The recent new positions by Hamas that it might consider suspending attacks on Israel as Palestinian elections approach, that it might consider an even longer-term truce with Israel, and that it would accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip could become landmark decisions that would not only change many aspects of Palestinian society but might also lead to a change in the way the world perceives the Palestinians.
The switch — which also includes a pledge by Hamas that though it will not participate in the Jan. 9 elections, it will accept the results — has taken many observers by surprise although it was perhaps not unexpected. Hamas has definitely been weakened by the assassination this year of its top leaders. The freezing of its assets abroad by the United States has also affected its operations. Above all perhaps was the need, as seen by its leaders, to maintain the spirit of solidarity in the wake of Yasser Arafat’s death. This is not to say Hamas has made a full U-turn. The conditions it has stipulated if it is to take this apparently softer line remain unchanged. An independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, a suspension of hostilities only if Israel halts its aggression, and the release of Palestinian prisoners are issues that cannot be compromised on. Still, the new Hamas is by all accounts unique. President Bush has said the goal was two states living side by side. That Hamas, which is blacklisted by the United States, and an American president are on the same wavelength about objectives in the Middle East is truly unprecedented and a phenomenon worth monitoring.
The feel-good atmosphere of peace has apparently permeated to the other side where Ariel Sharon has said Israel will halt offensive military operations in Palestinian areas if calm prevails. And recent support for the premier from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak puts him in the unusual position of being a peacemaker rather than peace breaker. Sharon will have ample opportunity to prove the correctness of Mubarak’s judgment — whether he genuinely wants peace and is capable of reaching a settlement.
For now, the new clothes worn by Sharon and Hamas have painted the picture in new and positive colors. Which is all the better because there is uncertainty elsewhere. Palestinian and Israeli politics have both been shaken by Marwan Barghouti’s last minute decision to run for office and by the crumbling of the Israeli coalition government. Barghouti makes it a real contest with his entry but he threatens to split Fatah and shatter the unity that has so far been on display. Complicating things further, Sharon is in trouble after the defeat of the annual budget in Parliament last week.
What all players — Palestinians, Israelis and peace brokers — must not forget is that it is only rarely that silver linings appear in the clouds of the Middle East and when they do, darker clouds are often not far behind. The challenge is to do everything to turn the lining into a beacon before the clouds envelop it once again.
