Gaza: Failed Siege

The $3bn that donors promised in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday will have to penetrate a labyrinth of barriers and conditions, the complexity of which King Minos of Crete would have been proud. The money will be given to the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, even though the PA's writ does not run in Gaza. The aid will pass through crossings currently closed by "Israel." It will be distributed in such a manner as to avoid ending up in the hands of its governors. But how? This is like trying to spoon a thin gruel into a dying man, without letting it touch any part of his throat.

Forget the difficulty of getting macaroni or paper into Gaza, neither of which fell into "Israel's" definition of humanitarian aid. How can the 14,000 homes, 219 factories, 240 schools, which "Israel" destroyed, or damaged, be repaired without cement? Cement, "Israel" argues, has a dual use. It can be used to build Hamas' bunkers and tunnels, although the dual use of macaroni and paper is harder to fathom. But why repair Gaza's infrastructure, if "Israeli" warplanes could return at any moment to destroy it again? Operation Cast Lead did not re-establish "Israeli" deterrence over Hamas and Gaza's other rejectionist groups. About 120 rockets and mortars have been fired into southern "Israel" since the army withdrew. Which means, short of re-occupation and putting the leadership of Hamas on a boat to Tripoli, the only way to stop the rockets is political, not military.

There was scant recognition of that yesterday. In her first sally into the region as US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton had strong words for Hamas. She said it was time "to cut the strings pulled by those who exploit the sufferings of innocent people". "Israel's" blockade of Gaza, which the Quartet supported, is now universally acknowledged to have failed. It has not dislodged Hamas from Gaza. Tony Blair admitted as much on his first visit to the enclave. But no one, as yet, is prepared to contemplate a way around the conditions which "Israel" and the Quartet attached to ending Hamas' isolation.

Hamas is not going to recognize "Israel." If it did, another and more extreme group would take up the cudgels. But it is equally clear to everyone that Hamas will have to be included in a national unity government for peace to succeed. The only scant chance lies in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, two groups who currently hate each (almost) more than they do their occupiers. Without a fundamental rethink about how to engage Hamas politically, the international community is willing the end while continuing to deny the means.