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Hamas in Gaza, one year on / Everyone in the region is talking to each other By Zvi Bar'el Tags: hamas The tahadiyeh (fighting lull) has already begun - not between Israel and Hamas, but certainly between Fatah and Hamas. Hamas' media outlets, the Al-Aqsa TV station and the movement's Web site, have ceased referring to the Palestinian Authority as "the apparatus of [Mahmoud] Abbas and [Salam] Fayyad" (the Palestinian president and prime minister, respectively) and to the PA's security forces as the "Dayton apparatus" - after U.S. General Keith Dayton, who is in charge of security coordination between the PA and Israel. For their part, the PA media outlets have ceased using the expression "Hamas revolution" to describe the Islamist party's seizing of control of the Gaza Strip; in its stead, the terms "rift" or "split" are being used. In the same vein, what were previously referred to as Hamas' "revolutionary militias" are now being called "the police of the dismissed government" - the new phrase used to describe Hamas' police forces in Gaza. Tomorrow, Hamas will mark the one-year anniversary of its seizure of power in Gaza. To everyone, except Israel, which has been trying to bring about Hamas' collapse for the past two and a half years, it's clear that the division of the territories between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank cannot continue for much longer. The Mecca agreement (February 2007) and the Sanaa declaration (March 2008), accompanied by Egyptian mediation and the media diplomacy of both sides over the past year have made it clear that the status quo is anything but a normal reality and that the West Bank cannot be a substitute for "all of Palestine." About 10 days ago, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Six-Day War, Palestinian President Abbas issued a televised statement calling for a national dialogue to unite the ranks. No precondition was attached to this appeal. Nor did he demand an apology from Hamas or a return to the status quo ante of June 14 as a precondition for dialogue. Advertisement Hamas quickly embraced the initiative. Abbas met earlier this week with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and then with Saudi King Abdullah, and asked them to sponsor a joint meeting. Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal also spoke with Mubarak and met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh promised Mubarak that Hamas would do its utmost to ensure that such a meeting would be a success. Egypt agreed to host a reconciliation meeting, and Washington was very concerned. When asked, Abbas insisted that his conditions had not changed, but that they no longer constituted a precondition for holding a dialogue. Moreover, the dialogue is expected to yield early elections, both for the parliament and the presidency, and is also supported by the other Palestinian factions that have united into "the left-wing bloc." Arab pressure Officials in Hamas and the PA believe that a dialogue is more possible now than in the past because both sides realize that, as things stand, they cannot achieve more than they already have. Hamas cannot present the past year as a big governmental success in Gaza, but at the same time, the PA has not managed to wrest any substantial concessions from Israel either. However, an Israeli offensive in Gaza, should it take place, would put Hamas and the PA in the same trap and delay the continuation of the political dialogue. Arab pressure, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, combined with Syrian assistance, has also played a role. The Arab states have realized that the rift between Fatah and Hamas and Hamas' control over Gaza have not neutralized the Islamic organization's influence, but rather have given it a means of pressuring Egypt and provided an opening for Iranian influence on what goes on in the Palestinian arena. Israel's adamant stance opposing a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah is blinding it to the possibility that such a reconciliation could actually yield quiet at a time when the Israeli government is in any event incapable of making diplomatic decisions. Hamas' renewed participation in the governmental institutions and the holding of new elections for the Palestinian parliament may well produce results similar to those of the 2006 elections, but this time those results would come against the backdrop of the tough lessons of the past two years. Perhaps the diplomatic negotiations could be forgotten for a while, but at least it would be possible to manage daily affairs, otherwise known as "sewerage, water and electricity," in a reasonable manner. The Syrian angle The internal Palestinian dialogue is not disconnected from the developing diplomatic moves involving Syria. The diplomatic ambitions of Qatar's leader, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, were not satisfied by the Doha summit, which produced the breakthrough for a solution to the Lebanon crisis. Now Thani hopes to hold a mini-summit, to be attended by the president of Egypt, the king of Saudi Arabia and the president of Syria. This ought not to be construed as diplomatic philanthropy on the part of Qatar, though. Syria played an important part in the success of the Doha summit - so much so that French President Nicolas Sarkozy even phoned his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad personally to thank him for his help in mediating the conflict between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government. True, the newly elected president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, is close to Syria and enjoys Assad's support; all the demands of Hezbollah and its partners in terms of the numerical composition of the new government were met; and the new election law, when passed, will not hinder Syria's ability to direct the course of affairs within Lebanon. But the positive approach Syria presented was enough in itself to impress the Arab states and France. Egypt has already made it known that it has no objection to smoothing things over with Syria if Saudi Arabia first reconciles with it - after all, the crux of the conflict is between the latter two countries - over the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, the convening of the International Court against the suspects in the murder (most of whom are apparently Syrians) and Syria's role in preventing a solution to the Lebanon crisis, that is, until the Doha summit. Until Saudi Arabia says yes, Egypt will keep its distance, as it did this week when Mubarak declined to appear at a mini-summit organized by Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, which Assad attended. To ease the way toward reconciliation, at the end of this month Assad is expected to announce the opening of a Syrian embassy in Lebanon. This will be the first time Syria recognizes Lebanon as an independent country, and backs such recognition up with significant diplomatic action, too. Assad has already been assured that when Syria opens an embassy in Lebanon, he will get to receive a very distinguished guest: the French president. Sarkozy has also stated that when Assad arrives in Paris in mid-July to attend the conference of Mediterranean nations Sarkozy is organizing, he will be the president's personal guest. The efficient Frenchman, who also made a five-hour official visit to Lebanon earlier this week, was able during a brief meeting in Beirut to obtain Hezbollah's consent to try to resolve the Shaba Farms problem (the Shaba Farms is a small enclave between Israel and Lebanon whose ownership is disputed). Before his official translator was able to make her way to the meeting, Sarkozy enlisted the Lebanese president, Suleiman, to translate his conversation with Mohammed Ra'ad, a parliament member from Hezbollah, who said that his organization has no objection to a diplomatic resolution to the issue of the proprietorship of the area. Sarkozy has since announced that he is sending his diplomatic advisers to Syria to begin a campaign to "win hearts." Sarkozy's initiative may not mesh well with Washington's policy toward Syria, but at a time when Israel is holding peace negotiations with that country, and Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt are prepared to renew ties with Assad, Sarkozy can certainly pursue an independent policy in the region. Does this mean that the honeymoon between Sarkozy and U.S. President George W. Bush has come to an end? Not necessarily. France is just the bridge through which Assad seeks to reach Washington. To make good use of this bridge, Assad could contribute to the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and, later on, also encourage Hamas to readopt the formulas pertaining to the peace process, for which Hamas has already hinted its acceptance, such as the prisoners' document or the 2002 Arab initiative. If Syria is negotiating with Israel, how can it block Hamas or the other militant organizations from doing so? Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fragile cease-fire Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived. Unbalanced stance Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance.   1.   Change in language 13:48  |  Slibovitz 14/06/08   2.   talk talk talk 14:30  |  joe smith 14/06/08   3.   #1 I agree 14:33  |  Outsider 14/06/08   4.   1.Silbowitz,that will happen as soon as israel indicates that it 14:42  |  lakshmi 14/06/08   5.   Pals dialog with themselves :They ask and reply 15:06  |  Sal 14/06/08   6.   Such Progress Already 16:20  |  Jeff Northridge 14/06/08   7.   outsider 16:26  |  Di, the doubter 14/06/08   8.   Hamas will keep getting Fatah 17:58  |  H 14/06/08   9.   No difference in goals of Hamas and Fatah 18:09  |  Jean Van Daem 14/06/08   10.   A long way to go before they reduce the rate of civilians killed. 21:00  |  Margaret Connell 14/06/08   11.   Talking 21:14  |  P. J. Casey 14/06/08   12.   Bringing up the rear 00:09  |  Jim 15/06/08   13.   #5 Sal Insanity? 02:55  |  Jim 15/06/08   14.   #6 Jeff Northridge 03:20  |  Jim 15/06/08   15.   #10 Margaret Connell 03:34  |  Jim 15/06/08

Read & React Olmert: Gaza truce is Hamas' last chance to avoid major IDF op Responses: 204 ANALYSIS / For Gaza truce architect, Israel chose lesser of 2 evils Responses: 103 Editorial: A lengthy cease-fire is an achievement for Israel Responses: 45 Jerusalem denies services to Palestinian residents over the fence Responses: 76 Rosner's Domain / The Joe Lieberman dilemma Responses: 65 More Headlines 18:20 Barak: Only U.S. can advance Israel-Syria talks 20:39 Israel-Hamas truce takes hold in Gaza 22:01 Head of Lebanese terrorist's village: We're preparing for Kuntar's homecoming Sunday 12:24 Environmentalists win decade-long war against Eilat fish farms 18:53 VIDEO: Hamas TV shows how to abduct an Israeli soldier 19:45 Lithuania bans public display of Soviet and Nazi symbols 15:48 The Joe Lieberman dilemma 14:46 Mother of missing soldier: Hezbollah will kidnap again if Kuntar not returned 17:20 Taxi and truck drivers protest fuel prices, clog main T.A. artery 17:56 Land mine explosion kills two Bedouin children in Sinai 19:06 Report: Human rights activists in Arab world face countless threats 15:10 Four police officers injured in clashes with West Bank settlers 16:11 Social workers to shut down welfare offices over labor dispute Previous Editions Select Day 18 jun 17 jun 16 jun 15 jun 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun 06 jun 05 jun

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