The European Commission, reacting to an apparent victory by the militant Hamas movement in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections, said Thursday it would work with any Palestinian government that used peaceful means.
‘It is clear that Hamas has really got a very large proportion of the vote,’ European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a European Parliament committee before official results were announced.
‘What is important is that we state we are happy to work with any government if that government is prepared to work by peaceful means,’ she said.
U.S. demands recognition of Israel
U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the United States would not deal with Hamas until the radical Palestinian Islamist group renounces its position for calling for the destruction of Israel.
‘A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace,’ the president said Wednesday in an Oval Office interview after an apparently strong showing by Hamas in Palestinian parliamentary voting.
‘And so you're getting a sense of how I'm going to deal with Hamas if they end up in positions of responsibility. And the answer is: Not until you renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you.’ He made his remarks in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The United States and other members of the international Quartet will reassess peace prospects next week, in light of Hamas' showing in the election.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other members of the Quartet of would-be international peacemakers will meet Monday in London, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
The Quartet, which also includes the European Union and Russia, is on record against allowing Palestinian Authority cabinet status for anyone who has not renounced violence or recognized Israel's right to exist. Hamas has done neither.
Early exit polling suggested that Hamas placed a close second to the ruling Fatah Party, and the rival groups could end up forming a governing coalition.
Strong voter support for Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel, places the militant and political group inside the Palestinian political system for the first time.
Hamas boycotted earlier parliamentary elections, and Israel objected early on to allowing its participation in Wendesday's voting. Israel has warned it will not negotiate with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.
Before the election, Hamas leaders said they would seek service ministries in a future cabinet, such as health, education and welfare. They said they would leave diplomacy, including contacts with Israel, to others.
Rice has said Hamas represents a ‘practical problem’ for Israel in pursuing peace contacts. Hamas also poses a practical problem for the United States and European nations that list it as a ‘terrorist’ organization.
‘We don't deal with Hamas. And under the current circumstances, I don't see that changing,’ McCormack said Wednesday.
Even so, he did not rule out dealing with the Palestinian Authority at large, which will still be led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. McCormack also would not say whether the United States would withhold aid to the Palestinians if Hamas is in the government, although other U.S. officials have indicated that could happen.
‘As for what policies the United States and the Quartet pursues based on what kind of Palestinian Authority there is, what kind of policies they pursue, we'll see’ what the elections produce, McCormack said. ‘We're not there yet.’
The Quartet meeting takes place a day ahead of a separate international gathering on the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
In December, the group issued a strongly worded statement noting a ‘fundamental contradiction’ between armed militia activities and construction of a democratic state. The goal of the international peace effort is to erect an independent, democratic Palestine in areas where Palestinians already are concentrated alongside Israel.
The Quartet statement said that ‘a future Palestinian Authority Cabinet should include no member who has not committed to the principles of Israel's right to exist in peace and security and an unequivocal end to violence and ‘terrorism’,’ the statement said.
The Quartet put no conditions or threats on its recommendation, and McCormack would not do so Wednesday.
‘There is a contradiction here when it comes to a political entity that is also operating outside of the political process and engaging in violence and has called for the destruction of a neighboring country,’ McCormack said, adding that that contradiction would have to be solved.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who is leading a team of international observers for the Palestinian parliamentary election Wednesday, said Tuesday that if Hamas wants to win international recognition after the elections, it will have to become more moderate.
Carter said at the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday that Hamas' electoral success ‘may or may not lead to their assuming more moderate and peaceful policies,’ but added: ‘This they must do.’
Carter stated that Palestinians must stop ‘terror’ groups, ‘even including a direct military confrontation.’ He also said Israel should withdraw from more West Bank settlements for the sake of a ‘Palestinian state living in peace and dignity,’ and added that Israel must not adopt unilateral action as a fixed policy.
‘[Violence] is inherently counterproductive for the well-being of the Palestinian people and obviously prevents any further progress in the peace process,’ Carter said.
‘I hope and believe that after this election there will be an extremely strong commitment by Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] and the entire Palestinian Authority... to stamp out the last vestiges of ‘terrorism’,’ he said.
Senator Biden tours PA on election day, warns against Hamas participation in gov't
On a tour of the Palestinian territories on Wednesday, Senator Joseph Biden asked the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to form a coalition and government without representatives of Hamas.
Biden led a small group of American politicians in the territories, and told Abbas and other Palestinian leaders he met Wednesday that the inclusion of Hamas members in the government endangers the financial help the PA gets from the United States and European countries.
In a telephone interview with Haaretz Wednesday, Biden said he was impressed with the number of citizens going to the polls, and with the cooperation of the IDF and police to make the election process as smooth as possible.
Biden said his impression was that the Palestinian voters who chose Hamas over the ruling Fatah movement did it because they lacked trust in the PA's competency and because they wanted to end corruption.
However, he said, the Hamas representatives might interfere with any attempt to move forward in the peace process, thus he thought it was wise for Abbas not to include them in the coalition.