As governments continue to fall in the Arab world, particular countries find adjustments must be made to maintain stability in a volatile era.
The most recent influential adjustment to be made is the Palestinian unity deal announced by rivaling factions Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, and Fatah, which controls the West Bank and is the officially recognized government of Palestine.
While protests have persisted in Gaza for a consolidation of the Palestinian government, the motives behind the recent progression leave many skeptical. Given the situation both Hamas and Fatah currently find themselves in, a deal like the one recently procured speaks volumes about the ebb and flow of influence underway in the Middle East.
Simply put, both Hamas and Fatah are desperate. Hamas, an Islamic terrorist organization, is based in and supported by Syria, and Syria’s protests are getting worse each day. Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, commanded Syrian troops to violently overthrow the protests, leaving hundreds dead.
The situation in Syria is beginning to head downhill, however, as European Union members and the U.S. install sanctions against the government under fire. With Syria’s future in doubt, Hamas had nowhere else to go but to Fatah — out of a desperate need for a crutch.
Fatah seems to see a particular intrigue in Hamas’ concession to unity: If Israel refuses to negotiate with Palestine but is also at ends with Hamas, perhaps unity with Hamas could convince Israel to reenter talks more willingly. Basically, Fatah is engaged in blackmail, for if Israel will not face the Palestinian state in negotiations, Fatah will be forced to bargain with Israel’s enemy.
As would be expected, Israel is nervous to say the least. It has already begun lobbying the U.S. to diminish the aid it sends to Palestine, which in and of itself poses serious problems to American diplomacy.
The U.S. government has made very clear its refusal to negotiate with Hamas — or any terrorist organizations, for that matter. Hamas has killed many innocent people in its fight against Israel, most recently firing an antitank missile at an Israeli school bus in early April.
After having worked so diligently to bring Palestinian and Israeli negotiations to a successful end, one wonders how America will respond when Fatah takes matters into its own hands and joins forces with a terrorist organization. Thankfully, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made clear our refusal to work with any government involving Hamas until the organization has renounced its violent tactics and recognized the state of Israel.
Egypt’s renewed role in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations only adds to this diplomatic smorgasbord. Like Hamas, the weaker Egypt seeks to maintain influence, and it has done so by brokering the Palestinian unity deal itself. The implications, once again, are massive. Egypt has shown favoritism to Israel for years, which in turn fostered animosity to the Jewish state among the Egyptian people.
Now that the former Egyptian regime is out, the new government seeks a more level-headed approach to its position in the region, namely in regards to its support for Israel.
While the motives are each understandable in their own rights, these recent concessions made are detrimental to political integrity. In attempts to win Israel’s attention, the secular Fatah turns to a religious terrorist organization. Facing a waning influence and support structure, Hamas resorts to diplomacy as a last-ditch effort to retain relevance.
The enemy of one’s enemy is not a friend, especially in Middle Eastern politics. Unity in Palestine is indeed important, but the faulty logic and conniving motives are far too obvious for this deal to go far. Even the people of Gaza who protested for unity scarcely trust the deal.
Faith in the deal depends solely on the concessions Hamas is willing to make upon approaching the new government. Given its reasons for entering the deal, I highly doubt Hamas grasps the magnitude of its actions.
Clayton Crockett is a 19-year-old international studies freshman from Lafayette. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_ccrockett.
 
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Contact Clayton Crockett at [email protected]