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Will Kerry Continue the Peace Negotiations If Hamas and Fatah Unite?

(Council on Foreign Relations) Elliott Abrams - Secretary of State Kerry has put enormous effort into the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. On Wednesday, Fatah and Hamas announced they would be forming a Palestinian unity government. It is very striking that while Kerry is working hard to get talks launched, Abbas is working hard to achieve an agreement that would scuttle them. If Abbas chooses Hamas instead of the negotiations with Israel, I would hope the Obama administration denounces that choice and supports Israel in its unwillingness to proceed with the negotiations. One goal of the new unity government agreement would be to hold elections. The lesson we should have learned from the mistakes we made in the 2006 elections won by Hamas is that terrorists cannot be allowed to run. As Yossi Beilin once wrote, "There can be no doubt that participation by Hamas in elections held in the Palestinian Authority in January 2006 is a gross violation of the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement. Hamas is a movement that has, through its covenant, raised the banner of incitement to hate and kill Jews. That this military organization, appearing as a political party, is allowed to abuse democracy is a prize for terror and violence." He was right, and the U.S. should not repeat the error we made in 2006. Secretary Kerry should make it clear to Abbas that choosing a unity government with a terrorist group is choosing to end negotiations with Israel - and that he will end his own efforts should that step be taken.
2014-04-25 00:00:00
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