The Blog

Obama to Fund Hamas?

10:59 AM, Apr 27, 2009 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB
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The Los Angeles Times reports:

Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration, already on treacherous political ground because of its outreach to traditional adversaries such as Iran and Cuba, has opened the door a crack to engagement with the militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian group is designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization and under law may not receive federal aid.

But the administration has asked Congress for minor changes in U.S. law that would permit aid to continue flowing to Palestinians in the event Hamas-backed officials become part of a unified Palestinian government.

Obama has said in the past that he "will not negotiate with terrorists like Hamas," and that we "should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements." Would Hamas join a government that recognized Israel's right to exist, or renounced terrorism, or accepted a two-state solution? Not likely, but Obama was never a big believer in preconditions. Maybe that's why Hamas endorsed him in the first place.

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