Israel and U.S. Attempt to Isolate New Palestinian Hardline Hamas Government
Interview with Lori Allen, post-doctoral fellow at Brown University, conducted by Scott Harris
Much of the world was caught by surprise when the militant Hamas movement won an overwhelming victory in the Jan. 25 Palestinian parliamentary election. Hamas won 74 seats, while the long-ruling Fatah movement took only 45 seats in the 132-seat legislature. Israel, the U.S. and European Union consider Hamas to be a terrorist group, but these nations differ on how they will deal with a new Hamas-led government that is expected to be formed by the time Israelis go to the polls to elect a new government on March 28.
Israel, which has been the target of numerous Hamas suicide bombers and other attacks, has refused to negotiate with what they label a terrorist government, and is withholding millions of dollars in taxes collected from Palestinians. But, fearing that the lack of funds would cripple the Palestinian Authority, thereby creating more chaos, the Europeans recently provided $143 million to the Palestinians. However, the European Union says it will not continue to fund the Palestinian Authority unless Hamas recognizes Israel, disavows violence and honors previous agreements between Israel and the Fatah-run Palestinian government.
Conflict between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas broke into the open on March 6 when the Hamas majority rescinded legislation giving Abbas increased powers, ratified during the final session of the Fatah-controlled parliament. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Lori Allen, a post-doctoral fellow at Brown University, who assesses the hard-line Islamic movement's chances for forming a viable government.
Some of Lori Allen's articles are published in the pages of Middle East Report, which can be found online at www.merip.org
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