Shlomo Ben-Ami on Hamas

Shlomo Ben-Ami, the former Israeli foreign minister, this morning sent round a notification of his new article in the IHT. He concludes:

“Instead of resisting Hamas's political rise, Abbas needs to see its readiness to join forces with Fatah in securing the governability of Gaza as a vital step on the way to full Palestinian statehood in both Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas's willingness to abandon its violent opposition and to assume the responsibility that comes with political power needs to be seen as a most welcome shift on the way to a fuller political cooptation of the most important revolutionary force in the Palestinian territories”.