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| No Gas: A Palestinian sat guard Monday at a closed gas station in Gaza. Israel's blockade of fuel supplies to the Hamas-run
area has reduced car travel and disrupted some health services. Ismail Zaydah/Reuters |
More Gazans turn away from Hamas as Fatah heads toward peace talks
Israel's army chief said Wednesday that the military is poised for a broad offensive in the Gaza Strip to further degrade the Islamic militants.
from the December 6, 2007 edition
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Advocates of the current peace process insist that Annapolis has left Hamas further isolated in the region. Sixteen Arab governments – including its Syrian patron – showed up at the conference. Even though many Palestinians support its attacks on Israel, including the use of suicide bombings, Hamas is still viewed as a diplomatic novice, an image reinforced by its inability to win many allies.
Just a few days after Annapolis, four brothers at Gaza City's Al-Qurd Furniture store debated who was to blame for their dying family business and whether renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations held out any hope. While the talks envision the dismantling of the West Bank road blocks, Israel is expected to keep Gaza under a lockdown.
Mahmoud, the eldest, echoed Hamas's accusations that Abbas, the Palestinian president, was helping Israel stifle Gaza economically to pressure the Islamists.
But his younger brother, Wael, disagreed. "Hamas is the one who doesn't care about us. They have to resign or commit to the international community's demands, and let the people of Gaza live."
As Hamas is further marginalized, many observers predict they are likely to employ more violence to reassert themselves, either by sponsoring suicide attacks or intensified rocket attacks on Israel. Some 30 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the past 10 days as Israel retaliates for cross-border attacks.
Israeli army chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday that preparations are complete for a large offensive in Gaza, but that is likely to carry a cost of hundreds of injured civilians and dozens of Israeli military casualties without assurance of decisive victory.
Some Israelis say talks are the better way. "For the first time in a decade, there is an authority [in Gaza] which is accountable. It both exercises authority and takes accountability," said Giora Eiland, an ex-national security adviser, in an interview with Israel Radio. "It can be a partner for certain things."
But political engagement with Hamas would undermine the standing of Abbas as well as upend the renewed negotiations. Hamas's idea of a final settlement with Israel envisions a long-term truce to be preceded by a unilateral withdrawal from all of the West Bank – a nonstarter for Israel.
A third option would be to back the resuscitation of the Hamas-Fatah unity government and allow Abbas to continue negotiations. Earlier this year, Israel and the West refused to deal with such a government.
While Fatah demands that Hamas first return control over Gaza to the PA, the Islamic militants argue that their election victory in January 2006 and their control over Gaza means that, polls or no polls, they can't be ignored.
"Islamists make up more than 50 percent of the Palestinian population," says Nasser Eddin Eshaer, the top Hamas politician in the West Bank. "Stability will not come without the Islamists."
• Safwat al-Kahlout contributed reporting from Gaza City.1 | Page 2
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