The Christian Science Monitor on Mid-East peace

Here's what Google News was serving up earlier today: A Christian Science Monitor editorial that began,

EMBRACING  PALESTINIANS  BUT  NOT  HAMAS

The Monitor's View

Try as they might not to talk of a peace deal, Israel and the Hamas government of the Palestinians can't ignore a world desire for them to find peace. With an apology to Shakespeare, some achieve peace and others have peace thrust upon them.

Yup, our world is just so darn nice that under the soothing emanations of International Public Opinion it's pretty much impossible for anyone to keep up their squabbling for very long—even those ornery ol' Palestinians and Israelis. Just like on Barney and the Teletubbies. What's that you're muttering? "Rwanda, Congo, Darfur"? Haven't heard of 'em, must be places in some kind of nasty parallel universe where nobody really gives much of a shit about ethnic cleansing, etc., although everyone's eager to display how good they are by making pious pronouncements. . . . CONTINUE

The editorial continues on a similarly high level of intelligence, taking scrupulous care (for the most part) to avoid hinting that either the Israeli or Palestinian side might be more to blame for their dispute. It concludes with these paragraphs:

The images of desperation among Palestinians were something the Bush administration could not ignore, as it yielded to a European request to give humanitarian aid. Letting the Palestinian territories fall apart might only kill off the young democracy...

(And we wouldn't want that. If the delicate young democracy were killed off who knows who might come to power. It might even be a terrorist group!)

...and allow Hamas to stay in power.

In supporting a temporary flow of aid, President Bush partially backs away from Israel's siege mentality, and may help reemphasize the long-held US stance that Israel cannot unilaterally define its borders in the West Bank and ignore Palestinian concerns about a viable state.

(Oops, Israel is coming in for some unbalanced criticism here: for some reason it has a neurotic "siege mentality". Though perhaps that's because the country is under siege?)

The aid also sends signals to Palestinians that the US will ultimately support them but not an anti-Israel Hamas, and that they should do likewise.

Neither Hamas nor the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert can ensure stability and prosperity for their respective peoples without coming to terms with each other. At some point, the use of force or the threat of it in claiming land must give way to the deep aspirations for peace among both Palestinians and Israelis.

The new flow of aid will touch those aspirations, and perhaps touch the hearts of each side's leaders.

Throw in a few warm hugs all round, and the problem will be solved. Thanks, Christian Science Monitor.