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The Middle East at the crossroads - part I

By Fawaz Gerges - posted Friday, 11 June 2010


Turkey, historically Israel’s most important Muslim ally and a longstanding NATO member, is spearheading opposition to the siege of Gaza worldwide and demanding an independent international investigation of the deadly raid.

Israel no longer has any regional allies and dismisses the UN call for an international inquiry into the flotilla raid. Iran, which issued the most damning condemnation of the Israeli raid, is in a stronger position to resist US and Israeli pressure to suspend its nuclear program.

The US, unlike many of its long-term European allies, particularly Britain and Germany, has offered weak response to the crisis, rationalising Israel’s indefensible actions and undermining Obama’s outreach to Muslims in a landmark speech in Cairo exactly a year ago. In that June 2009 address, Obama promised the Muslim world a new beginning, transparency and balance, linking the establishment of a viable Palestinian state to America’s strategic interests.

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At stake is not only Obama’s credibility, but also Western national security. An increasing number of Muslims say that Obama either does not mean what he says or cannot deliver on tall promises, throwing any US strategy towards the Greater Middle East into doubt.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admits that Israel's blockade of Gaza is "unsustainable and unacceptable”. The Obama administration, along with Western allies and others, must seize this opportunity to break the impasse and prevent gains by more extremist factions in both camps. Instead of twisting Cairo's arms in a rejectionist direction, Washington should urge its Egyptian ally to broker a truce between Hamas and Fatah, an essential requirement for serious peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians who seek international recognition. Hamas leaders have said that they would honour Palestinian and Arab consensus on peace talks with the Jewish state.

The international community has expressed legitimate moral outrage at Israel’s deadly raid on the Turkish-led Free Gaza Flotilla, calling for lifting the blockade of the Gaza Strip and a multinational investigation. But condemnation is not enough. Equally essential is support of a unified Palestinian government with the two rival authorities - the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza - that repairs badly frayed Palestinian governing institutions and negotiates peace with Israel.

As long as Hamas and Fatah are divided, the Palestinians will continue to suffer, with no hope of stability. Washington must encourage its Arab allies, particularly Egypt, to actively help the Palestinians form a national unity government that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.

Putting the Palestinian house in order won’t be easy, and Hamas must respect any signed agreement with the Palestinian Authority. Hamas leaders have repeatedly stressed that they would honour any jointly-signed agreement with Fatah.

But the truth is that the first goal of US West Bank policy is to exclude Hamas. Egypt and Fatah, not Hamas, are procrastinating and hoping that Hamas will either collapse or surrender, which is wishful thinking. Taking a risk on peace is the most effective means to resolve the raging crisis in Palestine-Israel that threatens wider regional security.

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Reprinted with permission from YaleGlobal Online (www.yaleglobal.yale.edu). Copyright © 2010, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Yale University.



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About the Author

Fawaz A. Gerges is a Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, London University. His forthcoming book is titled: The Making of the Modern Middle East, Public Affairs.

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