WINEP: "Keep containing, rather than trying to engage, Hamas or Hizballah ..."

Link

WINEP, here

"... Tehran, has not lost sight of its opposition to Israel's existence ... continues to ship medium-range missiles and other weapons to both Hamas and Hizballah ...

al-Asad's .... rather than encouraging Hamas to accept peace talks with Israel, as some American analysts had once hoped, Damascus is now trying to discourage even the PA from resuming these negotiations......... Hariri's recent pronouncement that Hizballah will be part of his new government "whether Israel likes it or not" offers some sense of the influence this radical movement continues to exert on every aspect of Lebanese affairs.....

Credible Palestinian public opinion polls show Hamas steadily losing ground, to the point that barely a quarter of the public supports it any longerhowever, is that Hamas, far from seeking a peaceful way out, seems to be hunkering down. If it agrees to Palestinian unity, it could lose its hold on Gaza. If it agrees to peace with Israel, it could lose its very identity. And Hamas is determined to hold on to those possessions at any cost.....

For U.S. policy in the Arab-Israeli arena, the implications are clear: To bring these Arab moderates willingly to the peace table, find a reasonable resolution of the Israeli settlement dispute as soon as possible. Give priority to the Palestinians over the Syrians or Lebanese in the peace process. Keep containing, rather than trying to engage, Hamas or Hizballah, and concentrate on further improving conditions in the West Bank. Today, for a change, it is the peacemakers who are on the rise and the warmongers who are actually on the defensive."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 3:41 PM