10 anerkannte Schwergewichte der amerikanischen Aussenpolitik (von beiden Seiten es Spektrums) raten Obama zu einem besser ausbalancierten Umgang mit dem palästinensischen Problem. Roger Cohen berichtet:
Without Hamas’s involvement, there can be no Middle East peace. Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah leader and president of the Palestinian National Authority, is a beleaguered figure.
The report goes further: „Cease discouraging Palestinian national reconciliation and make clear that a government that agrees to a cease-fire with Israel, accepts President Mahmoud Abbas as the chief negotiator and commits to abiding by the results of a national referendum on a future peace agreement would not be boycotted or sanctioned.“
In other words, stop being hung up on prior Hamas recognition of Israel and watch what it does rather than what it says. If Hamas is part of, and remains part of, a Palestinian unity government that makes a peace deal with Israel, that’s workable.
Henry Siegman, the president of the U.S./Middle East Project, whose chairman is Scowcroft and whose board includes all 10 signatories, told me he met recently with Khaled Meshal, the political director of Hamas in Damascus.
Meshal told him, and put in writing, that although Hamas would not recognize Israel, it would remain in a Palestinian national unity government that reached a referendum-endorsed peace settlement with Israel.
De facto, rather than de jure, recognition can be a basis for a constructive relationship, as Israel knows from the mutual benefits of its shah-era dealings with Iran.
Moreover, Israeli governments have negotiated a two-state solution although they included religious parties that do not recognize Palestinians‘ right to statehood.
„But,“ said Siegman, „if moderates within Hamas are to prevail, a payoff is needed for their moderation. And until the U.S. provides one, there will be no Palestinian unity government.“