In a 2007 op-ed for the Financial Times, George Soros, a billionaire Democratic donor, criticized the United States for its unwavering support of Israel and its refusal to acknowledge Hamas following the group's ascension to power in the Gaza Strip.
Soros's critique came in the wake of a violent episode that saw Hamas forces claim the lives of over 900 individuals across the Gaza border.
Soros expressed his disapproval of the U.S.'s alignment with Israel in rejecting Hamas's authority, a year after the group won an election to govern Gaza. He also criticized the decision to impose a blockade around the Palestinian territory.
"Israel, with strong U.S. backing, refused to recognize the democratically elected Hamas government and withheld payment of the millions in taxes collected by the Israelis on its behalf," Soros penned, implying that this action only served to exacerbate Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Soros suggested that had Israel accepted the election results, it could have potentially bolstered the more moderate political wing of Hamas. He lamented, "Unfortunately, the ideology of the 'war on terror' does not permit such subtle distinctions."
Israeli officials were quick to condemn Hamas's election in 2006, given the group's primary objective of establishing a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, through violent means. Furthermore, Hamas's refusal to acknowledge the existence of the Jewish state was a sticking point that Soros argued should not have been a deal-breaker for Israel. "The sticking-point is Hamas's unwillingness to recognize the existence of Israel, but that could be made a condition for an eventual settlement rather than a precondition for negotiations," he wrote.
Soros maintained that it was imperative for the US and Israel to negotiate with Hamas, irrespective of the group's extremist stance. He argued that limiting dialogue to those in the West Bank was a flawed approach. "Defenders of the current policy argue that Israel cannot afford to negotiate from a position of weakness. But Israel's position is unlikely to improve as long as it pursues its current course," Soros wrote.
Drawing attention to the decades-long cycle of violence between Israel and Palestine, Soros urged Israel to abandon future military action and called on the US to endorse this stance. "Demonstrating military superiority is not sufficient as a policy for dealing with the Palestinian problem," he wrote. "It would be tragic to miss out on that prospect because the Bush administration is mired in the ideology of the war on terror."
Despite Soros's plea, no negotiations with Hamas ensued. The group continued to launch attacks on Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes from the Jewish state. The conflict escalated dramatically this year, culminating in a horrific weekend of violence where Hamas invaded Israel, killing hundreds of music festival attendees, destroying nearby villages, and abducting approximately 150 individuals. The onslaught also resulted in the death of 27 Americans, with another 14 still missing.
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