Hamas - update.

In our sketch of May/3 we predicted that Hamas would moderate its position regarding Israel, that the electoral victory of Hamas, contrary to world consensus, actually set the course for a solution. And this is true because of the willingness of the Bush administration to apply a financial lever - reform in exchange for needed funding. If the roots of democracy did not exist and Hamas has not been thrust onto center stage but remained merely neighborhood thugs and accountable to no one then the lever could not be applied; there would be no hope.

Already we see progress. In a move motivated by the West's funding blockage and designed to force the Hamas-led government to recognize Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday gave the governing party 10 days to accept the idea of a Palestinian nation existing alongside Israel, or he will call a national referendum on the issue. The idea is based on a plan drawn up by Hamas leadership in Israeli jails and is an 18 point accord which if accepted means Hamas would drop its claim to land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Positive developments will result in discussions on the part of the US and her counterparts to reinstate funding to the Authority.