Soccer Dad

Though insincere ...

Nice to know: Palestinians shift leaders in bid for aid

The probable new prime minister, Mohammad Shabir, is a former head of the Hamas-sponsored Islamic University in Gaza, but is not considered an active member of the party. The selection of an independent Islamist, say analysts, helps Hamas save face, while allowing the new Palestinian government more flexibility to meet the requirements of US and European donor nations and restore the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance.

Here too: Candidate for Palestinian Premier Emerges

A former university president in the Gaza Strip emerged Monday as the top candidate to head a Palestinian national unity government now being assembled in a bid to end the economic sanctions that have crippled the Hamas-led administration.

The point of this exercise is nothing more than a cynical attempt to get money so Hamas can stop smuggling the money in.

Of course it's all about the money, not about moderation: Hamas says new government won't recognize Israel.

The ruling Islamic militant group Hamas said on Tuesday a planned Palestinian unity government would not recognize Israel or accept a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

The stance could undercut Palestinian efforts to ease an eight-month-old Western economic boycott by forming a unity cabinet more acceptable to Israel and its closest ally, the United States.

The United States and its partners in the Quartet of Middle East mediators imposed the boycott to pressure Hamas, which took control of the Authority in March, to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept existing peace deals.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the program of the proposed unity government between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction "will not recognize Israel and will not include accepting the two-state solution."

"We reject the two-state solution, which is the vision of U.S. President George Bush, because it represents a clear recognition of Israel," Barhoum said.

One hopes that President Bush understands this and doesn't give into pressure:
Bush Faces New Calls to Shift Policies On Mideast

In London, meanwhile, Blair suggested a desire for a more aggressive Western initiative to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a key to tamping down violence in the region, a recommendation that is also reportedly under consideration by the Iraq Study Group. Blair said that resolving the Arab-Israeli dispute, stabilizing Lebanon and pressuring Iran to halt its support of militants are key to helping reduce bloodshed in Iraq.

"A major part of the answer to Iraq lies not in Iraq itself but outside it, in the whole of the region where the same forces are at work, where the roots of this global terrorism are to be found, where the extremism flourishes," said Blair, Bush's closest international ally on Iraq.

Giving Hamas legitimacy on the basis of cosmetic change will neither help the peace process nor help with Iraq. If the United States goes "wobbly" on this it will only encourage the terrorists.

Alternatively, if Hamas feels the need to "change" however superficially, that's a sign that pressure is working. (I don't believe for a moment that Fatah doesn't have access to millions. It's just that they have no interest in using it for their people.) That's all the more reason to maintain the pressure not to relieve it by declaring that Hamas has now come around. Ignoring Arafat's continued terror didn't help in the past. Ignoring Hamas's true intent won't help now or in the future.

Technorati tags: Israel, Hamas.