Europe in the Middle East / Comment
To Palestine, via "Mecca" and "Beirut"
12/04/2007 By Mark Taylor
For the US and Europe, a regional and comprehensive approach may become unavoidable. Yet, any attempt to re-start a peace process will have to confront the challenge of state-building in Palestine with Hamas as a partner, or as a potential spoiler.
Is there are strategy to engage Hamas? Is Hamas capable of compromise?
The newly appointed Palestinian Finance Minister, Salam Fayyad, pronounced himself satisfied in April (11.04.06) after his meetings with European donors in Brussels. Fayyad delivered a message to the European Union (EU) of institutional degradation resulting from the international boycott, and of dire humanitarian consequences if it is not lifted.
The fact that Fayyad was able to deliver his message in person was, for a Palestinian government, an improvement after a year of sanctions.
For its part, the official response from the EU to the newly formed unity government of the Palestinian Authority was cool, conditioning aid on progress by the Hamas-led government towards meeting the conditions laid down by the Quartet.
The U.S. and EU positions amount to continued diplomatic inertia. This despite the fact that, by most measures, the US-led boycott has been a resounding failure.
Hamas has not met international demands to recognise Israel, has not accepted fully past agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), nor has it renounced violence.
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Keywords
Conflict resolution EU Foreign Policy Gaza Strip and West Bank MEPP Middle EastBio author: Mark Taylor
B.A (Religious Studies, History); LL.M (Public International Law). His key working areas are: war economies, peace operations, international organisations, international law, human rights, security, Middle East.
