It is also clear today - 3 years after the 2008 Gaza war - that the status quo is not sustainable. Israel's refusal to significantly loosen the siege continues to translate into collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza. Renewed rocket attacks from Gaza threaten to escalate, once again, into broader conflict. And IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit remains a prisoner. Israel has learned through painful experience that military force alone cannot eliminate all threats or "solve" the problem of Gaza.

The U.S. should stand with Israel in demanding that Hamas end/prevent rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. It should also press Israel to finally end the siege on Gaza, while supporting reasonable Israeli measures to block the import of weapons into the area. Most importantly, the U.S. must get the peace process back on track. In the absence of a credible effort to reach a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - one that takes into account the situation in Gaza - extremists will inevitably gain popular support.

The U.S. should recognize that a Palestinian government that represents all Palestinians, and with security and governance capacity in both the West Bank and Gaza, is vital to any future peace agreement. The U.S. should encourage Palestinian reconciliation, making clear that relations with any Palestinian government - including a unity government - will be based on the positions and actions of that government, not on the basis of whether Hamas is included in it.

It is time for a smarter U.S. policy regarding Hamas -one that recognizes that past U.S. policies have failed to weaken it and have been counterproductive. America should support an effort to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation and unity. APN rejects any efforts to further tie the Administration's hands with respect to U.S. policy toward a future Palestinian power-sharing arrangement that may include Hamas.

(Feb. 2011)