Apart from the undisguised policies of double standards and contradictions following last month’s Palestinian legislative elections, in which Israel, the US, and even some of our European partners are practically punishing the Palestinian people for democratically electing the “unelectable” Hamas, a new era of destructive politics has been unleashed by Israel. A discourse of threats, ultimatums, and absolutism is replacing (the desperately-needed) constructive political dialogue and pragmatism, hence, paving the way to even more conflict and bloodshed.

Have we not learnt the lessons of our tragic history, not only as Palestinians and Israelis, but as members of the human (or inhuman) family, which vehemently continues to pursue the path of self interest, power, and the negation of the ‘other’ at the expense of peace, justice, and coexistence? Of course, an oversimplification of reality, particularly within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is misleading and equally dangerous; it is not, as a distant observer may legitimately dismiss, “a matter of resolving our differences and getting along.” The root causes of the conflict must be comprehensively addressed and reversed.

However, what currently govern the policies of Israel’s unilateralist right wing government are the logic of isolationism and, subsequently, a vigorous reinforcement of national extremism, the outcome of which will be catastrophic to both Israelis and Palestinians.

Early indicators of Israel’s “enlightened” new policies towards the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) have already come in the form of tactical decisions. On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet formally branded the PA as the “enemy” and enforced economic sanctions against it, leaving an already impoverished Palestinian society with a real threat of humanitarian disaster. The measures included withholding monthly tax payments to the PA, increased security checks at crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip, a ban on the transfer of equipment to Palestinian security forces, tightening restrictions on the movement of Hamas officials, and asking foreign donors to stop all payments to the PA.

Ultimately, for Israel, Hamas’ election victory is a fortunate turn of events. Hamas’ leadership of the PA provides the Israeli political establishment with the perfect opportunity to accelerate the implementation of its agenda under the pretext of security: sustaining the occupation of the Palestinian territories it captured in the June 1967 War by completing its Apartheid Wall and annexing 46% of the West Bank to “Israel proper;” sustaining and expanding its illegal settlements in the West Bank; isolating Palestinian east Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territories; and unilaterally redrawing the boundaries of the (now-expanded) state of Israel, leaving the Palestinians with territorially fragmented Bantustans to fulfill George W. Bush’s vision of “…an independent Palestinian state, side by side with Israel.”

Rami Bathish is director of the Media and Information Programme at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). He can be contacted at mip@miftah.org