Instead of the silly blustering about “not supporting terrorists,” the U.S., E.U. and absolutely Israel should be actively engaging the Palestinian Authority right now. Notice I said the P.A., not Hamas, the political party. In anycase, the gap between inspirational rhetoric and political reality is usually quite large. The following stories should come as no suprise to those who watch this conflict closely. If they do come as a surprise, I would recommend reading the British, Chinese and Arabic press more.

Hamas leader says truce with Israel possible
from The Times Online

The exiled political leader of Hamas said today that the organisation would be willing to strike a long-term truce with Israel – but only if the Israelis agreed to return to their 1967 borders.

The statement from the Damascus-based Khaled Mashal came a day after Ehud Olmert, the acting Israeli Prime Minister, spelt out for the first time his plans for further withdrawals from occupied Palestinian territories, including large areas of the West Bank.

In a BBC interview, Mr Mashal restated the Hamas view, first articulated by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the militant group’s former leader who was killed by an Israeli airstrike, that the organisation would be willing to agree a long-term truce with Israel if it pulled back to its borders from before the Six Day War of 1967.

It’s called U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 and it’s been around for a long time. In fact, the U.S. supported it up until George Bush…

Annan Criticizes Israeli Killings
from The New York Sun

UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Annan yesterday criticized one of the most potent weapons in the war against terrorism, saying he “has noted with concern” a spate of targeted killings by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. Mr. Annan’s statement came after acting Prime Minister Olmert reportedly instructed the army to escalate its anti-terror campaign amidst renewed Palestinian Arab attacks.