More than a month after the Turkish flotilla incident, the Israeli-Palestinian peace camp has so far managed to thwart the opposing agenda of Hamas and its supporters. The incident’s political and practical consequences reveal the grounds for such an unexpected and – for the parties in the Middle East peace process – fortunate finding.
The initial aftermath of the May 31 flotilla interception witnessed a few abortive signals that Hamas might gain greater global acceptance. One Russian statement suggested negotiations with Hamas, disregarding the long-standing Quartet conditions, to which Moscow is a party. A few former US diplomats made similar appeals, and some Hamas spokesmen responded by seeming to welcome such dialogue."
