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Kenyan Paper Says Middle East Peace Process "Headed for a Crash"

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 February 2006, 06:00 CST

Text of editorial headed 'Hamas must be ready to guard past accords', by Kenyan newspaper The People on 1 February

The long search for peace in the Middle East, it appears, is headed for a crash. The Hamas movement, composed of individuals who are considered by the Western countries as hard-core terrorists, now have power in Palestine.

At the 25 January Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas defeated the US-backed Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and the late Yasir Arafat.

In what can only be described as a stunning victory for the radical Islamic party, Hamas won 76 out of 132 seats in the Palestinian legislature. Fatah will have just 43 seats when the legislature convenes. Certainly, the people of Palestine have spoken, even if what they had to say was not what many in the West wanted to hear.

Why the Western countries are concerned is that Hamas has a record of organizing major attacks on Israel, which the movement has accused of occupying land belonging to the Palestinians. Hamas is avowedly and formally anti-Israel. Its 9,000-word charter, written in 1988, calls the struggle against Israel a religious imperative, which now complicates the peace deal, which was being mapped by the Fatah party.

The US, the EU, the UN and Russia are now contemplating to stop financial assistance to the incoming Hamas-led Palestinian government. At stake is hundreds of millions of dollars to support the Palestinian administration and to carry out building projects. But the threat to stop economic assistance to a government formed by Hamas would punish the Palestinian people for having democratically and calmly voted for their leaders.

A way out here will be for the Western countries to first and foremost respect the decision made by the electorate if they are committed to democratic principles. This notwithstanding, Hamas will have to moderate its ways now that it has power, or Palestinians will realize what a huge mistake they have made and vote the terrorists out of power in the next elections.

Hamas is also obligated to accept existing agreements and obligations, including a plan for the creation of a Palestinian state in peaceful coexistence with Israel. It should also drop the hardline approach to the Middle East conflict and be ready to negotiate with the other parties. It will make a grave mistake to exclude other parties from power and if it fails to gradually make itself a partner in peace by submitting to international conditions of disarming first and recognizing the state of Israel.

Hamas should also be ready to cooperate with the international community and to protect the Palestinian Authority's commitments and accords, as well as democratic pluralism.

Source: BBC Monitoring Africa

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