Hamas-Fatah pact a major stumbling block to peace

As an exposition of the vastly changed landscape in the Arab world following the tumultuous upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere, it is difficult to fault President Barack Obama's speech on Middle East policy.

In Cairo two years ago, in setting out his hopes for a new beginning with the Arab world, Mr Obama unwisely sought to distance himself from George W. Bush's freedom agenda for the region, then the butt of criticism by Democrats, instead setting out what was in effect a short-sighted policy that sought engagement with repressive regimes such as those of Syria and Iran. Mr Obama hasn't made the same mistake again. Instead, he has outlined a program of direct support for democratic change that should end the perceptions of ambivalence and uncertainty that have dogged his administration since the advent of the Arab Spring and in Iran in 2009.

He has set Washington firmly behind the reform process now under way in Tunisia and Egypt following the overthrow of their respective despotic rulers -- including $2 billion in aid for Egypt alone -- and served notice on autocratic rulers elsewhere, including Syria's loathsome Bashar al-Assad, that those seeking democratic change in their countries have US support. Even longstanding US allies in Yemen and Bahrain were left in no doubt about Washington's support for change.

Coming down on the side of the angels was the easy part of Mr Obama's speech. He could hardly have done otherwise. More difficult by far was his attempt to define the parameters for progress towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and it is hardly surprising that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reacted so critically to Mr Obama's call for a two-state solution of the conflict based on pre-1967 boundaries with mutually agreed swaps.

Israel's security is what a peace deal with the Palestinian leaders -- if it is ever going to happen -- is all about and a return to pre-1967 lines would simply leave Israel indefensible as well as abandon significant Jewish population centres, such as those in the West Bank, beyond those lines.

More realistically, Mr Obama has questioned how Israel can be expected to negotiate a peace deal in the light of the new Hamas-Fatah unity agreement, given that Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel and will not recognise its right to exist, and warned Palestinian leaders that they will not win recognition of Palestine by going to the UN, as they are planning to do in September.

The Hamas-Fatah accord has, indeed, introduced a major new element into what prospects there are for a resumption of peace talks. Mr Obama should leave Palestinian leaders in no doubt that unless and until Hamas rejects terrorism and recognises Israel's right to exist there is no prospect of negotiations. The onus on this is on the Palestinians. The bedrock of any policy must be Israel's right to exist and its security, and the Palestinian leadership, from Fatah or Hamas, must be told this in no uncertain terms. Mr Obama failed to suggest action to get peace talks restarted. That is unfortunate. There is an urgent need for action and he must now get cracking on realistic solutions.