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Monday, April 05, 2021

Has any member of the Quartet expressed any objections to Hamas running in elections?




In 2006, the Middle East Quartet (the United States, the UN, the EU and Russia) issued a statement saying, "It is the view of the Quartet that all members of a future Palestinian Government must be committed to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map. "

Hamas, a frontrunner in the planned legislative elections,  has made it explicitly clear that it has no intention of adhering to any of these commitments.

Yet none of the Quartet members have objected to Hamas being a member of the future Palestinian government.

The UN issued a statement supporting the elections with no caveat. So has the EU.

The US State Department has thrown up its hands, saying that the US cannot have a say in the Palestinian elections: "Well, the exercise of democratic elections is a matter for the Palestinian people to determine. We note that the U.S. and other key partners in the international community have long been clear about the importance of participants in that democratic process, renouncing violence and renouncing terrorism, recognizing Israel’s right to exist. But Palestinian elections are ultimately a matter for the Palestinian people to decide."

It seems that the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations - all of which Hamas has explicitly rejected - is no longer important to the Quartet. 

Funny how principles can disappear like that.