U.S., Hamas and Mideast Policy

MELISSA BLOCK, Host:

Yesterday on this program we discussed U.S. policy toward the Palestinians with Edward Walker. He served as Ambassador to Israel and an assistant secretary of state during the Clinton Administration. Given the dramatic turn of events, we've asked him back today. Ambassador Walker, thanks for being with us again.

EDWARD WALKER: Thank you.

BLOCK: On the program yesterday, you said that you predicted most of the portfolios in the new Palestinian government would be held by Fatah members with whom we've dealt in the past. 24 hours later, we've got a very different scenario. What do you make of it?

WALKER: Well, it's a surprise, obviously, to me and I think to many other people. It does create enormous problems for the President and for the United States. In the first instance, this is a truly democratic expression on the part of the Palestinian people. It is not an expression of support for terrorism, it is not an expression of support for a one state Hamas-led country. It is, very clearly, a statement that they were tired, sick and tired of the corruption that existed in Fatah, they were sick and tired of not getting any benefits, and they, they wanted to send a message so they sent it.

BLOCK: And then the question becomes, what to do with Hamas and what does Fatah do with Hamas? Any roadmaps, so to speak, that you would see there?

WALKER: Both Hamas and Fatah now have an agenda that they have to follow. They really have no choice. They have both pledged to clean up government, to change the nature and the style of governance in the Palestinian area. They've got to carry through on that, and that's what the legislative authority is going to be. I suspect that their focus for a while is going to be very much internal; how to reorganize the security authority so that they can get rid of the crime going on in the streets. They have a full agenda to do that. Now their problem and the one that was referred to is the fact they haven't got a penny to do it with. And it's not just that they're going bankrupt, they are bankrupt. And as I understand it, they won't even be able to meet their salaries this month.

BLOCK: So where would Hamas then turn to for financial support?

WALKER: Well, if the international community is going to stand firm on the question of terrorism, which I think it should, they will not get that kind of support and it may be that they will start look towards Hizbala and Iran. But getting enough money to run the Palestinian Authority through those channels is unlikely, and keep in mind that a lot of the funds that have come to Palestinian Authority in the past come from Israel through taxes that they've collected. If Israel stops that funding, Hamas has got a huge problem.

BLOCK: Look forward a little bit for us and, if you can, tell us what your sense is of how a Hamas-led government will govern. What might change in the Palestinian territories in terms of how they'll do business?

WALKER: Well, I think the Hamas will continue to hold on to its basic premises of a one-state solution, that terrorism works. They'll advertise it through their leadership in Damascus, Chalud Maschal(ph), they'll separate the responsibilities a bit, but I think you're going to hear a lot more moderate kinds of expressions coming out of the Parliament, out of Ishmael Ha Nair(ph) who was the head of the list of the Parliament. And they'll downplay, for now, the more radical aspects of the Hamas agenda.

BLOCK: Would you expect a cease-fire to hold, then?

WALKER: Yes, I do, actually. Because I don't see how Hamas can possibly think of getting any kind of international support if it's involved in terrorism. And so they're going to want to backpedal on that. They've gone for a year without engaging in that kind of terrorism. The real question is, what will they do with the Palestinian-Islamic Jihad? Which has been, and continues to engage in terrorism. Are they going allow some faction to break the law, break the rules of the game? I'm not sure they will. And that could change things dramatically.

BLOCK: Ambassador Walker, thanks for coming in.

WALKER: You bet.

BLOCK: Edward Walker was Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador to Israel during the Clinton Administration. He's now President of the Middle East Institute here in Washington.

Copyright © 2006 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.