The Israeli, Palestinian and international boycott of Hamas and its government since the Palestinian elections in 2006 has backfired and is defeating its purpose. For a start, the boycott enabled the Hamas-led government to argue that the international community and Israel have double standards and are not honestly committed to the principles of democracy. It also enabled Hamas to further discredit and consequently weaken Fatah and the peace camp by placing them in the same category as the enemies of the Palestinian people, Israel and its staunch supporters, especially the US. Those in Washington and Tel Aviv who designed the strategy for the post-Hamas election victory period repeated a mistake Israel has made often over the last four decades. They failed to sufficiently take into account the effect Palestinian-Israeli relations have on Palestinian public opinion and assumed that economic measures, whether of reward or sanction, override Palestinian political aspirations. The international community justified its boycott because of the Hamas government s refusal to adhere to the three conditions of the Quartet: to renounce violence, honor previous agreements and recognize Israel. That justification wore a little thin when Abbas convinced Hamas, or at least a significant part of the Hamas leadership, to partake in a national unity government and accept a political platform that more or less adhered to those conditions. The same mistakes are now being repeated again after Hamas military takeover of the Gaza Strip in June. But this time the mistakes are magnified because not only is Hamas being boycotted, all Gazans are being isolated. It is not difficult to argue that what Hamas did in Gaza in June was completely illegitimate, whether by international or Palestinian standards. The question is what is the best strategy to deal with this reality. The economic boycott of Gaza, which seems to be the preferred strategy, is again backfiring. First, it is causing further economic deterioration, poverty and unemployment and thus simply reinforcing one of the factors of radicalization in recent years. Second, it creates a sense of victimization among Gazans in general and a feeling that they are subject to collective punishment, this time not only from Israel. And while it is true that the latest poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed a decline in public support for Hamas and the Haniyeh government and an increase in the support for Fatah and its leaders, that is not a result of any positive evaluation of Fatah. Rather it is a reaction to the brutal way Hamas takeover of Gaza unfolded. We might have witnessed a greater decline in support for Hamas had there been greater interaction, rather than less, at all levels between the outside world and Gazans. The boycott, it is true, has weakened Hamas, but equally it has weakened all parties in Gaza. There are two basic facts that need to be understood before arriving at a meaningful strategy. The first is that Hamas rule in Gaza is not something that can be reversed quickly or easily. Hamas has shown that not only is it militarily superior in Gaza, it has strong public support and, as elections showed, is very politically adept. Secondly, the only people who can overcome Hamas in Gaza are Gazans. They thus need to be empowered politically and economically. That cannot happen by neglecting and boycotting the entire population as is happening now. It is easy to understand why Israel would want to boycott Gaza and only allow the minimum of humanitarian supplies into the impoverished strip of land. It is harder to understand why other countries, as well as Palestinians in the West Bank, go along with this misguided policy of not differentiating between Hamas and Gazans. It is only by enhancing relations with the people of Gaza that Hamas may be exposed and the balance between Hamas and the peace camp can be altered. Ghassan Khatibis coeditor of the bitterlemons family of internet publications. He is vice-president of Birzeit University and a former Palestinian Authority minister of planning. This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with bitterlemons-international.org.
