Jun 07 2010
U.S. Should Include Hamas in Peace Efforts
(This was published in June 7th, 2010)
By Daoud Kuttab
The Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound “Freedom Flotilla” has put the United States in a difficult position. But it has also given Washington an opening for a game-changing action. When ships on a humanitarian mission to the besieged Gaza Strip were violently confronted in international waters, the Obama administration was faced with a choice between one strategic ally, Israel, and a larger international community centered on a key NATO ally, Turkey. The United States also has to be careful to protect fragile Palestinian-Israeli proximity talks that took U.S. envoy George Mitchell over a year to get started. Both Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were due to visit Washington within a week of the confrontation, which left nine peace activists dead, including an American. Continue Reading »