NOT MUCH OF A DILEMMA:

Hamas Poses Dilemma for Egypt, Jordan (Ori Nir, April 28, 2006, The Forward)

Jordan and Egypt, the two Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel, have called on Hamas to endorse the Arab League's peace plan of 2002, which involves full recognition of and peace with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders. Egypt and Jordan are not conditioning their contact with Hamas on its acceptance of the Arab League plan, but officials in both Cairo and Amman are making it clear to Hamas that it will enjoy only limited support unless it accepts Israel and renounces terrorism.

"The issue for [Jordan's King] Abdullah and Mubarak is not so much changing Hamas as it is not creating the conditions for it to become a successful alternative to Fatah," said a Western diplomat in Washington who follows Arab politics. "For both of them, the notion that an Islamist party across the border can take power and effectively rule is a serious threat," the diplomat said.

That sense of threat, experts say, is shared by other Arab regimes, albeit to a lesser extent.

In an interview with the Forward, the Arab League's ambassador to Washington, Hussein Hassouna, confirmed that such thinking in Arab capitals "might be in the background." He emphasized, however, that the Arab League does not support the isolation of Hamas. Instead, he said, the goal should be "to convince the new government to evolve its position [in support of a two-state solution] by engaging them."

For Jordanian and Egyptian officials, popular support in their countries for the Palestinian population makes it difficult to pressure Hamas, some observers said.

"They are going to have to try to walk a tightrope on this thing, so they are seen as supporting the Palestinian people but not necessarily supporting Hamas," said Edward Walker, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Walker also served as America's ambassador to Israel.

"It's a tricky road," said Walker, who is now president of Washington's Middle East Institute, "but clearly, they do not want to see [the Hamas government] succeed."

It's not all that tricky, just condition the support on Hamas's acceptance of Israel, like everyone else is doing.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 27, 2006 8:06 PM