The international community, especially the U.S. and the E.U., have threatened to cut off crucial financial aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government.
MOST observers of West Asia were sure that Hamas would do well in the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). In the municipal elections held in the occupied territories in the past couple of years, the organisation had performed creditably. Hence the shock and dismay expressed by the West over Hamas' victory is surprising.
The George W. Bush administration was quick to go on record that Israel now had the right to refuse to negotiate with any Palestinian government under the control of Hamas. The reasons cited by senior officials such as United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were the "terrorist" activities of Hamas' armed wing, the al Qassam Brigade, and its refusal to recognise the state of Israel. Washington wants Hamas to make immediate and unilateral concessions. In December 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives had overwhelmingly criticised Mahmoud Abbas for allowing Hamas to participate in the parliamentary elections. After the Hamas victory, members of the "Quartet" - the U.S., the European Union (E.U.), Russia and the United Nations (U.N.) - declared in London that a Hamas-controlled government would most likely face a steep cut in aid if it did not quickly renounce violence and recognise Israel. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking on behalf of the "Quartet", said that all members of the future Palestinian government should be "committed to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the road map". The "Quartet" statement has given time to Hamas to be more flexible.
U.S. and European officials said that they would continue to have contact with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who represents the Fatah. Ironically, Western governments have excellent relations with the new government in Lebanon, which has Hezbollah representation. In the West's view Hezbollah too is a "terrorist" organisation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also joined other world leaders calling on Hamas to engage Israel in a peaceful dialogue. He, however, emphasised that his country's position on Hamas differed significantly from that of the West. Putin said that the Hamas victory was a setback for the U.S. plans for the region. Russia, unlike the E.U. and the U.S., has never characterised the organisation as a "terrorist" group. Putin warned against imposing punitive measures against the Palestinians because of Hamas' victory, saying that it would have negative consequences.
Hamas is also under pressure from Arab states to renounce violence and recognise Israel. After talks at the end of January between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Mahmoud Abbas, a strong message was sent out to the organisation. According to the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Omar Suleiman, who participated in the meeting, three conditions were set: "One, to stop the violence. Two, it should become a doctrine for Hamas to be committed to all the agreements signed with Israel. Three, it has to recognise Israel." The Egyptian official went to the extent of asserting that if Hamas refused to commit itself to the three conditions, then it would not be invited to form the government.
Mushar al Masri, a spokesperson for Hamas, said that the organisation was being "blackmailed" by the demands of the U.S. and Israel. Hamas has been critical of most of the important accords signed between the P.A. and Israel. However, the Hamas leadership has indicated that it would extend the ceasefire signed last year with Israel in order to keep the region calm as demanded by the West.
Hamas' top leader, the Damascus-based Khaled Meshal, warned that attempts to impose changes on the organisation were doomed to failure. "Hamas is immune to bribery, intimidation and blackmail," he wrote in an article in The Guardian.
THE Bush administration and the other supporters of the Zionist state in the international community have conveniently forgotten that Israel has suspended talks with the P.A. for the past five years. The Bush administration had, in fact, supported the Israeli Defence Force's (IDF) invasion and ransacking of the West Bank in 2002. Much of the P.A.'s infrastructure, including hospitals, administrative buildings and schools, were destroyed in the offensive. The Israeli government refused to implement the "road map" for peace proposed by the "Quartet".
Israel cut off negotiations with the P.A. after Ariel Sharon took over as Prime Minister in 2001. The P.A. had given significant concessions to the Israelis at the Taba summit in Egypt just a month before Sharon assumed office. According to several observers of West Asia, Israel could have clinched a very favourable peace deal. In this context, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion after the Hamas victory - that Israel would not talk with an "armed terror organisation that calls for Israel's destruction" - does not mark a significant shift in the country's position.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who headed the 950-strong international observer mission for the PLC elections, reminded the media in Jerusalem that the victory of Hamas did not mean the interruption of a meaningful peace process. "There have not been any meaningful peace talks for the last three and a half years. For almost three years, the elected leader of the Palestinian people [Arafat] was imprisoned in two or three rooms in Ramallah and was not permitted to leave his office," said Carter. Carter has made an impassioned plea to the international community to continue helping the Palestinians. He said: "The Palestinian government is destitute and in desperate financial straits. I hope that support for the new government is forthcoming."
Immediately after the electoral triumph of Hamas, Israel announced that it was suspending payment due to the P.A. for February. Without external financial assistance, Palestinian civil servants, doctors and others will have to go without their salaries. The P.A.'s annual budget of $3 billion is dependent on funds from donors. Israel transfers around $50 million a month that it collects on behalf of the P.A. A Hamas spokesperson accused Israel of "trying to steal Palestinian money".
In late January, a meeting of E.U. Foreign Ministers in Brussels threatened to cut off financial aid to the P.A. if Hamas did not renounce violence, recognise Isreal and disarm. E.U. aid in 2005 totalled more than $615 million. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya appealed to the E.U. "to understand the priorities of the Palestinian people at this stage and continue the spiritual and financial support to push the region towards stability rather than pressure and tension". Haniya, who is likely to lead Hamas in government, appealed to the "Quartet" to engage in talks with the group without attaching preconditions. Hamas representatives have emphasised that the international aid is for the beleaguered Palestinian people living under the yoke of Israeli occupation. International aid agencies working in the occupied territories have raised similar concerns.
On February 1, the Palestinians received some good news. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pledged to transfer immediately $33 million to the P.A. to ease the severe budget crisis. This will help the P.A. to tide over its immediate problems, which include the payment of January salaries to its 137,000 employees. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal was critical of the West's response to the Hamas victory. "The E.U. insisted on having elections in Palestine and this is the result of what they asked for. Now to come around and say that they don't accept the will of the people that was expressed through democratic means seems an unreasonable position to take," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
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