Obama signals intent to perpetuate
failed Israeli-Palestinian policies

April 16, 2008

Today, presidential candidate Barack Obama criticized former President Jimmy Carter for meeting with leaders of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas. Obama stated that "We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by past agreements."

In my opinion, Obama's position is wrong for two reasons.

First, Hamas is a legitimate party to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute because it represents the views of a substantial portion of Palestinians, having won a majority in the 2006 legislative elections in that territory. As a legitimate party, it must have a seat at the negotiating table if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ever to be resolved.

Second, even if preconditions on Hamas' participation were justified, Obama's preconditions are unreasonable. Requiring it to recognize Israel unilaterally is asking Hamas to give away its principal bargaining chip before negotiations even start. Furthermore, Hamas should not be required to abide by past agreements when those same agreements have already been violated by Israel, most notably by its continuing settlement of Palestinian territory (the West Bank).

Former national security advisors Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft have both stated their support for dialogue with Hamas. "Former President Carter to Meet With Hamas Chief", Washington Post, April 10, 2008, p. A12. I agree with Brzezinski and Scowcroft and believe that the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to break with the failed, one-sided policies of the past and respect the views of all parties to the dispute.