Haaretz
Nisan 4, 5766
In a weekend interview with BBC
television, former U.S. President Bill Clinton called for a dialogue with
the Hamas-led Palestinian government if several conditions are met, in
particular a halt to violence.
Clinton noted that the late
Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat signed agreements with Israel
that honor the two-state principle.
"He had made private
assurances, and he made public assurances, that he did not support terror
any more and would try to restrain it. So if Hamas would say, suppose they
say, 'OK, look, we can't change our theory, we can't change our document,
we can't change our history, but we're in government now and the policy of
the Palestinian government is no to terror and yes to negotiations. As
long as we're in government, we'll honor that policy.' If they did that, I
would support dealing with them," Clinton said.
Clinton's comments
on Hamas followed critical remarks about the Bush administration's foreign
policy in general and its policy in Iraq and the territories in
particular.
U.S. bars dealings with Hamas government
The
United States on Friday announced a new policy on contacts with
Palestinians that bars dealings with officials of Palestinian government
agencies that are controlled by Hamas.
U.S. contacts with
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his staff will continue.
The Bush administration had made clear in advance that it would
have no dealings with Hamas cabinet ministers because of the
organization's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist and embrace
international terms for Middle East peace-making.
"We've advised
our mission in Jerusalem, as well as other missions around the world that
... there should be no contact between U.S. government officials and PA
officials who are under the authority of the prime minister or any other
minister in the Hamas-led government. This includes working-level
officials in those ministries," deputy State Department spokesman Adam
Ereli told reporters on Friday.
"If they're working in a Hamas-led
ministry, no matter what their affiliation is, we're not going to have
contact with them," Ereli said.
The Palestinian cabinet headed by
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and endorsed by the Palestinian
legislature Tuesday is made up entirely of Hamas members and independents
allied to the militant Islamic organization.
While that rules out
U.S. contact with the Haniyeh government, Ereli said American diplomats
may still deal with Abbas, his staff, and officials in agencies directly
under his authority, including the PA's representative in Washington,
Afief Safieh, because "he does not report to the foreign ministry," Ereli
said.
"We will work with individuals and organizations who are not
affiliated with Hamas," he said. "There are a lot of people we can speak
to now," Ereli said.
Quartet envoys to meet in Amman to discuss
PA aid
The new policy was announced as two senior U.S. envoys
continued contacts in the region on the situation following the seating of
the Palestinian cabinet and Tuesday's Israeli elections.
White
House Middle East policy chief Elliott Abrams and Assistant Secretary of
State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch have held talks with, among
others, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian cabinet
member Saeb Erekat.
The two envoys are to attend an expert-level
meeting in Amman on Sunday of the international Middle East Quartet, which
also includes Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations.
The Quartet issued a statement Thursday noting "with grave
concern" that Hamas had not heeded its appeal of last January 30 to commit
to principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of
previous Palestinian agreements and obligations including the Quartet's
2003 peace road map.
Ereli said the meeting in the Jordanian
capital would examine ways the Quartet can continue efforts toward a
two-state settlement of the conflict given the "new reality" on the
ground.
He also said they would discuss how to continue
humanitarian aid to the Palestinians while by-passing Hamas-controlled
ministries.
The Bush administration says the assumption of power by
Hamas, a group listed by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, means the
end of direct U.S. support for the PA.
But it says it intends to
increase humanitarian aid, which has traditionally been channeled through
the UN and non-governmental groups.