skip to nav

Time to help Israel help Hamas

With the end of war in Lebanon there’s a chance for peace in Palestine, argues scott atran

A bold Israeli gesture on the Palestinian front, which is much more within Israel's control than the Lebanese conflict, would surprise adversaries and convey strength.

And, as strange as it may seem, the United States might yet turn the tide of global Muslim resentment by helping Israel help the Hamas government.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya (right) is just one of the many Sunni leaders of Hamas who are known to be uncomfortable with the loose coalition that Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based head of the Hamas politburo, has been forging with Shia Iran and Hezbollah.

When I talked recently to Hasan Yusuf, a moderate Hamas official held in Israel's Ketziot prison, he told me: "The outcome in Lebanon doesn't change our view. We

Hamas would be willing to declare an end to ‘martyrdom operations’ if there were some political movement

believe in two states living side by side."

Yusuf, speaking on the day the UN resolved to end the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, added: "All Hamas factions have agreed to a unilateral ceasefire; the movement is ready to go further if it receives any encouraging responses from Israel and the West."

He indicated that although Hamas has not carried out any suicide attacks in the last two years, it would be willing to formally declare an end to all such "martyrdom operations" if there were some political movement.

Yusuf and other Hamas moderates feel that as long as Israel, the US and Europe continue to boycott the elected government in Gaza and the West Bank, there is little choice but to accept whatever help comes along.

However, America and Europe will not end their isolation of Hamas until it agrees to recognise Israel's legitimacy, and Israel will not tolerate any armed action across its borders. The problem is that even Palestinians acknowledge that Meshaal in Damascus has more sway over Hamas's military wing than does the Haniya