Mideast Players Differ On Approach to Hamas

Any cease-fire deal is likely to include an agreement resulting in the release of Shalit and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, diplomats said.

The U.S. official, however, said the issue is more complex for the United States, because Hamas does not hold any U.S. citizens, and, in any case, the United States refuses to bargain for prisoners. He also said there is no interest on the part of the Quartet -- the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States -- to begin a dialogue with Hamas, in part because Russia had found that its limited efforts to launch talks were not productive. He characterized Rice's intervention as necessary to calm a situation that threatens to undermine the peace talks launched at Annapolis.

"Rude interruptions to the process need to be controlled," he said.

However, none of the players -- including Israel's Arab neighbors -- wants a solution that appears to grant Hamas any sort of victory, diplomats said. "No one can ignore Hamas. They are a reality," said an Arab diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities. "It's all about how much of a dividend to give them."

Arab and U.S. officials said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has objected to a deal on Shalit because he fears Hamas would gain credit for the release of Palestinian prisoners. "Any agreement to be achieved has to be complemented with a success" for Abbas, the Arab diplomat said.

Some experts, such as Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group, have said that the solution would be for Abbas to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. He said it is "probably premature and politically untenable" for direct talks with Hamas, but giving Abbas a central role between the two sides would give him greater legitimacy and help salve the wounds between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah faction over the Gaza takeover.

Bush administration officials reject this idea, saying it could make Abbas appear like a "petitioner" to Hamas.

Malley said that the administration's effort to empower Abbas is doomed to failure if he does not reach some sort of accommodation with Hamas. "A dangerous Hamas is a Hamas that has nothing to lose," he said.