Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly
criticized the Hamas and Fatah unity deal signed by Palestinian President
Mahmud Abbas. The deal, signed in Qatar, combines the two parties into a unity
government led by Abbas as interim prime minister, with the goal of
kickstarting efforts to rebuild the Gaza strip. Barak Ravid in the HaaretzDaily Newspaper quoted Netanyahu's statements at a Lukid party meeting:
"Hamas is a terrorist organization that wants to destroy Israel and is supported by Iran."
Netanyahu continues by explaining that Israel has
been making efforts towards a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict and that this unity agreement could only serve to disrupt it. Hamas
chief Khaled Meshal argued that the move ends "the chapter of
division," promoting Palestinian "reconciliation."
The Jerusalem Post's coverage of this story argues that
Netanyahu's remarks were actually directed at the international community so
that outside pressure can be placed on the Fatah party in Palestine to rethink
its strategy. Netanyahu labels Hamas as a terrorist group, funded by Iran,
which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist as well as denying previous
peace agreements between Israel and Palestine. It is noted that in 2006 Hamas
was victorious in the Palestinian legislature elections, with a Hamas member
appointed as prime minister. Israel refused to cooperate with the Hamas-led
government. Both the United States and European Union made statements that are
not concrete, though the US seems to be more likely to support Netanyahu's
stance as it reiterated his point about Hamas being the issue, whereas the EU
called reconciliation "an opportunity rather than a threat."
The articles in Haaretz by Barak Ravid and The Jerusalem
Post by Herb Keinon are written in a way to limit commentary as much as
possible. Thus, there is at least an attempt to be objective, using direct quotes from statements and speeches. With that said, Ravid was very limited in its reporting in that it
merely quotes Netanyahu and Meshal while concluding with a summary of what the
unity agreement is composed of. Keinon on the other hand provides background
into the issue which in a way explains that such a unity deal would be made by
the Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah due to the consequences of the 2006
elections. Truth be told though, Hamas does tend to be very much absolutist in
their goals. However, this could very well be a move by Hamas towards realistic
approaches to solving issues as it involves working with a party that is
against their Islamist views.
On the other hand, Israel may have reason to not trust Hamas
to work in a way that would be mutually beneficial to both Israel and Palestinians.
In fact, the Haaretz mentions that both Fatah and Hamas were considering having
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as Abbas’ deputy in the unity government.
Haniyeh has recently stated during a trip to Iran that Hamas will never recognize the state of Israel
and thanked Iran for their support of the Palestinian resistance—or terrorism
as Netanyahu considers it. Conviction is admirable (without initiating force,
of course) but the reality of the situation here is that Hamas’ goal of “liberating”
all of Palestine from Israel is highly unlikely to happen now. Thus while they
could see this as an ideal, it would be best for them to find a solution where
they can get as close to their goal as possible.
Israel on the other hand needs to realize that by snubbing a
political faction that may have actually fairly won elections only makes them
look like the opposition, in this case Fatah, look like a puppet party. This
can create blowback as the Palestinian people who support Hamas will see Israel
as an illegitimate influence on their own affairs. As much as Israel hates
Hamas, this unity government is better for Israel, at least better than a solid
Hamas government. At the same time, Israel has little incentive to cooperate
with Hamas due to its unrealistic goals which are the antithesis to the Israeli
state. As Israel has the upper hand in its affairs, Hamas needs to find common
ground.
