WASHINGTON, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Dr. Salam Fayyad, Former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, said that Israel should abandon the idea of militarily eliminating Hamas and similar factions as a condition for regional peace and look to an alternative framework.
“[Quit] this notion that somehow you’re going to continue to engage in this escalation until it leads to the elimination of Hamas and other factions of the same kind.” Fayyad said speaking at the Atlantic Council event.
Dr. Fayyad added that “apart from the obvious tragic consequences and implications of continued fighting of the kind that has been taking place,” it will not lead to a conclusion.
The Israeli government has stated its objective in recent days to continue operations in Gaza until it has eradicated the military power of Hamas. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the deployment of an additional 16,000 reservists intended to weaken Hamas and destroy the tunnel networks leading into Israeli territory. The war in Gaza has continued with only limited humanitarian ceasefires for 25 days. More than 1,400 people have been killed, over 8,000 have been wounded and approximately 30,000 Palestinians have been displaced.
“Whether or not you agree with Hamas and like-minded factions, is not as significant as realizing the need for any Palestinian leadership to carry [popular support and legitimacy],” Fayyad noted.
He stated that the internal Palestinian leadership and the international community “cannot simply continue to ignore the ideology and the platform, even if you disagree with it.”
Because of the failed peace process and the inability of the Palestinian Authority to end Israeli occupation over the course of almost 25 years since the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian government, which carries “the jury of representing” the Palestinian people, has lost credibility. Instead, according to Fayyed, the credibility has been with the non-state factions that demonstrate “real strength and field presence,” who also argue that “violence pays off.”
Fayyed underlined that this ideology, combined with the history of failed peace arrangements, must be acknowledged in order to move forward.
“What do you do, what do you say to people who look at the record for the past 20 years and tell you, ‘What have you done for us?’“ He continued, “To pretend we are just starting this and to take a purist approach to this...is not realistic,” said Fayyed. “Nor do I believe it would be right.”
Fayyad argued that international leaders have to be taken outside of their “comfort zone” to consider issues of inclusiveness and governance issues that are specific to the challenges of Palestinian independence.
“If a solution is what we are interested in, we need to show enough courage to be accepting of being pushed away from our comfort zones in the direction of finding something sensible,” the former prime minister concluded.
