The group's changed view on US support is an attempt to present itself as the new interlocutor that can help Washington make headway in the Palestinian territories
A Very Revealing Article
By Sami Moubayed
(Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria. He is close to the Syrian regime)
Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 November 3, 2009
"Speaking to a delegation of American doctors visiting the Gaza Strip on October 29, Hamas Prime Minister Esmail Haniya acknowledged an "optimistic mood" in the region, thanks to the Obama Administration.
He commended "Obama's new language" and called for direct dialogue between Hamas and the US — words that sent shockwaves throughout the upper echelons of power in the Fatah-controlled West Bank.
Haniya added, "We are for peace [with the Israelis], not against it," adding that the Palestinians are looking for "real support" from Obama.
These strong words — a U-turn on the behalf of Hamas —.......
Haniya is clearly trying to market himself and his party as new interlocutors for the United States in the Occupied Territories. He believes that after the Goldstone Report scandal, which turned Palestinian public opinion against Abbas, Fatah's ability to unify its rank and consolidate its power is shrinking to comically low levels.
Although still an unspoken truth, many powers in the West — the US included — have concluded that Abbas and his team can no longer deliver, neither on nation-building nor on peace, and have lost what remains of the credibility bequeathed to them by Yasser Arafat. If the US wants to reach any solution on the Palestine-Israeli conflict, it has to engage directly with Hamas.
The scenario clear in Haniya's mind is that of Arafat's 1987 dialogue with the United States, which he hopes to repeat with Obama. After decades of being treated as an outlaw and terrorist, Arafat had been eager to open direct contact with the incoming administration of Ronald Reagan. He agreed to deliver a speech the Americans dictated to him, via George Shultz, at a UN meeting in Geneva, denouncing all kinds of terrorism as a condition for engagement between Fatah and the US......
Hamas hopes that by stating its willingness to engage with the US, just like Arafat did 22 years ago, someone as pragmatic as Obama will jump at the opportunity to engage with Hamas......
What Haniya was saying was: "Ditch Abbas and come deal with us, instead, as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinians. You can do business with us and we are both ready and willing to sit down and talk with the US."
It is a big departure for a man who not only refused to deal with the US but also sought to restore all of the 1948 areas to Palestinians and entirely destroy the state of Israel. Haniya is the face of a Hamas that has become wiser with age, more pragmatic in its outreach thanks to the trappings of power.
Hamas leaders want to be recognised as statesmen, rather than guerrilla fighters, and nothing would grant them de facto recognition in Gaza better than direct talks with the United States....."
A Very Revealing Article
By Sami Moubayed
(Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria. He is close to the Syrian regime)
Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 November 3, 2009
"Speaking to a delegation of American doctors visiting the Gaza Strip on October 29, Hamas Prime Minister Esmail Haniya acknowledged an "optimistic mood" in the region, thanks to the Obama Administration.
He commended "Obama's new language" and called for direct dialogue between Hamas and the US — words that sent shockwaves throughout the upper echelons of power in the Fatah-controlled West Bank.
Haniya added, "We are for peace [with the Israelis], not against it," adding that the Palestinians are looking for "real support" from Obama.
These strong words — a U-turn on the behalf of Hamas —.......
Haniya is clearly trying to market himself and his party as new interlocutors for the United States in the Occupied Territories. He believes that after the Goldstone Report scandal, which turned Palestinian public opinion against Abbas, Fatah's ability to unify its rank and consolidate its power is shrinking to comically low levels.
Although still an unspoken truth, many powers in the West — the US included — have concluded that Abbas and his team can no longer deliver, neither on nation-building nor on peace, and have lost what remains of the credibility bequeathed to them by Yasser Arafat. If the US wants to reach any solution on the Palestine-Israeli conflict, it has to engage directly with Hamas.
The scenario clear in Haniya's mind is that of Arafat's 1987 dialogue with the United States, which he hopes to repeat with Obama. After decades of being treated as an outlaw and terrorist, Arafat had been eager to open direct contact with the incoming administration of Ronald Reagan. He agreed to deliver a speech the Americans dictated to him, via George Shultz, at a UN meeting in Geneva, denouncing all kinds of terrorism as a condition for engagement between Fatah and the US......
Hamas hopes that by stating its willingness to engage with the US, just like Arafat did 22 years ago, someone as pragmatic as Obama will jump at the opportunity to engage with Hamas......
What Haniya was saying was: "Ditch Abbas and come deal with us, instead, as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinians. You can do business with us and we are both ready and willing to sit down and talk with the US."
It is a big departure for a man who not only refused to deal with the US but also sought to restore all of the 1948 areas to Palestinians and entirely destroy the state of Israel. Haniya is the face of a Hamas that has become wiser with age, more pragmatic in its outreach thanks to the trappings of power.
Hamas leaders want to be recognised as statesmen, rather than guerrilla fighters, and nothing would grant them de facto recognition in Gaza better than direct talks with the United States....."
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