Clinton: Obama Admin Will Follow Bush Stance on Hamas Boycott

[BunkerHill24]

Clinton: Obama Admin Will Follow Bush Stance on Hamas Boycott

At the State Department Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated the Obama administration commitment to follow the Bush administration policy of boycotting Hamas.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “I would only add that our conditions respecting Hamas are very clear. We will not, in any way, negotiate with or recognize Hamas until they renounce violence, recognize Israel and agree to abide by, as the Foreign Minister said, the prior agreements entered into by the PLO and the Palestinian Authority."

The US position has been criticized in part because it refuses to impose the same conditions on Israel. Israel refuses to renounce violence, recognize a Palestinian state and abide by agreements, including a pledge to freeze settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/2/6/headlines#12

[burythehatchet]

1. Someday, maybe, a real progressive liberal will be elected president. Or not.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. I think Hamas are terrorists...

but refusing to talk to them obviously has not worked.

Put Israel and Hamas at the negotiating table and let them negotiate. If Hamas isn't willing to end their attacks, then Israel does not have to accept an agreement.

Kruschev did not revoke this threat to bury us, and we negotiated. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong did not put down their arms and we still negotiated.

This is a mistake by the Obama administration.

[shira]

3. Govt's are afraid to recognize Hamas because doing so

is to take Fatah almost completely out of the equation. Abbas and Fatah would get pissed and they are supposedly the only party that will negotiate for peace, unlike Hamas. The Int'l community wants peace talks and progress towards a 2 state solution and they realize that by recognizing Hamas, peace is a pipe dream. Everyone would like to believe there's a chance at least with Fatah.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. Peace is a pipe dream until someone starts talking.

Put three chairs at the table and let Clinton run a game of three card Monti with Israel, Fatah, and Hamas taking turns.

Recognize that Hamas is currently the government running the Gaza Strip. We already recognize Fatah as the default head of the PA in the West Bank.

Talking with someone doesn't mean you have to invite them home for a Kanoodle and breakfast.

[Larkspur]

5. Fatah doesn have the support of most Palestinians

Hamas won the last election and Israel's raid into Gaza has strenghtened Hamas and weakened Fatah. Palestinians saw Fatah becoming a stooge for Israel and willing to sellout Palestinians on behalf of Israel.