Leaked report of UN special envoy to Middle East

American support for Israel has hindered international efforts to broker a peace deal in the Middle East, according to a hard-hitting confidential report from the outgoing UN Middle East envoy.
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To read full text of leaked 52 page UN report click here

The news of this report, detailing the confidential thoughts and frustrations of the former UN special envoy to the Middle East, is certainly interesting. I'd like to draw attention here to what he had to say about the US approach to Hamas.

The US, he argues, was clearly pushing for a confrontation between Fatah and Hamas but Washington misjudged Mr Abbas, who he argues had wanted to co-opt rather than defeat Hamas. Fighting between Fatah and Hamas has intensified in recent months. He quotes an unnamed US official as saying earlier this year: "I like this violence ... It means that other Palestinians are resisting Hamas." Since December at least 600 Palestinians have been killed in factional battles.

I found this particularly interesting given a story today in Haaretz in which the US counter's this allegation by blaming Hamas for the internal hostilities.

The United States blamed Hamas Wednesday for the latest round of fighting in the Gaza Strip, accusing the radical Palestinian group of trying to undermine the peace process with Israel.U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the attacks by Hamas against the Palestinian security forces seek to destabilize the Palestinian government and thwart negotiations with Israel.
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