LOOKING FOR MODERATE MUSLIMS IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES: In a column on Monday, Robert Novak took to criticizing the Bush administration for ignoring a Hamas leader who--in an interview with Mr. Novak--pushed the idea of a two-state solution and condemned suicide bombings:

ON Saturday, April 7, I sat down in a Palestinian National Authority office in Ramal lah with a leader of Hamas, the extremist organization that won last year's elections. He pushed a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution and deplored suicide bombers. But officials in Washington seemingly do not want to hear Hamas calling for peace.

... When I asked whether Hamas agreed with Fayyad's formulation, [Minister of Education Nasser al-] Shaer said it didn't matter: "We are talking about the government, not groups." He said Hamas was no more relevant to Palestinian policy than the views of anti-Palestinian Israeli Cabinet member Avigdor Lieberman are to Israeli policy. Shaer expressed dismay that "previous attempts at peace were ruined by suicide bombers."[emphasis added]

Hamas is not relevant to Palestinian policy? Mr. Novak bought that idea, but--not surprisingly--Hamas did not. Now Mr. Shaer is clarifying what he said in in the interview and now claims that in fact he was misquoted:

"Every people in the world has the right of self defence, and nobody can incriminate his own history or his own right to self defence."

Whilst visiting the northern West Bank city of Jenin, the minister of education clarified in talks with Ma'an, "We have a joint agenda as a unity government based on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders."

Mr. Novak should be looking for ways to strengthen moderate Muslims, not attempting to push the US into dealing with terrorists dedicated to Israel's destruction.
[Hat tip: Clarity & Resolve]

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