How can a state demand that another state recognize it as a sovereign state when the latter mentioned state isn't, by any definition, a state?!! Confusing. And the answer is... They can't.
An Islamic university professor, affiliated with the militant Hamas movement, was kidnapped by gunmen late Wednesday, Hamas officials said.The professor, Hamad al-Sousi, was abducted as he was leaving evening prayers at a mosque south of Gaza City, they said, blaming rival Fatah for the incident. It was the first such kidnapping since a new Fatah-Hamas government took office Saturday.
Hamas and Fatah have often used kidnapping in their battles, which have killed more than 140 Palestinians from last May until a cease-fire was called in early February.
A main goal of the government is to end months of tensions and infighting, and a Fatah official said the current flareup was being resolved.
Earlier Wednesday, a 24-year-old man was killed and two were seriously wounded when an armed clash erupted in northern Gaza, security and hospital officials said. Fatah and Hamas blamed each other for starting the gunfight[...]
Until some sort of political stability is realized in the Palestinian territories no "Roadmap to Peace," whether it be of American, Saudi or a hybrid design, can even be considered. My advice to Condi: your next endeavor to stabilize the seemingly obligatory conflict shouldn't entail the usual top-down approach. Concentrate instead on stabilizing the Palestinian government. Step one might be relaxing the relief embargo and recognizing the division between the political and militant elements of Hamas however much the two are opposite sides of the same coin.
By recognizing Hamas as a political force within the Palestinian government we provide two important new vectors: The weight of international political responsibility (as opposed to the ease of militant resistance) and the subsequent division of Hamas from it's more fundamentalist followers/cohorts (Islamic Jihad, PRC, etc.) Think IRA and today's Sinn Fein.
I'm not naive enough to believe that Haniya would or could become the next Gerry Adams. However the two state solution is just that. A two state solution. Until the Palestinians can get their collective political shit together and the big players divide Palestine's most powerful political movement from jihadist resistance (both figuratively and literally) it's all an expensive wild goose chase.
3 comments:
Yeah, I totally agree. Hamas--a non-state entit--isn't legally bound to recognize Israel.
I also think we probably don't want to get to the point where non-state groups are given that kind of legalistic weight. Only states can recognize states.
Until we recognize Hamas as something more than a "terrorist org." there will be no Pal state and, thus, no two state solution.
That said, I agree in terms of non-entity terrorist (4GW) orgs.
In an area where the statement "It was the first such kidnapping since a new Fatah-Hamas government took office Saturday" is actually meaningful I think it's best to not care one way or the other about official recognitions.
Post a Comment