When it comes to U.S. foreign policy in Palestine, sometimes I wonder whether the U.S. thinks that “democracy” is just a synonym for “supremacy.”
First, the U.S. demands that the Palestinian people embrace democracy. Then the Palestinians participate in a free and democratic election and elect Hamas. This is not whom the U.S. wanted to win, so they impose some of the most stringent economic sanctions of modern times on the Palestinian Authority, leaving them unable to pay schoolteachers, welfare workers, and to provide food and health care for those in need.
The U.S. continues to give Israel several billion dollars in military aid every year in order to facilitate their illegal military occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Then the U.S. pressures Israel to allow it to arm the rival party, Fatah, with millions of dollars worth of guns, ammunition and armored vehicles. The U.S. acts surprised when the democratically elected Hamas react by demonstrating their military superiority over Fatah in the Gaza Strip .
They praise the Fatah leader come Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when he calls a state of national emergency and sacks the Palestinian government. They then appoint an emergency government which excludes the democratically elected Hamas, ignoring the Palestinian consitution.
To top things off, the U.S. tries to bolster support for Abbas’s emergency government by lifting sanctions on the Palestinian people and resuming full diplomatic relations with the appointed emergency government.
The U.S. praises the appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and denounces the democratically elected Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Yet, at the same time, the U.S. continues to promote its vision of democracy as the solution in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole. It makes you wonder what will happen if, in the next election, Iraqis elect a party that the U.S. doesn’t like. Is it still democracy if it doesn’t serve the interests of the White House?
The White House has plenty of good reasons to dislike Hamas. Most notably, the Hamas Covenant calls for the creation of an Islamist state covering the entirety of historic Palestine. Additionally, during the second Palestinian uprising, Hamas sponsored a string of suicide bombings.
Yet, there are still good reasons for the White House to take Hamas seriously. Since forming a government, Hamas has agreed to recognize and respect former peace treaties made with Israel.
This signifies an implicit recognition of Israel and a commitment to honor the peace process.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has also implemented an informal cease-fire with Israel since 2004 and since has refrained from suicide bombings.
Furthermore, Hamas has offered Israel a long-term truce provided that Israel withdraws from all Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Hamas’ policy is consistent with U.N. Security Council resolution 242 which calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories” occupied during the Six-Day War of 1967.
By comparison, Israel has ignored this offer of a long-term truce, and has refused to acknowledge a Palestinian Authority administered by Hamas and also has refused to withdraw from the West Bank for more than 40 years.
Since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip and the dismissal of the unity government, these have been turbulent times for the Palestinian territories; but it would seem unwise for President Abbas to ignore the democratically elected and highly popular resistance movement.
Suppression has only ever led to stronger and more radical resistance. Since the 2006 election, economic sanctions, detention of legislators and political marginalization by Western governments have all meant that Hamas has never had a chance to properly govern the Palestinian territories. In the spirit of freedom and democracy, we should encourage the recognition of their administration and give them a chance at peace.
As former U.S. President and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter said following the 2006 election, “there’s a good chance” that, if given the opportunity, Hamas could become a nonviolent political organization.
The alternative could be much worse.
John Marshall is a graduate student in the department of biomathematics. He is a former Viewpoint columnist.