Saturday
Jan102009
Follow-Up: The Plan to Bring Fatah into Gaza --- Livni Speaks
Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 18:58
For those still sceptical of our notion of the "grand design" to topple Hamas and replace it with Fatah....
I just read carefully Israeli Foreign Tzipi Livni's interview in today's Washington Post. Most reports have focused on the headline, "Israel is Not Going to Show Restraint", but the political significance is hidden away in the second half of the interview:
POST: People in Washington are interested in how long the operation will last and what Israel's aim is.
LIVNI: The Annapolis[peace] process is based on the understanding that we are working with a pragmatic leadership in the Palestinian Authority while fighting terror. It is a zero-sum game when Hamas is getting stronger while Abu Mazen is getting weaker. The Palestinians need to understand that Israel can share and implement and translate the vision of two states for two peoples with those that accept this vision, who accept Israel's existence and renounce violence and terrorism. Hamas does not. Hamas does not represent the national aspirations of the Palestinians. It represents extreme Islamic ideas, which they share with Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.
POST: Your goal is to continue the dialogue with the Palestinian Authority but also weaken the extremists?
LIVNI: Yes. . . . We are willing to . . . try and find a peace treaty with the moderates as long [as] at the end of the day, we don't fight a terror state on the other side of the border.
POST: Would you say [Hamas] needs to be removed?
LIVNI: I would say that the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas is a burden not only to Israel but to the Palestinians themselves.
I just read carefully Israeli Foreign Tzipi Livni's interview in today's Washington Post. Most reports have focused on the headline, "Israel is Not Going to Show Restraint", but the political significance is hidden away in the second half of the interview:
POST: People in Washington are interested in how long the operation will last and what Israel's aim is.
LIVNI: The Annapolis[peace] process is based on the understanding that we are working with a pragmatic leadership in the Palestinian Authority while fighting terror. It is a zero-sum game when Hamas is getting stronger while Abu Mazen is getting weaker. The Palestinians need to understand that Israel can share and implement and translate the vision of two states for two peoples with those that accept this vision, who accept Israel's existence and renounce violence and terrorism. Hamas does not. Hamas does not represent the national aspirations of the Palestinians. It represents extreme Islamic ideas, which they share with Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.
POST: Your goal is to continue the dialogue with the Palestinian Authority but also weaken the extremists?
LIVNI: Yes. . . . We are willing to . . . try and find a peace treaty with the moderates as long [as] at the end of the day, we don't fight a terror state on the other side of the border.
POST: Would you say [Hamas] needs to be removed?
LIVNI: I would say that the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas is a burden not only to Israel but to the Palestinians themselves.
Reader Comments (1)
So, I take it that Livni is banking on the strategy below (#2)...?
1. This week’s Duly Noted’s content has been shaped by the salient events of the Near East. There is a justification. The reaction to, and the handling of the conflict predicts the way we will cope with the tension accumulating between modern societies and Islamism.
2. It is fashionable to qualify as a visionary analyst by observing that Israel’s actions in Gaza will radicalize the Palestinians/Moslems. One might be wondering how a Himalaya of hostility can be significantly raised by adding a few grains of sand. Even so, let us accept a part of the statement. If Hamas gets the right to rocket Israel while shooting back is labeled as an atrocity then, the radicals will certainly be confirmed in their attitude. Some of the undecided will also lend their support to the zealots because, as an argument, nothing is more convincing than the ability to bring results. On the other side of the coin, however, if Hamas’ wings are cut back significantly by the application of a counter force, then the radicals’ way will appear to be an excursion into a political desert. This will have an effect that allegedly “everybody” desires. It is that radicalism’s failure will strengthen the moderates.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3737