Israel’s three conditions for engaging Hamas are a matter of principle.
- You don’t negotiate with people who want to kill you.
- You don’t negotiate with people who don’t recognize your existence.
- And you don’t negotiate with people who don’t intend to honor previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
If you do, you reward — and legitimize — a terror group for sticking to its murderous principles.
But the Financial Times shows no interest in principle. This staff-ed (click through Google News) says forget about it. There’s a lot more to say about this editorial; I’m just singling out one of the FT’s points:
The preconditions set for Hamas were designed to isolate rather than engage it, a shield against an election result the US and Europe could not stomach. Recognition of Israel should come once its borders are defined at the conclusion of a treaty establishing a Palestinian state, not while Israel is expanding its state on Arab land. And Hamas must abide by whatever Palestinians say in a referendum on a deal – if Israel were ever to agree one.
Hamas has its own set of principles: They include killing Jews, harrassing Christians, and brainwashing children as a means of acquiring power.
Staff-editorials reflect the official view of the newspaper.
And the Financial Times stands by Hamas’s principle interest.
