Tuesday, May 05, 2009

How to Respond to Hamas   [Jonah Goldberg]

Trusting Hamas is almost like fodder for the old Bad Idea Jeans commercial from Saturday Night Live. But, if Hamas says that it's willing to tear-up its own charter and accept pre-1967 borders, it seems to me that Israel and the U.S. cannot simply ignore that. How either should respond is an interesting question. But before people get too excited, it's worth noting that Khaled Meshal, the ostensible leader of Hamas, is not calling for peace with Israel. From the Times story:

On the two-state solution sought by the Americans, he said: “We are with a state on the 1967 borders, based on a long-term truce. This includes East Jerusalem, the dismantling of settlements and the right of return of the Palestinian refugees.” Asked what “long-term” meant, he said 10 years.

This, it seems to me, is an open admission that Hamas is seeking a "hudna" with Israel. Maybe that's progress of some kind. I would love to see Israel exploit such overtures to its advantage (and to the advantage of the Palestinians) — by which I mean moving the country closer to living at peace with its neighbors. But, I have no good idea how to do that.

05/05 10:30 AMShare