What role for militant groups in Palestinian democracy?

That prospect is not likely to happen soon, but recent signs indicate that both groups are seriously considering moves to parlay their street credibility into democratic legitimacy.

As July 17 legislative elections approach, the groups no longer seem to want to remain outside of the mainstream Palestinian political process, as they have traditionally. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), now led by Mahmoud Abbas, is the only internationally recognized legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who advocate the destruction of Israel, have refused to join the PLO, largely because it removed an anti-Israel clause from its charter.

Hamas decided a few weeks ago that it would run in the July elections. It boycotted the last parliamentary elections in 1996. The Associated Press reports that Hamas "has emerged as key player in Palestinian politics, with an overwhelming victory in municipal elections in Gaza in January and gains in a West Bank vote."

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Islamic Jihad head Mohammed al-Hindi attended a PLO executive committee meeting in Gaza Tuesday. As the Israeli daily Ha'aretz points out, this marks "the first time that a religious Islamic group has participated in a meeting of the PLO's highest decision-making body."

Hamas, however, boycotted this meeting due, as Ha'aretz puts it, "to a dispute between the militant group and the ruling Fatah party over the extent of Hamas representation in the executive committee."

But the website of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth cites a Wednesday report from the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Quds that Mr. Abbas "has reached a historic understanding to incorporate Hamas into the [PLO] in exchange for relinquishing [Hamas'] vision of liberating the whole of Palestine."

According to the report, Fatah will relinquish its monopoly on government and political influence, while Hamas has recognized the PLO as the only legitimate Palestinian organization.

In addition, Hamas has agreed in principle to a series of far-reaching concessions, primarily acceptance of the PLO's current political platform, which is based on the founding of a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders. Verification of the report would mean the movement has abandoned its primary demand – namely, the liberation of Greater Palestine. ...

Hamas has also agreed to forfeit its demand for half the seats in the council, in exchange for the number of seats it would win in the elections. Moreover, Abbas has consented to bring Hamas activists into the Palestinian National Council (PLO parliament), and to take up a similar number of seats in the PLO executive committee.

After the PLO meeting Tuesday, Abbas sounded an optimistic note. "I can say that we are very close to bringing every faction into the broader Palestinian national house that is called the Palestine Liberation Organization," he said.

An editorial Wednesday in the Beirut-based Daily Star lauds Abbas' efforts to "coax Islamist militants into joining the [PLO]".

The stark reality on the the ground is that Islamist factions enjoy popular support among the Palestinian people. But Islam or Islamist parties needn't be synonymous with violence. While it is true that these factions have waged a war against a brutal occupying force, this war is not the be all and end all of their existence. These movements represent the dynamism of human nature, and as a result, they can evolve.

Now that the world is showing a more serious commitment to the peace process, it is the equivalent of a national duty for the Palestinian parties to forge an agreement among the factions. The time is ripe for reconciliation and peace and the Palestinians must capitalize on America's open door.

Daniel Pipes, a columnist for the New York Sun and Jerusalem Post, has a more skeptical view. In an opinion piece published on the website of the Israel Hasbara Committee – a non-governmental organization "established to pursue truth about the State of Israel and the Jewish people" – Mr. Pipes asserts that Hamas and other militant groups "are unacceptable because of their goals."

If Al Qaeda renounced terrorism, would the US government welcome its running candidates in American elections? Had the Nazis denounced violence, would Hitler have become an acceptable chancellor for Germany? Not likely, because the tactics of Al Qaeda and the Nazis matter less than their goals. ...

Even if Hizbullah and Hamas promise a change in tactics, America - or for that matter, Israel and other Western states - should not accept them as legitimate political parties.

Jefferson Morley of washingtonpost.com suggests in his "World Opinion Roundup" Tuesday that, for the US, there is a touch of irony in its push for democratic reform in the region.

While Washington hails advances for democracy in the Middle East, two of the chief beneficiaries are Hizbullah and Hamas, hard-line foes of US Mideast policy.

As Mr. Morley puts it: "The unanswered question is whether more democratic political practices can deliver real peaceful change."

Also...
• Kaddoumi claims Israel poisoned Arafat ( The Jerusalem Post)
• Abbas's Fatah to hold primaries in reform move ( Reuters)
• Suit by detainee on transfer to Syria finds support in jet's log ( The New York Times)
• Wolfowitz wins European backing ( BBC)

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Matthew Clark.