Middle East: Gaza Strip Takeover

Hamas to Grant Amnesty to Fatah Leaders

Victorious Hamas gunmen rounded up senior military leaders of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip early Friday, then announced a general amnesty in a sign the Islamic movement is seeking to reconcile with its secular rivals after five days of fierce fighting.

Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler was online Friday, June 15, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the current situation in the Middle East.

Photo Gallery: Gaza

The takeover this week of the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group dedicated to the elimination of Israel demonstrates how much that vision has failed to materialize, in part because of actions taken by the administration. The United States championed Israel's departure from the Gaza Strip as a first step toward peace and then pressed both Israelis and Palestinians to schedule legislative elections, which Hamas unexpectedly won. Now Hamas is the unchallenged power in Gaza.

Kessler's latest book, "The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy" will be published in September.

A transcript follows.

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Glenn Kessler: There's been lots of news out of Gaza today, so let's get started.

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Fairfax, Va.: Do you expect things to get worse before they get better?

Glenn Kessler: We are in for a rocky period. The Hamas takeover of Gaza is just one of many disturbing trends in the Middle East. The big powers have joined together today to back Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and to indicate that Gaza is on its own, except for humanitarian relief. But you can bet that all sorts of bad actors in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere are studying the situation to see if they can borrow Hamas's playbook.

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Washington, D.C.: How much of this is a proxy war between Iran and the U.S.? How can we continue to send arms to Abbas when we know they are ending up with Hamas?

Glenn Kessler: The United States has actually not sent arms to Abbas; the US provided nonlethal aid. In terms of a proxy war, there is some of that in this situation but I think the Iranian aid to Hamas is often overstated. This is not like Hezbollah, which is also Shiite like the Iranians. Hamas is a Sunni organization but obvuiously they will take aid from anywhere because of the international boycott.

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Washington, D.C.: Who is in charge, Hamas or Abbas? What kind of a Palestinian state can be agreed upon?

Glenn Kessler: There are now two states. Gaza is run by Hamas and the West Bank is run by Abbas. The emerging US strategy is to help Abbas as much as possible to show that he is the real Palestinian leader who can deliver for his people, in contrast to Gaza. The problem is that Hamas has demonstrated they are much better organized and less corrupt than the Fatah organization associated with Abbas.

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Annapolis, Md.: What is Israel's reaction today, what's going on there?

Glenn Kessler: Israel says they want to help Abbas, that he is the legitimate leader. But whether the Israelis will lift roadblocks, provide withheld tax revenues and end other actions that annoy Palestinians on the West bank, as a sign of bolstering Abbas, is unclear.

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Columbus, Ohio: I seem to recall one recent column that suggested Hamas may now begin to act more responsibly, and pointed to their push to release a BBC reporter as a sign of that new moderation and the fact that rocket attacks on Israel have subsided. Do you think having, in effect, a "state" in Gaza that Hamas will have to moderate its stance vis a vis Israel?

Glenn Kessler: Hamas clearly wants to show that the violence in recent days was an aberration, and that they can keep Gaza more calm than before. Butthey will have a hard time convincing people they have become moderate until they agree to recognize Israel.

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Boston: For years, everyone in the U.S. has been painting al Jazeera as basically the mouthpiece of the terrorists in the Middle East. However, in watching Control Room and listening to Josh Rushing on NPR, I get the impression that al Jazeera is trying very hard to provide a very balanced view of the Middle East and the war in Iraq -- the big difference was that the news was being given from the Arab/Iraqi point of view, something that the Western reporters have difficulty doing.

Which view is correct?

Glenn Kessler: This is an interesting comment. I haven't watched al Jazeera in English, so I can't say whether they are trying to be more balanced.

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Sun Prairie, Wisc.: Good afternoon, Mr. Kessler and thanks for taking this question.

Could you talk a little about Egypt's role here? Specifically, how constrained are the Egyptians from being able to effectively interdict the flow of arms to Hamas in Gaza by the terms of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty restricting forced in Sinai?

Glenn Kessler: By many accounts, the Egyptians have done a very poor job controlling the smuggling. I have not sensed that the terms of the agreement posed a problem. Some people have suggested they might have been playing a double game, allowing Hamas to smuggle as a way of avoiding problems back in Egypt. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a source of concern for the autocratic government. The US has not really publicly pressed Egypt on the smuggling issue--until today, when the State Department spokesman made a pretty strong statement.

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College Park, Md.: Explain how the West Bank comes into play here.

Glenn Kessler: The West Bank is the stronghold for Fatah, the rival to Hamas. Most of the Palestinian population lives there too. Some have suggested a "West Bank first" strategy, which lets Gaza sink under Hamas while creating a Palestinian state on the West Bank.

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Washington, D.C.: You said until they "quote recognize Israel." Israel has been one democratic Jewish nation amongst 21 Arab-Muslim dictatorships and 41 other Islamic states.

In 1993, Israel went through this with Arafat to earn "recognition." Israel has been around for 60 years, and still isn't recognized.

When will the world learn? The Arab world has no intention of reaching a settlement with Israel. Just ask Bill Clinton, who got Israel to offer 90 plus percent of what the pals wanted and they still said no.

Glenn Kessler: Well, let's not forget Egypt and Jordan. They have peace treaties with Israel. But yes, it's been a long and draining conflict.

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Bridgeport, Conn.: Do you think the Israelis will intervene in Gaza?

Glenn Kessler: That's an interesting question. At this point it would be a very difficult military operation. I don't see Israel trying to oust Hamas, but they could target rocket factories and that sort of thing.

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Peaks Island, Maine: What is your view of The 53-page "End of Mission Report" by Alvaro de Soto, the U.N.'s Middle East envoy, reported upon in the June 13 Guardian which says, de Soto "..presents a devastating account of failed diplomacy and condemns the sweeping boycott of the Palestinian government."

Glenn Kessler: I must confess that I have not read the whole report, only news accounts of it. But based on my own private conversations with diplomats, I think his opinion is shared by many in Europe and at the UN. It is interesting to see that opinion expressed without any diplomatic niceties.

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Philadelphia: Is there any local discussion on how all this might impact future elections in the Gaza Strip? How well are people accepting of elections when such violence emerges amongst the political factions?

Glenn Kessler: Some experts have expressed fear that Islamic groups would only compete in elections until they won--and then not allow any more elections. Certainly, if new elections were held, no Fatah candidate could now safely campaign in Gaza.

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Cabin John, Md.: Everyone says that the West Bank is a stronghold for Fatah, but is that just relatively? If there were a popular election in the West Bank today, who would get more votes, Fatah or Hamas? Will Hamas take over the West Bank, too, in time?

Glenn Kessler: You are right that Hamas has support in the West Bank, and it could be growing. But I think Fatah could probably still win an election there.

Re the last elections, one reason Hamas won is that they were very disciplined and only allowed one candidate to compete for each seat, whereas Fatah would run two or three candidates, thus splitting the vote. Hamas won more seats, but their candidates did not get the most votes.

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Washington, D.C.: How closely is the Bush administration watching the situation? Is it time for another peace mission?

Glenn Kessler: The Bush administration is watching it very closely. Condoleezza Rice is expected to travel back to the region later this month, and Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be at the White House next Tuesday.

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Glenn Kessler: Thanks for all of the interesting questions. I need to get back to work now. Thanks!

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