Blogger News Network

June 27, 2006

Since the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants, both the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have been under pressure, with Israel now moving many forces near Gaza[1]. Reuters was told by a Hamas MP, Salah al-Bardaweel, that Hamas does not fully recognize the current Israel, but would "accept a state [in territory occupied] in 1967 - but we did not say we accept two states"[2]. This shows an important shift, albeit a fairly small one, from Hamas' previous view which does not recognise Israel's right to exist. As of now, the United States has not made any positive comment on the shift in policy from Hamas. The statement made by U.S. press secretary Tony Snow gave the strong implication that Hamas will continue to be shunned by the U.S. and others until they renounce their stance on terror[3].

Another important aspect of these events is that Hamas appears to have broken the silence between them and Fatah, the other major Palestinian party. Hamas, controls the parliament after a recent election victory, forming a government led by PM Ismail Haniya, while Fatah controls the presidency with Mahmoud Abbas as president. Hamas and Fatah, after recent strife and violence between the parties, have agreed to a document that may help, even slightly, the relationship between Hamas, the PA and Israel with a step towards recognition of their neighbor.

Hamas states that they still pay no explicit recognition towards Israel but they do implicitly [4]. The agreement between Hamas and Fatah on the yet-to-be-revealed document is still in place and looks fairly stable. The agreement of Hamas to let the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, negotiate with Israel, among other things that Hamas and Fatah are in agreement on, gives the strong implication that Hamas does implicitly recognize Israel. At the same time, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has given warning to the Palestinian militants that military force is about to be used as Israel moves forces near Gaza if the captured soldier is not released. The statement of even an implicit recognition of Israel with the 1967 border plan shows that Hamas has still had a fairly substantial change in their policy. This policy change comes at a time when Palestinians are worried about the recent movement of Israeli troops in response to the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier. The Israelis have appeared to launch their offensive, with a bridge in Gaza being attacked by planes[5]. It has now been confirmed that Israel to launch a ground offensive against the militants in Gaza[6].

Related stories

• "Israeli soldier taken captive". Wikinews, June 26, 2006

Sources

• "Hamas 'implicitly accepts Israel'". BBC News, June 27, 2006
• David Fickling and agencies "Hamas makes deal with Fatah". The Guardian, June 27, 2006
• Times Online and agencies "Hamas agrees to document recognising Israel". The Times, June 27, 2006
• Rami Amichai "Israeli forces mass near Gaza". Reuters, June 27, 2006
• "No recognition of Israel - Hamas". BBC News, June 27, 2006
• Chris McGreal "Hamas move offers peace hopes amid hostage row". The Guardian, June 28, 2006
• "Israeli planes strike Gaza sites". BBC News, June 27, 2006
• Ibrahim Barzak/AP "Israeli Planes Attack Bridge in Gaza". ABC News, June 27, 2006
• "Forces leave Gaza airport after Israeli warning". Reuters, June 27, 2006
• "Israel army starts Gaza assault". BBC News, June 27, 2006
• "Israeli tanks roll into southern Gaza -army". Reuters, June 28, 2006