2008 Woodie Awards
Seeds of hope sown in the Middle East
Julia Reed
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Opinions
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This year's fifth anniversary of September 11 was heralded by a louder than usual amount of saber rattling. Elections are the best time to exploit danger and conflict, and both parties lost no time in doing so. When turmoil takes center stage politically, it can obscure the stories of peace and hope that might exist. I ask Smithies to put those distractions of our elected officials aside for a moment and pay attention to one such story. Recently, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, planted one such seed recently, when he announced that he was willing to form a unity government with the ruling Hamas government that both Palestinians, and international powers could agree on. If achieved, this could be the greatest step yet towards lasting peace in Israel.
Ever since its election, the Hamas government has been controversial. The world was shocked that the Palestinians could have elected a terrorist organization to power, and governments quickly withdrew their financial support. Basically, Hamas has been learning the hard lesson that it's much easier to get elected than it is to run a country. Without foreign aid, the Palestinian Authority has been going steadily bankrupt, and its constituents have grown steadily more angry. Couple a bleak economic situation with a more aggressive Israel, and it is safe to say that the reign of Hamas has been far from beneficial. Desperation drove Hamas to agree in principle to a unity government with the less radical Fatah party (of which President Abbas is a member), and now it appears that it may actually happen. Not only that, but Abbas promised that if a unity government has formed, it will comply with the wishes of foreign powers that Palestine recognize Israel, renounce violence, and respect agreements made previously between Palestinians and Israelis. If they do that, foreign aid will be allowed to resume, and the desparate state of the Palestinian people as well as the security of Israel, will certainly improve.
Ever since its election, the Hamas government has been controversial. The world was shocked that the Palestinians could have elected a terrorist organization to power, and governments quickly withdrew their financial support. Basically, Hamas has been learning the hard lesson that it's much easier to get elected than it is to run a country. Without foreign aid, the Palestinian Authority has been going steadily bankrupt, and its constituents have grown steadily more angry. Couple a bleak economic situation with a more aggressive Israel, and it is safe to say that the reign of Hamas has been far from beneficial. Desperation drove Hamas to agree in principle to a unity government with the less radical Fatah party (of which President Abbas is a member), and now it appears that it may actually happen. Not only that, but Abbas promised that if a unity government has formed, it will comply with the wishes of foreign powers that Palestine recognize Israel, renounce violence, and respect agreements made previously between Palestinians and Israelis. If they do that, foreign aid will be allowed to resume, and the desparate state of the Palestinian people as well as the security of Israel, will certainly improve.
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