Mere Rhetoric: Oh, So This Is How the State Department Will Cozy Up To the Palestinians

We've been wondering how the US State Department will circumvent all those seemingly clear statements about not dealing with any government that wants to wipe out Israel. Query. Answered:

Cracks appeared to emerge between the United States and Israel Monday on how to proceed with the Palestinian unity government. The State Department clung to the concept of creating a "political horizon" of Palestinian statehood, while Israel rejected the idea. The US said it would not automatically cut off non-Hamas ministers in the new government, but would evaluate contacts on a "case-by-case basis." Israel has said it would not deal with any Palestinian officials except for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas... US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues to support having "discussions informally about the political horizon so that Palestinian people do understand that there is a prospect of a Palestinian state on the horizon via the negotiating table," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday in response to a question from The Jerusalem Post. "That's an important thing for the Palestinian people to understand."

That makes perfect sense. Hamas gets to (a) control the Palestinian Authority and (b) openly commit terrorist acts like the one from yesterday. Meanwhile, ministers who literally and formally and legally and diplomatically speak for Hamas will be free to demand land from Israel because they - personaly - are slightly more moderate. They're not moderate enough not to sit with Hamas and provide a figleaf for Hamas's genocidal intentions. But they're still slightly more moderate.

We don't know how else we can say it - helping people who are allied with Hamas helps Hamas. Putting money into the Palestinian economy helps the Palestinian government, which is Hamas. Meeting with Palestinian government officials legitimizes the Palestinian government, which is Hamas. And so on and so on.

Bonus idiocy:

Because those principles aren't accepted by the new government, McCormack said the US would hold firm on keeping aid money away from the PA, while funneling humanitarian funds through nongovernmental organizations and the UN. He said the State Department continued to support an allocation of $86 million to train and equip security forces loyal to Abbas, which would bypass the Hamas-led government. McCormack said the PA's presidential guard continued to report to Abbas. The US administration wanted to "make sure that in providing that money, the chains of command and reporting relationships are such that none of that funding would cross any legal or regulatory lines that we have," he added. Congress has already held up the funding, though it has been legislated and doesn't need to go through the formal allocating process.

It's nice to see that the State Department is devoting so many resources to figure out how to circumvent Congress's clear intent not to help terrorists. But we understand. It's the State Department's job to be international diplomats, and of the rules of international diplomacy is that we have to maintain the fiction that the Palestinians desperately want a peace deal. Even if there's overwhelming evidence - televised, literary, electoral, etc - to the contrary. What's the worst thing that can happen if we're wrong? What, some Israeli civilians die? Pfft.

References:
* US may talk with non-Hamas ministers [JPost]

Previously:
* VDH On International Diplomacy and Israel
* EU Diplomacy with Hezbollah Yields Typical Results; Regional War Possible
* US Public Diplomacy, Tact Don't Extend To Israel