interests. Hamas may eventually have to be brought into peace talks, but that should happen only when the movement's power is greatly diminished, not a moment sooner. The writer is opinion editor of the Daily Star in Beirut.
2010-03-12 09:25:42
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