US to help transfer humanitarian aid to West Bank
Sources in Bush administration say Washington will try and convince Quartet to transfer emergency aid to West Bank in bid to maintain Fatah's hegemony there. Washington Post: Takeover by Hamas illustrated failure of Bush's Mideast vision
Sources in the Bush administration noted that Washington plans to work together with the European Union on transferring emergency aid to the West Bank, a day after the EU announced that it was suspending all its humanitarian activity in the Gaza Strip due to the escalation in the security situation.
The New York Times wrote in Friday that Israeli officials were promoting a proposal that the West Bank and Gaza be viewed as separate entities, and that Israel act more forcefully in Gaza to crack down on Hamas gunmen.
Senior Bush administration officials said no decision had been made. Some State Department officials argue that the administration could only support such a separation if Israel agreed to make political concessions to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, with the goal of undermining Hamas in the eyes of Palestinians by improving life in the West Bank.
The Washington Post argued that the "takeover by Hamas illustrates the failure of Bush's Mideast vision." The paper's diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler blamed the failure on the Bush administration and notes that five years ago the US president laid out a vision for the Middle East that included Israel and a state called Palestine living together in peace.
The takeover this week of the Gaza Strip by Hamas dedicated to the elimination of Israel demonstrates how much that vision has failed to materialize, in part because of actions taken by the administration, he said.
'Two-state vision is dead'
"The United States championed Israel's departure from the Gaza Strip as a first step toward peace and then pressed both Israelis and Palestinians to schedule legislative elections, which Hamas unexpectedly won. Now Hamas is the unchallenged power in Gaza," Kessler wrote.
"In his final 18 months as president, Bush faces the prospect of a shattered Palestinian Authority, a radical Islamic state on Israel's border and increasingly dwindling options to turn the tide against Hamas and create a functioning Palestinian state."
Edward G. Abington Jr, a former State Department official who was once an adviser to Abbas, told the Washington Post that "the two-state vision is dead. It really is."
After Abbas' declaration that he was dissolving the Hamas-led unity government, the US will work quickly to convince the Quartet to remove the restrictions on the Palestinian government and allow a direct transfer of emergency aid to the West Bank.
A senior Bush administration official said Thursday night that there was no longer a Hamas-led government. "It's over."
The US does not plan to abandon Gaza's Palestinian residents and will continue the humanitarian aid. In terms of diplomacy, however, the American stance is that there is a complete separation between Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip and there is no territorial argument about that. Therefore, Hamas has no part in peace talks related to the West Bank border, Bush administration officials said.
On Thursday, officials in Washington said that the US would continue financing the Palestinian Authority's presidential guard, which is loyal to Abbas, despite the force's disappointing performance in the Gaza Strip.
According to a US State Department spokesperson, General Keith Dayton, who is responsible for training the Palestinian forces, will continue his work after a reassessment of the situation. The training will likely be transferred from Gaza to the West Bank, the spokesperson said.
