Israeli and Hamas fight is a battle for Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Israel’s fight with Hamas in Gaza, like the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon two years ago, is not just a struggle over the Palestinian issue but a broader proxy battle between Western allies and Iran for the very future of the Middle East.

Unlike the Lebanon war, the fighting in Gaza contains faint stirrings of change across the region that could bring a more hopeful outcome for Israel, the Palestinians and the West.

Chief among them is the inauguration of a new U.S. president. The Bush administration had long ago lost most ability to get even allies in the Middle East to robustly push U.S. goals. Incoming President Barack Obama won’t, of course, instantly change Arab resentment toward America, and he has made clear that he will continue with traditionally strong U.S. support for Israel.

But Obama and the team he has chosen might be more willing to accept the type of arrangement that many believe is needed to relieve the suffering in Gaza and figure out a political solution. That will likely involve giving Hamas some face-saving partial authority role in the crowded territory it seized in 2007 after winning elections. That alone might end the blockade of Gaza that has frustrated the hopes of Palestinians there, who have long had little ability to work or move about or live normal lives. That anger and dismay has boosted support for Hamas.

Supporters of such a policy, including many Europeans, think it is the only way to lure Hamas toward eventual political accommodation with Israel, whose right to exist is rejected by the militants. They note that Hezbollah guerrillas on Israel’s northern border seem loath to engage Israel again militarily since gaining a larger role in Lebanon’s politics in the wake of the 2006 war.

It is surely a huge gamble that militants will trade political participation for violence. But such a tactic has worked in the past with other, once-radical Palestinian factions.

Obama also has indicated he may be willing to talk to Iran — a country most view as key to the overall Middle East puzzle. The Islamic Republic gained significant regional clout after its prot g , Hezbollah, held out against Israel in the 2006 war. That in turn directly hurt the credibility and influence of many Arab moderates.

Iran is controlled by hard-liners whom the West accuses of seeking a nuclear capacity, and its president has called for an end to Israeli rule or for the Jewish state to be “wiped off the map.” Iran also is said by Israel and the United States to provide economic and military support to Hamas and Hezbollah militants.

But factions in Iran have also long wanted some type of deal and recognition from the United States. In that reality could lie the seeds of negotiating power on issues the West cares about, such as Israel and reported Iranian support for Islamic militants — as long as the U.S. bargains tough and with its eyes wide open.