A Reason to Rejoice Good News From the Middle East at Last

Jul 05, 08:18 AM

Current Headlines: LIGHT amid the gloom. There has been little to smile about in Britain in the past few days but the news from the Middle East yesterday was, on the first occasion for a very long time, cheering. Events in the region tend to cast a dark shadow and, as is known from the terror attacks at Glasgow Airport and in London, can spill over to affect the way we live and howwe feel. But the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC reporterwho had been held captive for 114 days in Gaza, lifted spirits, not only in Britain but in the Palestinian territories, where he is a respected and popular journalist among his peers.

It was typical of Mr Johnston, who was freed on Tuesday night, that he should yesterday describe his abduction as an aberration at odds with the traditional hospitality of Palestinians. What his release means for the Palestinians among whom he lived for three years is not clear. There is another side to the Palestine character, however, that has caused Mr Johnston much suffering: the clannish factionalism, manifested in the struggle for power between Hamas and Fatah, that created the environment for his kidnapping. As Gaza descended into chaos, he was taken and held by the jihadist Army of Islam, led by Mumtaz Dogmush of the clan that bears his name.

It had been loyal to Hamas but relations between the two deteriorated in the virtual civil war that spread in Gaza. An edgy accommodation of sorts has been reached, with Hamas in control in Gaza and Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah-led interim government running Palestinian Authority (PA) ministeries from the West Bank. It is not a situation that can last, as Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas Prime Minister sacked by Mr Abbas, has appeared to recognise. Mr Johnston yesterday acknowledged the role of Hamas in securing his release. The pressure put on the Army of Islam, which apparently included the seizing of several members of the Dogmush clan, must be seen in the context of Hamas seeking to demonstrate positive credentials in the PA and, beyond that, towards the international community. It is no coincidence that Mr Johnston was taken to the home of MrHaniyeh after his release. The message was intended to be clear: Hamas was in charge and delivering on promises to restore law and order and spring Mr Johnston. The reporter's release is a headline-making part of choreographed moves on the part of Hamas. MrHaniyeh took the first steps in the past week or so by calling for talks with Fatah on the formation of a new coalition government.

With what is left of Gaza's crumbling economic infrastructure facing meltdown, Hamas needs to start mending fences. So does Fatah, though the pressure on it, for the moment, is less intense. The influence of the Palestinian territories on a lasting agreement with Israel will be limited unless they can negotiate from a position of relative unity and strength, not weakness. Finding that position still seems some way off, though Mr Johnston's release suggests a softening in tone on the part of Hamas.

Bringing Israel and the divided Palestinians to the negotiating table remains a distant prospect. Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and abide by previous agreements before being invited as a negotiating partner. But there is perhaps something more for Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy, to seize on than before the conciliatory words and gestures of Hamas. Hamas cannot risk permanent isolation. How farwill it be prepared to go to avoid that and come in from the cold? Has a start been made? Perhaps, at this stage, we should simply rejoice in Mr Johnston's freedom.

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