Politics

Israel and the Palestinians – A recognition problem

For years, Hamas has been asked to officially recognize Israel, and Hamas has refused. This past week, Khaled Meshal, the head of the Hamas movement, seemed to change that stance slightly. The Economist quotes him as saying:

It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land.

This is not new and others in the past have admitted that Hamas’ recognition of Israel has little practical value and is almost inevitable. Yet, for most western observers, this falls far short of the demand to recognize Israel and drop calls for it to be ‘wiped off the map’. The Economist itself, asks:

Why, then, the stubborn refusal to just go the extra yard and recognise Israel now, especially as the result is the crushing sanctions regime?

Pressure by the US and EU on Hamas to recognize Israel misses the point. The question is not whether Israel has a right to exist or not. It exists, and Hamas’ recognition does nothing to alter the fact. The problem is that a viable Palestinian state does not exist, nor has a right to.
The statement indicates Hamas’s willingness to negotiate peace and eventually recognize Israel. However, that recognition cannot come before peace for a variety of domestic political reasons. Most important, Hamas cannot grant that recognition because doing so weakens its position in any future negotiations. When the Palestinians and Israelis sit together to discuss peace, Israel holds all the cards. It can demand and has much to offer in return – including a real right to exist. The Palestinians have nothing to offer, except a stamp of approval and an ephemeral right to exist that makes very little difference. To give it up would be to give up what little leverage they have.