Obama Must Act to Stop Hamas-Fatah Deal -Jonathan Tobin
President Obama may be fed up with Israel, but the Palestinian Authority appears to be about to take one step closer to effectively ending all hope for peace in the foreseeable future.
PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to a key concession that will solidify the Hamas-Fatah unity pact. The result will guarantee a strong Hamas role in the new Palestinian government that will ensure it will be impossible for the PA to agree to any deal with Israel...
It should also be understood that allowing Hamas to get a foothold in the PA has implications for the region as well as the peace process. Hamas is an Iranian ally. A victory for them undermines moderate Arabs everywhere.
The unity pact also demonstrates the bankruptcy of President Obama's Middle East diplomacy. By focusing almost exclusively on trying to badger Netanyahu into concessions on the 1967 borders and settlements, Obama has only reinforced Palestinian intransigence and set the stage for Hamas to gain ground.
But it is not too late for the president to start using the considerable leverage he still holds over Abbas. Were Obama to tell Abbas that he will lose every penny of the hundreds of millions of dollars he gets from the U.S. annually and that Washington will work to cut off every other avenue of aid, that would get the PA's attention. Only by cracking down hard on the PA now is there any hope for averting a deal that will expand the influence of Iran's Islamist terrorist auxiliaries.
[Jewish World Review]
*
1 comment:
I do not necessarily agree with all the harsh rhetoric against the Obama administration mostly because I have not seen any administration do much better, and certainly nothing constructive has been accomplished in the last decade. However, I do think the basic assessment of this article is sound. Hamas gaining ground is anathema and Obama threatening the purse strings might be enough leverage. It might not however because Abbas fears for his life and Iran can help financially though hopefully further sanctions will disable that venue. The problem there is the world wants their oil, Russia and China support that, and the fragile world economy cannot stand any terrible price shocks. Thus Iranian sanctions are unlikely to bite enough to starve Hamas of Iranian cash and supplies. The situation is not good and I am not sure there is that much the US can really do about it. If the US cuts off aid the bombs and rockets will still be made but the children and poor will be allowed to starve--publicly---and the UN full of hypocrites will blame the US for cutting off aid and Israel for the situation. Not good at all.
Post a Comment