Officially, Israel and the West have rule out talks with the Islamic 'extremist' organization Hamas. However, dialogue is quietly being sought with the new Palestinian leadership.
Rabbi Menachem Fruman has been fighting a lonely battle for years now. A religious Israeli settler from the mountains in occupied West Bank, he has been tirelessly pushing to improve dialogue with the militant Islamist organization Hamas. Motivated by the principle that peace between religious believers should be possible, Fruman has regularly braved the Gaza Strip to meet radical Palestinian leaders.
His efforts climaxed in 1997, when he shook hands with the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Fruman's settler friends regarded him as a traitor, and even within the Israeli peace movement he was viewed as naïve. Most of his compatriots just thought he was crazy.
But now -- ever since the Islamists won the parliamentary elections in January -- Fruman is very much in demand. With Hamas aiming to make their leader Ismail Haniyeh the next Palestinian prime minister, the 60-year-old rabbi knows more about how the new people in power view the world than practically any other Israeli.
Even the government is suddenly showing interest in what Fruman is doing. Recently, a close advisor of the acting Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert called him up to request a confidential chat. Fruman met the prime minister's representative in the anonymity of the lobby of a hotel in Jerusalem. He wanted to know how likely an improvement in relations between Israel and Hamas would be. ‘I said that Hamas can be put on the right path more easily if the organization is accorded some respect,’ says Fruman.
Israel officially still refuses to enter into talks with Hamas. In order to start negotiations the extremists must fulfill three criteria: recognize Israel, end all violence and abide by all of the Palestinian-Israeli agreements which have been made so far. These demands are echoed by the Middle East Quartet, which is made up of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
But behind the scenes, the united front against the winners of the last Palestinian elections is showing cracks. Hardly anyone thinks that Hamas will be able to fulfill all these conditions without losing face. The former Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres, who is the number two on the election list of the new Kadima party, says that giving up violence should be Israel's only criteria. ‘The most important thing is keeping the ceasefire,’ a top-ranking EU diplomat agrees.
Hamas has already proven its willingness to stop its terrorist attacks. The Islamists have stuck to a ceasefire for over a year now. Even the Israeli military has confirmed that Hamas hasn't been responsible for a single attack in Israel proper. The few suicide attacks which have taken place in the last few months were carried out by radical groups such as Islamic Jihad.
Difficult progress
‘You can rely on Hamas,’ says Alastair Crooke, a former British intelligence officer -- and currently advisor to the EU's head diplomat Javier Solana. Crooke has had many meetings with the leaders of Hamas. He is also getting lots of calls from European governments. ‘We have to keep talking with them,’ he tells the people who telephone him.
But keeping talking is not all that easy. Representatives of the EU are banned from meeting with Hamas' leaders because the movement is listed as a terrorist organization. So any meetings which take place are discreet, which is not difficult in the confusing network of streets that makes up Gaza City.
And members of Hamas themselves are also keen to bridge the divide. Ghasi Hamad, Hamas member and editor-in-chief of the weekly paper ‘al-Rissala’ in the area of Nassir in Gaza, wants to prove that Israel and the West have nothing to fear from Hamas.
‘We don't want to destroy Israel,’ stresses Hamad. He just wants Israel to recognize that the occupation of the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem are unfair. ‘If Israel would openly admit that, then negotiations would be possible.’
Hamad's reputation has even reached as far as Europe. Just over a year ago he spoke with Solana during a conference. It wasn't long before delegates from European government started asking to meet him. ‘In the last few weeks I've met with officials from Germany, Great Britain and France,’ Hamad says. ‘They wanted to know what our plans are. I told them we are not the Taliban. We are flexible and willing to compromise.’
Even in Israel taboos are being broken. According to surveys, 50 percent of Israelis are in favor of dealing with Hamas. But because of the elections in two weeks time, top politicians feel they have to show themselves to be unshakably tough. Although Hamas has not even formed a cabinet yet, Olmert has already labeled the new Palestinian government a ‘terrorist administration.’ And Israeli officials have threatened the Hamas leader Ismail Haniya with assassination. Olmert seemingly wants voters to believe that Israel is able to completely cut all links to the Palestinians.
But mutual dependence is far too great for that to ever happen. Only last week Israel was forced to re-open the border to the Gaza strip to allow aid through, after a three week blockcade. This was the only way of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe. And Israeli firms lose out on millions of dollars because they are unable to export their products -- especially milk, sugar and bananas -- to the Palestinian areas.
Rapprochement Through Religion
Direct negotiations with the new Palestinian leaders after the Israeli elections have also been ruled out: both sides would lose credibility by suddenly embracing one another. What is more likely is for Israelis and Palestinians to continue to approach each other via unofficial channels. One possibility, which is being suggested by Rabbi Fruman, is a religious forum which allows Jews and Muslims to sit around a table together. According to Fruman, Israel's head rabbi recently expressed interest in such a forum after meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Another option would be setting up more meetings between experts, such as is the case with the so-called Aix Group, named after the French town of Aix-en-Provence. For four years this circle, which includes top-ranking ministerial civil servants, has allowed Israelis and Palestinians to come together every few months. ‘If representatives of Hamas show any interest in joining, they would be more than welcome,’ says the economist Arie Arnon. Ron Pundak, who helped set up the group and who is also director of the Peres Center for Peace, believes that ‘unofficial channels like this are the best way to get talking to each other.’
Pundak speaks from experience: in 1993 he was one of the mediators who worked out the Oslo treaties in secret discussions with the PLO -- and without first laying down any awkward preconditions. It wasn't until right at the end of those negotiations that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat officially recognized Israel's right to exist.