Hamas Gaining International Legitimacy

Delegations from the rival Fatah and Hamas organisations have again failed in Cairo to bridge their differences meant to usher in a Palestinian unity government, but this has in no way slowed inroads which the Islamist movement has been making to increase its international legitimacy - much to Israel's concern. Since the conclusion of Israel's 22-day military offensive in January which coincided with U.S. President Barack Obama taking power in Washington, Gaza-controlled Hamas has had many more international visitors. Sources close to the Hamas leadership in once diplomatically isolated Gaza confirm that official representatives of several European governments have come calling, over and above Norway, which has long sought to breach the Israel- U.S.-European boycott.

Until recently, most of the international community backed Israel's view that Hamas is a terrorist group, and refused to deal directly with it. That meant largely a siege of Hamas since the movement won an election back in January 2006 and then ousted Fatah in a fierce power struggle in the summer of the following year. The hope was to marginalise Hamas while strengthening the moderation of the Palestinian Authority under Fatah leader, President Mahmoud Abbas. The new Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu had hoped the international community would continue steadfastly not to deal officially with Hamas unless it committed to non-violence, recognised Israel, and accepted previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. The new direction leaves Israel facing an increasingly complex diplomatic conundrum.