If the Hamas are removed from Gaza then the Israeli government has lost their excuse for lack of progress in negotiations, provided that the Palestinian Authority succeeds in stopping terror in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority, for its part, will have lost the excuse that it can't comply with the roadmap because it doesn't control Gaza, and it cannot make concessions because of pressure from Hamas extremists.

Israel has a right to defend itself against the rain of Qassam rockets on Sderot and other towns. But it is evident that whatever Israel did until now was not effective in any way in stopping the Qassam rockets. At the same time, those who mindlessly and raucously call for an "end to the siege of Gaza" are not offering a solution. The European Union can "end the siege" any time it pleases by returning its monitors to Rafa. Egypt could "end the siege" by assuming responsibility for Gaza. The UN could "end the siege of Gaza" by assuming responsibility for it. The poverty of Gaza and the misery of the refugees, of which we are all aware, and which Daoud Kuttab claims is responsible for the Qassam rockets, could be ended by resettling the refugees elsewhere. It may be true, as he writes, that there are people in Gaza who support peace, and that "punishing Gaza only harms those backing peace." But raining Qassam rockets on Sderot also harms those backing peace. Believe me, Daoud Kuttab, there are many people in Sderot who want peace. Maybe you think the three year old children who are killed and maimed by these rockets are all warmongers, but do you seriously hold them responsible for those views? And what about Carlos Chavez, a volunteer from Ecuador, who was gunned down by Palestinian snipers at Kibbutz Eyn Hashlosha?

It is obvious to anyone who cares to check that the "humanitarian crisis in Gaza was manufactured in large part by the Hamas and magnified by its apologists. The Gaza electric plant supplies less than a quarter of the electricity in Gaza. Over 75% is supplied by Egypt and Israel. Apparently, the plant was not out of fuel when Hamas pulled the switch. Most of the claims about Gaza have the same credibility as this one made in the Boston Globe and elsewhere by Eyad Sarraj and Sara Roy:

...Gaza daily requires 680,000 tons of flour to feed its population...

They are claiming that each Gazan must have over 400 KG of flour every day - nearly a thousand pounds of flour a day for each person in Gaza! It is amazing the editors of the Boston Globe lent credibility to such a claim, and it is indicative of the nature of the "humanitarian crisis."

Hamas advocates and their apologists do not present any reasonable solution to resolving the problem of Gaza. The solution of "talking to Hamas" advocated among others by Chaim Oron, who should know better, is not a solution. It might bring quiet for a few months, and it might even bring about the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit. But as Oron understands that Hamas's goal remains the destruction of Israel, it is certain that in a few months the problem will be back in a new and more intractable form. Moreover, cutting a deal with Hamas will legitimize Hamas, and will effectively pull the rug out from under Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian authority, thereby putting an end to any hopes for peace. The Hamas will have further proof that terror and violence achieve results, and that can only breed more terror and more violence. That is not to say that Israel is not now or has not in the past conducted clandestine negotiations with Hamas, or that it might not conduct more open ones in the future. Just because it is a bad idea, it has a good chance of being tried, and we need not assume that Israel is always going to put the interests of the PNA/PLO and the peace process above other interests. There are assuredly those in the Israeli government from whom a Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority would be a great boon. Israel could then claim fact, that there is no peace partner, and would be relieved of the politically unpopular need to give up territory or make other concessions to the Palestinians.

At present there are no good offers on the table. The least bad idea that has a chance of being accepted, perhaps, is the offer of the Palestinian Authority to take control of the Gaza crossings. If this can be effected with the cooperation of the EU monitors, it might provide some hope for a solution. In the best of all possible worlds, it would lead to PNA control of Gaza and accelerated progress toward peace. However, we don't live in the best of all possible worlds. We live in the Middle East. PA control of the Gaza crossings can also be a trap for the Palestinian Authority. If they try to stop the smuggling of arms and money, they will be accused of "betraying" the Palestinian cause, and if they don't make efforts to stop the smuggling and control the rockets, the Israelis will point out that they are not fulfilling their roadmap obligations.

Ami Isseroff