November 22, 2008
Egypt: Don't prejudge Hamas
In Mideast visit, Rice urges Arab leaders to pressure militant group, but she may find it's a difficult task
DAMASCUS, Syria - As Muslim leaders insist that they would make up any funding that the Palestinians lose with Hamas assuming power, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Middle East yesterday to urge Arab governments not to give the militant group a blank check.
Rice is focusing her visit on Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the two Arab power centers and longtime U.S. allies. She plans to lobby their leaders to pressure Hamas to lay down its arms and recognize Israel, or risk isolation from the Arab world. But Rice's campaign did not get off to a promising start in Cairo, where she met with Egypt's intelligence chief and foreign minister.
"If the new Palestinian government led by Hamas is going to be able to meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people ... it goes without saying that you cannot have one foot in the camp of terror and the other foot in the camp of politics," Rice said after meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
But Gheit argued that the United States and Europe were being hasty in threatening to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. "We should give Hamas time," he said, standing next to Rice. "I am sure that Hamas will develop, will evolve. We should not prejudge the issue."
Last month Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian legislature, displacing the Fatah movement after four decades in power. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Hamas to form a new government, which includes a prime minister and cabinet.
While it appointed a relative moderate, Ismael Haniyeh, as prime minister on Sunday, Hamas still has a long way to go before it can win international acceptance. The group is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Israel and the West have demanded that it renounce violence, recognize the Jewish state and promise to abide by existing peace agreements. Hamas leaders have refused to do so.
After Hamas legislators were sworn into office on Saturday, the Israeli government voted to stop the transfer of about $50 million in monthly customs and tax revenue that it collects for the Palestinian Authority. That money is used to pay the salaries of about 138,000 Palestinian government employees, including 58,000 members of the security forces. Israeli officials have ruled out any dialogue with a Palestinian government led by Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings since the mid-1990s.
Rice faces a difficult task in convincing autocratic Arab regimes to isolate Hamas, since many Arab leaders blame the Islamic group's victory on the Bush administration's drive for democracy in the Middle East. Now, these leaders say, the United States must live with the results of its policies.
More than half of the Palestinian Authority's $2-billion annual budget comes from foreign donors, and the largest portions from Europe and the United States. About half the population in the Palestinian territories lives in poverty, and unemployment is more than 20 percent.
Some Arab officials are making a distinction between funding to Hamas and to the Palestinian population. "The aid must be destined for the Palestinian people and not for Hamas," said Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, which is trying to persuade its 22 member states to make up for any funding lost due to Israel freezing tax transfers and cuts in foreign aid.
But Arab states have a poor track record of keeping their promises to fund the Palestinian cause. At a summit in 2002, Arab governments pledged to provide the Palestinian Authority with $50 million a month. Since then, Arab countries have sent a total of $760 million in aid, less than a third of the promised amount.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the worldwide Islamist movement that inspired the creation of Hamas in the 1980s, has asked its individual members to contribute a fifth of their income to support the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Hamas' top political leader, Khaled Mashaal, continued his tour of the Muslim world to solicit funding and build support. He met yesterday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
"Since the divine treasures are infinite, you should not be concerned about economic issues," Ahmadinejad told the Hamas leader. "If you work for God, he will provide for you."
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