Even In His Press Conference With Cameron--Obama Can't Seem To Get It Right

Yesterday, in England, Obama had a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Cameron, and he was asked a fairly straightforward question:

Q: Do you agree with the comparison between Hamas and al-Qaida?

OBAMA: I believe that Hamas, in its own description of its agenda, has not renounced violence and has not recognized the state of Israel. And until they do, it is very difficult to expect Israelis to have a serious conversation, because ultimately they have to have confidence that a Palestinian state is one that is going to stick to its — to whatever bargain is struck; that if they make territorial compromises, if they arrive at a peace deal, that, in fact, that will mean the safety and security of the Jewish people and of Israel. And Hamas has not shown any willingness to make the kinds of concessions that Fatah has, and it's going to be very difficult for us to get a Palestinian partner on the other side of the table that is not observing the basic Quartet principles that we both believe — that both David and I believe in — the need to renounce violence, recognize the state of Israel, abide by previous agreements.

That is I think going to be a critical aspect of us being able to jumpstart this process once again.

Huh?


"Hamas has not shown any willingness to make the kinds of concessions that Fatah has."

What concessions have Fatah made to Israel?
Three in particular that would be nice are:

o Recognize Israel
o Eschew terrorism
o Accept all agreements with Israel (joining with Hamas is not the optimal way to fulfill the first step of the Roadmap and disarm terrorists)

But

• Fatah has publicly acknowledged that they do not recognize Israel.
• Abbas has never stopped inciting hatred against Israel (with results such as the Fogel family massacre)
• Fatah has not accepted its agreements with Israel

So instead of Fatah making the kinds of concessions that Hamas should, Fatah has actually failed to meet the 3 criteria that have been demanded of Hamas before it can receive Western aid!

Contrary to Obama's extraordinarily inaccurate statement, not only has Fatah failed to make any concessions--it has failed to concede on the 3 major points necessary for it to not be treated as a pariah like Hamas.

So as long as you've brought it up, President Obama, please remind us again about what those Fatah concessions are and why you think Fatah makes a good peace partner.

Technorati Tag: Abbas and Fatah and Hamas and Obama.