[Mb-civic] How the U.S. and Israel were responsible for Hamas victory

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

InterPress Service - Jan 31, 2006
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=31990

Hamas Ascendance Was Years in the Making

Analysis by Stephen Zunes

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 31 (IPS) - The reaction in the United States to the
surprise victory by Hamas in last week's Palestinian elections appears to
have ignored the role that Washington played in bringing the radical
Islamist group to power.

Both Congress and the George W. Bush administration are on record
insisting that Hamas' virulent anti-Israel stance and the history of
terrorist activities by its armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, gives
Israel the right to refuse to engage in peace negotiations with the
Palestinians.

However, Israel had already suspended peace talks with the Palestinians
nearly five years ago without any apparent objections from U.S. officials.
A majority of Israelis, according to public opinion polls, had supported a
resumption of negotiations when Fatah was in power, but the Bush
administration and Congress continued to back the right-wing Israeli
government's refusal to talk with its Palestinian counterparts on the
implementation of the peace "Road Map", a formula backed by the "Quartet"
consisting of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations.

Exit polls appear to indicate that if Palestinians had believed
re-electing the more moderate Fatah movement would have allowed for
resumption of peace talks, they would not have backed the hard-line Hamas.

Israel cut off negotiations with the Palestinians when right-wing prime
minister Ariel Sharon came to office in February 2001, just one month
after Israeli-Palestinian talks in Taba, Egypt came tantalisingly close to
reaching a final peace agreement. The Israeli government, with apparent
U.S. backing, has refused to resume negotiations ever since.

British MP Gerald Kaufman, writing in the Guardian, reminisced about
how the U.S. once warned then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, "If
you don't talk to the PLO, you'll be left with Hamas." He noted that,
"Rabin learned.  Sharon did not want to learn.."

Sharon has been in a coma since early January, and acting Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert has ruled out any talks with "an armed terror
organisation that calls for Israel's destruction", referring to Hamas.

Given that the first responsibility of any government is the protection of
its people, the Fatah-controlled Palestine Authority proved itself
incapable of doing so in the face of the overwhelming power of Israeli
occupation forces, backed by the world's one remaining superpower.

Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority a little more than a
dozen years ago, Israel has killed hundreds of civilians, expropriated
large tracts of land and bulldozed thousands of homes, built a 30-foot
barrier bisecting large segments of the West Bank, and destroyed orchards,
vineyards, and other farmland.

The Bush administration and Congress also went on record supporting
Israel's devastating spring 2002 offensive in the West Bank, which
severely damaged the civilian infrastructure of the territory, including
much of the Palestine Authority's buildings and resources.

Administration officials and Congressional leaders of both parties have
also defended the Israeli government's assassination policy against
suspected Palestinian militants despite its violation of international
legal norms, and denounced the International Court of Justice for its 2004
ruling against the construction of the Israeli separation barrier deep
inside occupied Palestinian territory.

Faced with endemic corruption and incompetence in PA-controlled areas of
the West Bank under the leadership of Fatah's old guard, Palestinian
voters apparently felt they had little to lose in electing Hamas. Though
only a minority of Palestinians supports the terrorist activities of
Hamas' armed wing or its reactionary social agenda, they were apparently
propelled by a perceived need to clean house.

Also greatly appreciated was the network of schools, medical facilities
and social services provided by Hamas for the population suffering from
the Israeli military occupation and the often incompetent local governance
under Fatah.

To appeal to more moderate voters, Hamas dropped references to the
destruction of Israel from its campaign platform, though it remains in the
group's charter. Hamas has also largely observed a unilateral cease-fire
against Israel despite a series of assassinations of suspected Hamas
leaders by Israeli forces.

In reaction to the Hamas victory, members of the Quartet meeting in London
on Monday declared that a Hamas-controlled Palestine Authority would face
the prospect of cuts in aid if it did not renounce violence or recognise
Israel.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared on behalf of the group that,
"All members of the future Palestinian government must be committed to
non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements
and obligations, including the roadmap.."

The Quartet statement appeared geared toward insisting that Hamas accept
the principle of recognition of Israel and renunciation of violence as
part of a future peace agreement, unlike the U.S. insistence that such
steps be immediate and unilateral.

It remains to be seen whether the responsibility of governance will serve
as catalyst for the group's transformation to a more pragmatic and
moderate orientation. Just as Hamas gained credibility with the
Palestinian population through its social service programmes funded
primarily from supporters in the U.S.-backed monarchies of the Gulf, it is
possible that European and other support of secular civil society
organisations might enhance transparency and democracy.

At the same time, a suspension of Western aid could lead the Palestinian
government to become more dependent on the support of Iran and Saudi
Arabia, which have backed radical Palestinian Islamists for decades.

The refusal of the United States to deal with the elected government will
likely add to the cynicism within the Arab and Islamic world that the
United State supports democratic elections only if the results support
U.S. policy aims.

In December, the U.S. House of Representatives, with only 16 dissenting
votes in the 435-member body, denounced President Mahmoud Abbas for even
allowing Hamas to participate in the election -- another indication of the
selectivity of U.S. support for democracy in the Arab world.

The core issue, however, remains the U.S.-backed Israeli government's
refusal to allow for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state
alongside Israel. Hamas and radical Islam was never a feature of
Palestinian politics until after years of Israeli occupation.

Hamas never came close to a majority support until more than a dozen
years since after Oslo, when Palestinians saw the hope of a negotiated
settlement under U.S. auspices fade.

[*Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco
and the author of "Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of
Terrorism" (2002).]


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